Chapter 3
Victoria slapped me, hard, before I could even finish.
"Shut up," she snapped.
She looked at me like I was her worst enemy, not her daughter.
She spat, "You've already ruined yourself, and now you want to take Nora down with you?"
Nathan shot me a venomous glare, then swung his gaze to Amy as though she were already a corpse.
He sneered, "Just a maid, and you dare trash-talk your mistress? No wonder Sophia is shameless enough to mess with the stable boy. You're both filthy. Someone beat this mouthy wench to death."
"No!" I shouted.
I stood my ground in front of Amy, blocking her with everything I had, daring anyone to lay a finger on her.
I yelled, "You can't do this to Amy.
"It's Nora who's done all the awful stuff. Amy didn't make up a single thing!"
Nathan kicked me hard in the chest, sending me crashing to the ground.
He pressed his foot down on me, pinning me so I couldn't move an inch.
His words hurt even more, knocking the air out of me.
He scoffed, "Ever since you came back, you've never given a damn about us, yet you cling to a maid like she's your lifeline?
"I bet you're just as filthy as they are, rotten to the core.
"Someone, drag this maid out and kill her!"
Amy was hauled off before my eyes by the house guards.
Soon, her screams rang out from the courtyard.
Then her cries faded, growing weaker and weaker, until only silence remained.
Nora leaned in, grinning wickedly right by my ear. She said, "Looks like your little maid's dead. But don't get too upset, Sophia. It won't be long before you get to see her again."
I was sprawled on the ground, unable to stop the tears streaming from my eyes for Amy and for myself.
I used to suppress who I really was, pretend to be someone I wasn't, and do everything I could to beg for a scrap of their so-called affection.
But no matter what I did, in the end, they only ever cared about Nora.
I threw myself to the wolves for Bella and gave up everything I had, yet she never cared; she simply thought I had it coming.
Even when I lost everything, this so-called family of mine didn't even flinch. It was as if my suffering was never enough for them.
They had always been that heartless, as though they had never wanted me to survive at all.
Fine. If that was how it was, then let them all die.
I was locked away in my room, just waiting for the day I'd be killed, right after Nora's wedding.
On her wedding day, Nora strutted into my room, decked out in the wedding dress that should've been mine; a smug smirk plastered her pretty face.
She was living the dream meant for me, wearing my dress and marrying the man who should've been my husband. Lucky her.
Nora taunted, "Sophia, don't I look stunning in your wedding dress?
"I heard Prince William brought his whole squad of groomsmen for the procession today. Too bad you won't get to see my mile-long motorcade. Sucks to be you, huh?"
I shook my head.
"Not really," I said, my voice steady.
Because I was not going to let her marry William in my place.
Nora's smile vanished when she saw how calm I was.
She sneered, "So you still haven't figured out your situation, huh? Not even a little scared?"
Then, as if a nasty idea had just struck her, she flashed that theatrical, practiced grin.
She said, "It's a party out there, but I bet you're feeling awfully lonely in here, Sophia.
"Someone, bring in the special gift I prepared for my lovely sister."
Nora's men dragged in a rolled straw mat, and the moment I saw what was inside, it felt like my veins turned to ice.
It was Amy's corpse, so brutally beaten that her face was almost beyond recognition.
She must have died still worrying about me; her eyes stayed wide and staring, refusing to close even in death. She could not rest, not like this.
Nora pressed her foot down on Amy's battered face, smirking. She said, "Sophia, see how considerate I am?
"Wouldn't want you to be all alone on your way to the afterlife, so I made sure she'd be there to keep you company.
"No need to thank me; I'm just that generous.
"Look at you, completely pathetic. So what if you were born a Sterling? In the end, everything ends up in my hands anyway."
Tears just kept streaming down my face.
Yeah, I was really pathetic.
I hid my true self, let myself be weak, all for these people I called family, and in the end, I got Amy killed.
What a joke!
But Amy didn't deserve this. It should've been them, not her.
Nora got her fill of watching me break down, then turned to strut out, all proud of herself.
Like hell I was letting her just walk away.
She killed Amy, so her life was the price. That was only fair.
I yanked the hairpin from my hair, clamped my hand over her mouth, and drove the pin deep into her throat.
Blood gushed out, as vivid and red as the day her mother died.
Nora made awful, guttural noises, trying to say something, maybe cursing me, maybe calling for help, but none of it mattered anymore.
I wrenched the pin free and plunged it in again and again until she lay still. Then, mimicking her usual mocking tone, I leaned close to her ear.
I whispered, "Nora, you always said you missed your real mom, that every good day you had was because of her. Well, don't worry. Now, you can go see her in hell."