Chapter 4
Hartley Manor looked just like it did when Mom was alive, ivy crawling all over the red brick walls.
Only the portrait in the middle of the hall had changed.
Where Mom's portrait used to hang, there was now a portrait of Dad and Cassia together. It was as if I, the true heir, had been erased from the family altogether.
My father slid a share transfer document across the table to me.
"The child Cassia is carrying will inherit Ashpine Territory. She possesses no assets of her own and will be vulnerable to others' disregard. Transfer the thirty‑percent stake your mother left behind over to her, as security for the child," Dad said.
Austin avoided my gaze.
Cassia's eyes were red as she pleaded, "Elena, I don't want it. Dad, I really can't take anything else from my sister."
She said she didn't want it, but her hand rested beside the signing pen.
"That's right, you really can't take anything else from me," I said.
The room suddenly went quiet.
My father's brows drew together. "What did you just say?"
"I said, she's not getting the shares. Beyond that, the 3.2 million dollars you siphoned from my trust fund over these years under the pretense of trusteeship must be returned within three days," I said, my voice icy and firm.
My father slammed his hand on the table. "We're family! Why are you being so petty with us?" he snapped.
"Funny how you only remember we're family when you're taking my money. But when you gave my medicine to her, suddenly that didn't matter, did it?" I shot back.
Cassia's tears came right on cue.
"Elena, you still hold it against me. If dying would make you happy, I'd hand the medicine right back to you," Cassia said, her voice trembling.
"How? You gonna pull it out of your veins?" I shot back.
"Enough!" Dad stepped in front of her, shielding her. "You know she's pregnant. Why do you keep pushing her? All these years, everyone has been compensating for the loss caused by your mother's early death. That's why you've been spoiled into selfishness."
I was stunned for a second.
Just three months after Mom died, he brought his lover's daughter home and expected me to call her my sister.
So that was his idea of compensation.
I turned to Austin.
"Do you also think she should get the shares?" I asked.
He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Elena, you might not even make it past the full moon. If you're gone, it's better the shares stay with the family than end up with some outsider."
I finally understood. They weren't here to discuss anything today. They were dividing my inheritance before I was even dead.
"My lawyer will be in touch," I said, grabbing my coat. "If you don't pay me back in three days, I'm selling the manor."
My father's voice shook with rage.
"If you dare walk out that door, don't ever call me your father again!" he shouted.
I paused at the door, glancing back at the wall where Mom's portrait used to hang.
"Don't worry," I said. "In four days, you won't have a daughter anymore either."
Five days left before my heart would stop.
Cassia had become the new lady of Ashpine Estate.
She moved into my master bedroom, changed the curtains, threw out my clothes, and sent invitations to all the staff, asking them to join the heir's celebration on the night of the full moon.
At the bottom of the invitation, it read: [Hosted jointly by Alpha Lucian Vale and Cassia Hartley.]
When Lucian got home, I was just hauling the last box into the car.