Chapter 4

In the middle of the night, I was jolted awake by a nightmare.

Crying and screaming echoed down the hallway.

I had barely sat up when my door was kicked open.

Victoria charged at my bed and slapped me hard across the face.

"You vicious little bitch!"

"Hurting Madison during the day wasn't enough, now you want to kill her?"

The estate security guards rushed in and wedged themselves between us.

Richard pulled her away from my bed.

Victoria thrashed in his grip, pointing at me and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"She knows Madison has a severe grapefruit allergy! She deliberately sprayed perfume and spilled grapefruit juice all over Madison's clothes and bed!"

"She's trying to murder her own stepsister!"

Richard held Victoria against his chest and spoke with a face like ice.

"Dr. Carter has already looked at Madison. She is stable for now."

Then he looked at me, his eyes entirely devoid of anything but disgust.

"Pack your things. You're leaving tomorrow."

"Keeping you here is tearing this family apart."

A flash of triumph crossed Victoria's eyes.

I looked at Richard.

The man I used to trust more than anyone.

The man who used to treat me as his most precious daughter.

I didn't know when it started, but everything had changed.

In the beginning, the sheer drop in his affection was impossible to accept. I had cried to him. I had fought.

Now, I didn't even have the energy to defend myself.

Our relationship was already dead.

Richard offered a token, hollow comfort.

"Once your mother's memorial anniversary passes, I will bring you back."

I didn't answer. Ever since my stepmother entered this house, he had never kept a single promise to me.

After they left, I gathered every letter and gift Julian and Richard had given me over the years and threw them into the fireplace.

Finally, inch by inch, I took a pair of scissors to the wedding dress I had been preparing for three years.

Three years ago, when Julian and I first started dating, I began planning that wedding.

It used to be a dream pieced together by everyone's blessings.

Now, I was destroying it with my own hands.

The days passed quickly.

Two days after my mother's memorial anniversary was Julian's birthday.

In the past, this was the most important day of the year for me.

I would prepare his favorite gifts months in advance, pull every string to book the best restaurant, and personally arrange every detail.

Now, I couldn't care less.

The car Adrian sent idled outside my rented apartment.

The staff helped load my luggage into the trunk.

Thomas Hale, the estate butler, had been sent by Richard to deliver a message.

"Miss Bennett, your father expects you tonight. Mrs. Bennett and Madison are waiting."

"He hopes you'll drop this petty grudge. Mr. Sterling will be family soon enough."

"If you keep acting this stubborn, the gossip outside will only get worse."

I looked at him, a faint smile on my lips.

"Tell Richard we stopped being family a long time ago."

Mr. Hale fell silent for a moment, then stepped aside to clear my path.

Right before I left, Julian's assistant, Evan, also showed up.

"Miss Bennett, Mr. Sterling wants to know when you're coming over."

I smiled and had someone escort him out.

Then I got into the car.

I left New York without looking back.