Chapter 3

When I went back to the villa to pack, the maids gave me strange looks, opening their mouths and closing them again.

I frowned and walked into the living room, and then I understood.

My things had been dumped in careless heaps across the floor.

And there was Gina, gliding down the staircase in a snow-white wedding gown.

I bit my lip and stared at her.

She lifted the hem of the skirt and smirked.

"Sister. This is the gown Vito designed for you by hand, isn't it?"

"Well. Vito's already promised it to me."

"He said your figure's gone anyway—you couldn't fit into this dress if you tried. He said the dress is lucky I appreciate it."

She held up the hem and twirled.

"Sister. Do you think it suits me? Aren't I beautiful?"

The white gown shimmered like a dream beneath the crystal chandelier.

Gina's face was flushed with triumph, radiant with joy.

Years ago, Vito had spent months drafting the design.

The first time I put it on, he'd said:

"Luciana. This is a one-of-a-kind dress. Only a one-of-a-kind woman could wear it."

His words still rang in my ears. But the man behind them was long gone.

Gina didn't know—I'd already given up on Vito himself. Why would I still care about a meaningless dress?

I smiled, calm, and let my clenched fists slowly uncurl.

"Gina. Didn't anyone ever teach you that if you take someone else's things, you pay for them?"

"That gown is worth thirty million. I expect the transfer in my account by end of day."

Gina's face changed in an instant.

"You bitch! You've hogged Vito, stolen my family for years, and now you have the nerve to ask for money!"

Stolen *her* family?

She was my father's illegitimate daughter. Her mother was the mistress...

She and her mother were the ones who destroyed my family.

She raised her hand and lunged for me.

But the gown's skirt was hopelessly heavy. I simply stepped half a pace to the side, and Gina tripped over her own hem and crashed to the ground.

Dad and my brother came pounding down the stairs.

"Gina! What happened?"

My brother rounded on me, eyes blazing.

"Luciana! Have you been bullying Gina again?!"

Before I could open my mouth, a slap cracked across my face.

Half my cheek exploded with a searing burn.

I stared at my father in disbelief.

His face was flushed dark, and his voice came out cold as ice:

"I know you're bitter. I know you've never truly accepted Gina. But she just gave birth. She's still fragile! How dare you lay a hand on her!"

Gina's voice quavered pitifully through her tears.

"Dad, don't be angry at her, it's not her fault. She said this dress cost thirty million and I don't deserve to wear it unless I pay her. But I don't have that kind of money... and she didn't push me on purpose."

She looked up, the picture of wounded innocence.

"It's my fault, I don't have the money for sister. Dad, brother—if we pay her, will she stop being angry with me?"

Dad snorted and exploded.

"Gina, you're too kind. Pay this bitch? Not a chance! I should have known—she's just like her mother. Money-grubbing whores, both of them!"

Pain lanced through my chest. I pressed a hand to my burning cheek and stared at him.

His face was contorted, curses tumbling out of him one after another.

The mask of paternal love he'd worn for years seemed to crack apart before my eyes.

My brother caught his arm in time.

"Dad. Stop."

I thought, for a second, my brother would speak up for me.

Then he opened his mouth, and his voice came out flat and cold:

"If you push her too far she'll make a scene at Gina's wedding. That's the last thing we need."

"She wants money? Give her the money. Think of it as tossing a coin to a beggar."

He pulled a card from his pocket and flicked it onto the floor at my feet, his voice dripping with disgust.

"Over thirty million on that card. Enough for you?"

"Take it and get out. Stay away from Gina from now on. I don't want you ruining her mood."

I looked down at the black card lying on the floor.

The last thread of attachment inside me finally snapped.

I bent slowly, picked up the card, and gave a careless little smile.

Looking at the wreckage of my belongings scattered across the living room, I couldn't be bothered to sort any of it.

"Well then, brother. Since you're willing to pay, this trash is all yours."

I fixed him with a mocking stare.

"Since brother has already claimed Gina as his new sister, and her mistress mother as his new mother, this old sister certainly won't stick around to spoil the view."

"From this day on, I have nothing more to do with any of you!"

I dug my documents out of the pile on the floor, turned, and headed for the door.

"Wait—"