Chapter 1

"Lily, sign your name and the 1.5 million dollars is yours."

Mrs. Sinclair sat on the leather couch, looking down at me like I was dirt. She held a cup of hot tea in one hand, and the rising steam blurred the cruelty hidden beneath her polished makeup.

On the coffee table lay a glaring red marriage contract and a flimsy check.

I didn't even glance at the check. My eyes landed on the groom's name on the contract: Sebastian Ford of the Ford Family Branch.

Rumor had it the man was over sixty, disabled in both legs, violent as hell, and had already driven three wives to their deaths.

"Lily, don't blame Mom and Dad."

Anna Sinclair curled up in Mrs. Sinclair's arms, her eyes red, but her voice was still sickly sweet. "The Fords are way out of our league. I'm the Sinclair family's future. I'm supposed to marry the Capital Prince... You grew up in the sticks, Lily. You're tougher than me. You can handle it, right?"

She wore a limited-edition designer tulle dress totally wrong for the season, looking like some delicate porcelain doll.

And me? I was in a pair of faded jeans, looking like a stray who'd wandered into a flock of swans.

"Tougher than you?"

I laughed, but there wasn't a trace of warmth in it.

I lifted a hand and pinched the check between my fingers.

"So in your eyes, I'm not just tough. I'm cheap too."

Mr. Sinclair impatiently crushed his cigarette into the crystal ashtray with a sharp sizzle.

"Lily! Don't be so damn ungrateful! We brought you back for this marriage. Anna is a piano prodigy. Her hands are meant for the keyboard, not for serving some disabled old man. Since you carry Sinclair blood, you owe this family!"

Owe them.

I was the one switched at birth by a nanny, then raised in the countryside by an old scavenger. I was the one brought back at eighteen to be Anna Sinclair's walking blood bank. And now, I was the one being sold off to some sick old bastard to keep the Sinclair family's cash flow from breaking.

"What if I don't sign?" I asked softly.

Anna suddenly clutched her chest and started coughing hard.

"Mom... My head's spinning... Is my anemia acting up again...?"

Mrs. Sinclair panicked at once. She whipped around and glared at me viciously. "You little curse! Will you only be satisfied if you drive your sister to death? Somebody hold her down! She signs today whether she wants to or not!"

Two bodyguards stepped forward immediately and roughly grabbed my shoulders.

Pain shot through my shoulder blades.

I didn't struggle. I just looked quietly at my so-called parents. Whatever family bond there had been died right there.

"No need."

I shook off the bodyguards' hands and rolled my wrist.

"Pen."

A smug gleam flashed through Anna's eyes. She quickly handed over a fountain pen. "Lily, this is a limited-edition Montclair. Be careful with it. Don't break it."

I took the pen. The cold metal felt a lot like the handle of a scalpel.

With two quick strokes, I signed my name.

The nib dug so hard it tore through the paper.

"From today on, the Sinclair family and I are square."

I tossed the pen aside. The pen, worth about 17,000 dollars, arced through the air and dropped straight into the filthy trash can beside us.

Anna shrieked, "What the hell are you doing? That's my favorite pen!"

I stood up and brushed at the nonexistent dust on my clothes, my gaze sharp and cold.

"Trash belongs in the trash can. The pen does. So do people."

Mr. Sinclair flew into a rage. He grabbed his teacup and hurled it at me. "You little bitch! How dare you talk to your sister like that!"

I sidestepped.

The cup smashed against the wall behind me, shards flying everywhere.

One jagged piece grazed my cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.

The sting cleared my head.

I wiped away the blood with my fingertip and touched it to my lips.

Rust.

"Remember this tea."

I looked at them, my voice light, yet somehow everyone in the room shivered.

"Even if you beg me to drink with you again, I won't."

With that, I grabbed the check and walked straight into the rainy night without looking back.

Behind me, Mrs. Sinclair's curses rang out. "Let her go! Better if she dies with the Fords! Ungrateful little bitch. She'd deserve it!"

The rain was pouring.

I didn't bother with an umbrella.

Cold rain slid down my hair and into my collar, taking the last bit of warmth with it.

I pulled out my old cracked-screen Nokia and dialed an encrypted number.

"Boss? You're finally back online!"

An excited voice burst from the other end of the line.

"Look someone up for me."

Staring at the soaked marriage contract in my hands, my gaze landed on the name: Sebastian Ford.

"Sebastian Ford of the Ford Family Branch."

"Boss, why are you checking on that loser? He's just some abandoned castoff the Ford family dumped at Ford Manor to die... Wait. Why is your location moving toward Ford Manor right now?"

A bloodthirsty smile tugged at my lips.

"Because I'm going to collect a corpse."

If I didn't muddy the waters and blow a hole through the sky, how could I possibly repay the Sinclair family for all their thoughtfulness?

Anna wanted to become the Capital Prince's bride?

The Sinclairs wanted to sell a daughter for glory?

Then I'd step on their backs and climb, one step at a time, to a height they'd never even reach with their eyes.

As for that disabled old man...

If he behaved, I could keep him safe for life. But if he tried to step on me too...

I wouldn't mind adding one more soul to my scalpel.