Chapter 1

In Brighton, merchants were looked down upon and had little status.

When Lord Edward Langley proposed to a daughter of the Quinns, the richest merchant family in the city, all thought the family had climbed high.

The Quinns themselves believed it too.

They rushed send my sister Rosalind Quinn off in her wedding procession.

But I heard that Edward had a childhood sweetheart.

The night before her wedding, I held Rosalind's hand. "Rosalind, if you don't want to go through with this, I'll take you away.

"There's always a place for us."

Rosalind, dressed in her white wedding gown, her eyes brimming with tears, said, "Charlotte, marrying Edward is what my heart truly wants."

A year later, Rosalind gave birth to a son.

I thought she had finally found happiness.

But when I returned from doing business in Southport, I found Edward at our door again, ask for another Quinn daughter's hand.

*****

The fifteenth day of the eighth month marked Rosalind's birthday. I returned swiftly to Brighton from Southport on that day.

As soon as I entered the city, rumors about Rosalind reached my ears.

"Merchant girls are nothing but low-born. She married someone like Lord Edward and still wasn't satisfied. She even went and cheated on him."

"Lord Edward is so hopelessly devoted. Even after catching her in bed with another man, he still treats Rosalind like nothing happened. If it were me, I'd have sent that slut straight back to the Quinn family."

"That bitch had the sense to end her own life. Otherwise, the little heir would never live down the shame of her."

Hearing those words, I felt something inside me break apart.

My sister... was dead.

Just half a month ago, she wrote to me, saying she couldn't wait for me to return to Brighton so she could make my favorite chestnut cake.

How could she be dead, and from killing herself over some affair? That made no sense.

My body trembled uncontrollably. I snatched the reins from the coachman and raced home.

A bloodied, disheveled maid burst out from behind the stone griffin by the gate, clung to my leg, and shoved an envelope into my hand.

She said, "Ms. Quinn, Ms. Rosalind Quinn was set up. It was Vivian Hughes. She wanted Ms. Rosalind Quinn's wedding gifts. Ms. Rosalind Quinn refused, so Vivian hated her.

"Ms. Quinn, Ms. Rosalind Quinn was wronged. You have to—"

The maid hadn't finished when she saw the Langley Manor guards coming out the door. She panicked and bolted.

It was Lily, Rosalind's personal maid.

I told my maid Grace to go after her, then opened the bloodstained envelope.

Inside was a key and a piece of paper, the writing blurred but just barely legible.

[Charlotte, this is the wedding gift I set aside for you. Make sure the Langley family never finds out about it.]

[I won't be here to see you grow up. May you have a life of joy and no sorrow.]

[Charlotte, I miss you.]

My blood ran cold. Tears poured down my face.

I could almost see Rosalind's desperate face as I rushed into the manor.

When I reached the main hall, I stopped in my tracks.

A sharp voice rang out. "Only a Quinn merchant family breeds a shameless woman like Rosalind. She cheated, and now the Langley family's century old reputation is tainted."

"My lord, I'm so sorry. I failed you. I raised a daughter with no shame," my father pleaded, apologizing over and over.

"Vivian, don't say that. Rosalind was the lady of the house. She just made a mistake—"

Right then, a low, muffled sob filled the hall.

It was Edward, Rosalind's husband.

My heart grew colder and colder, my nails digging deep into my palms.

Back when Edward came to ask for Rosalind's hand, he swore to the heavens that she would be his one and only, together for life.

But just three days after the wedding, he moved Vivian in and even bought her loads of jewels with Rosalind's wedding gifts.

Now he brought Vivian to my family, openly dragging my sister's name through the mud.

He let the rumors about Rosalind spread like wildfire, leaving the people of Brighton free to mock and curse his wife.

Vivian scoffed, "Lord Edward, after everything Rosalind did to you, you still stand up for her? Honestly, you're too good for her."

She wouldn't let it go. "A woman like Rosalind deserves to have her corpse sent back to the Quinns."

My father's face went pale with fear. "We know we've let you down, My lord. The Quinn family will do anything to make it right. Just please, don't send that disgrace of a daughter's body back here.

"If you send her back, my son's future will be ruined. He's my only son.

"Don't worry. Rosalind was my wife," Edward said, wiping his tears. "But Nicholas is only four years old, so little, and now he's lost his mother."

He paused, looking troubled. "Rosalind often told me about Charlotte, saying she was an exceptional woman.

"She often said that if Nicholas ever needed someone to guide him, it should be Charlotte. He's still so little, and now he's lost his mother. He really needs someone."

"Of course," my father replied almost instantly, his gratitude overflowing. "For Charlotte to marry into the Langley family, that's her blessing."

I couldn't help but find it ridiculous. Rosalind adored me, always saying she'd find me a good husband. There was no way she'd ever want me to marry Edward.

And Edward? He was so concerned with his reputation. There was no way he'd come back to propose to another Quinn daughter.

While I was in Southport, I heard from the merchants there that Langley Manor kept buying pricey jewels and silk every month, and they already owed a ton of money.

Did Vivian really kill my sister just because she couldn't get her hands on her wedding gifts?

Hatred flooded my heart.

None of the people who murdered my sister would be spared. They would all join her in death.