Chapter 2
With a loud bang, the hospital door was kicked wide open.
The solid wood door slammed heavily against the wall, echoing through the room.
Joanna immediately threw herself onto the edge of the bed.
Clutching the sheets in a death grip, she sobbed hysterically.
"Sister! Why're you doing this to yourself?!"
She lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes casually drifting over my bleeding hand and the slashed wallpaper.
A flash of unsuppressible triumph gleamed in her eyes.
"Even if you're mute and useless now, you shouldn't resort to self-harm just to beg for sympathy.
"Do you have any idea how much shame and heartbreak this brings to Carl?"
Burrowing her face into the blankets, she kept up her weeping.
Her shoulders heaved violently, as though she were the one who suffered some massive injustice.
Carl strode forward.
Wearing a sharp black shirt, his brows were knit tightly together.
His gaze swept past the shattered glass on the floor before landing on my face.
No pity.
No worry.
Nothing but blatant annoyance and disgust.
He pulled out a luxurious black velvet box from his pocket.
With a sharp slap, he slammed it onto the nightstand.
"This is a rare ruby necklace I just won at an auction. Consider it an apology for the last two days. Satisfied?"
He looked down on me coldly, his tone completely dismissive.
"Joanna hasn't slept a wink or eaten a thing for two whole days just to watch over you. Stop throwing tantrums and hurting her!"
I stared at the velvet box.
It was the exact style I had casually mentioned liking before the gala.
I recalled him saying only the most pure Luna of Raven Isle deserved such a gem.
I raised my uninjured left hand and swept it violently across the nightstand.
With a loud crash, the velvet box arched through the air.
It smashed heavily against the hard marble floor.
The box popped open, scattering the pigeon-blood ruby necklace across the tiles.
The diamonds flashed icily under the cool fluorescent lights.
Carl's face darkened to an absolute extreme.
Kicking aside a loose diamond, he took a massive stride forward.
Yanking Joanna away from the bedside, he shielded her protectively behind his back.
"You're completely out of your damn mind!"
Pointing a finger at my face, his voice dripped with raw hatred.
"You're not just a mute now, you're a total psycho!
"Since you wanna throw tantrums so bad, rot in here alone until you cool off!
"Nobody feeds her without my direct order!"
With that, he threw his arm around Joanna's shoulders.
He turned and strode out toward the exit.
At the door, Joanna leaned against his chest and glanced back at me.
Her lips curled into a deeply provocative smirk.
She silently mouthed the words, "Mute bitch."
The two of them slammed the hospital door shut.
Only the monotonous beeping of the vitals monitor broke the silence of the hollow room.
Standing frozen, I stared coldly at the rubies on the floor.
I reached over to the pillow, slipping out the mini tablet hidden beneath it.
With a soft tap of my finger, I brought up the hidden surveillance feed from Carl's private lounge.
I had secretly installed it right after our wedding to guard against rival syndicates' assassinations.
The footage loaded up.
The lighting inside the lounge was dim.
Carl was pinning Joanna down onto a sprawling leather couch.
They rolled together, their clothes completely torn open.
Joanna wrapped her legs around his waist, panting with a flirty moan.
"Carl, my sister is literally starving in her hospital bed. Is this really okay?"
Burying his face in her neck, his voice sounded raspy and full of disdain.
"Why bother bringing up that useless buzzkill?
"She's mute, clueless, and her ruined throat is disgusting. Even her bed reactions are stiff as a board."
He pinched Joanna's chin roughly and kissed her hard.
"You're the only one who knows how to please me.
"Once the heat dies down, I'll use her failing health as an excuse to hand all seven of her casinos over to you."
Joanna let out a flirty giggle.
She ran her fingers through his hair.
"What if she finds out and refuses to sign the paperwork?"
Carl let out a cold scoff.
"She's a useless mute who can't survive a single day outside the family. How's she gonna fight me?
"If she doesn't sign, I'll break her hands and force her thumbprint onto the paper!"
I stared at the scenes playing on the screen, listening to every single word of their pure malice.
Slowly, I turned off the tablet screen.
The raging fury in my chest burned to an absolute extreme, turning into a dead, icy stillness.
Carl thought stripping my voice away let him bleed my legacy dry?
He was gonna pay a devastating price for his arrogance today.