Chapter 3

Edward exploded with rage. He shoved Vivian aside and slapped her so hard that blood came from her mouth.

"You bitch. How dare you slander my wife and her sister? You are confined to the manor from this day on," he spat.

Vivian's eyes went wide, staring at him in utter disbelief.

Edward glared at her, his eyes cold and merciless. "Get back to Langley Manor. Now."

Vivian flinched, then hurried out of the main hall.

I caught the flash of pure hatred in Edward's eyes as he looked at me.

But when he met my gaze, all I saw was guilt in his eyes.

"Vivian's father once saved my life. I promised I'd take care of her, so I let her get away with a lot. Charlotte, what happened today was my fault," Edward said.

Then, he switched gears and started wiping away his tears again.

He said, "Vivian acts like a spoiled kid, never thinking about the consequences. Honestly, I didn't know what else to do, so I came here. Nicholas is my son with Rosalind.

"Charlotte, you and Rosalind are sisters. I've always believed no one could care for Nicholas better than you."

My father jumped in, barely able to contain himself. "Charlotte is Nicholas' aunt. Rosalind raised her from childhood, and those two were inseparable. Charlotte will treat Nicholas like her own, I know it."

I was an adopted daughter of the Quinns. When I was four, my father's mistress pushed my mother into a lake. She drowned. Out of guilt, he adopted me.

Merchants are all about profit. Their servants are even worse.

I was left to survive on my own in the courtyard, forced to fight dogs for food.

My father's other children found this amusing. They bought fiercer dogs just to watch me scream and cry while the beasts tore at me.

My father knew all about it, but he never stepped in. He just let his children bully me however they liked.

"She's just a worthless girl. If she dies, it'll save us all the trouble," he'd say.

It wasn't until Rosalind and her mother returned to the Quinn family estate that those days of fighting mad dogs for scraps finally ended.

Tears streamed down Rosalind's face. She carried me back to her courtyard, bruised and battered.

She was like the merciful saint my mother used to speak of, always giving me the best of everything.

She cried for me, found the best doctors to heal my wounds, taught me to read, and even showed me how to run a business.

She always said, "Sweetheart, you've been through so much."

Rosalind always stood in front of me, protecting me from everything.

My brother killed the baby boy born to my father's favorite mistress, then blamed it all on me.

My father was about to beat me to death with his whip, but Rosalind jumped in front of me and took every blow for me.

"Don't be scared, Charlotte. I'm here. I'll always protect you," she promised.

If my grandmother hadn't arrived in time, my father would have beaten Rosalind to death.

Rosalind was pure, but I was nothing like her.

I plotted and killed that brother, along with every mistress and sibling who ever bullied Rosalind or me.

Rosalind saw me force poison down the throat of the mistress who killed my mother.

I thought she'd be terrified, but instead, she pulled me into her arms, her burning tears falling onto my neck.

She said, "Charlotte, it's not your fault.

"If I'd come back sooner, you never would have been bullied like that.

"Charlotte, no matter what you do, I'll always help you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because we are the same. We're just girls with no control over our own lives," she replied.

Rosalind had her mother formally adopt me. I became a legitimate daughter of the Quinns.

Without my father knowing, I took control of the family business with help from Rosalind's maternal relatives.

I used to think that as long as Rosalind was happy, I'd give the Langley family all the wealth they wanted.

But they couldn't accept her.

Now that house must fall.

Anyone who ever hurt Rosalind, I'd make sure they suffer.