Chapter 3

Lina was my father's illegitimate daughter!

She was my father's child by another woman, and he had secretly raised her in a villa on the outskirts of the city.

Every so often, he brought Lina to our house and told everyone she was a maid's daughter. That gave her an excuse to spend time with me.

He'd been trying to make us close all along.

"Lina is family. She's your little sister. I expect you two to get along.

"Vera, don't make this difficult for me."

I looked at him with disgust.

My mother had loved him with all her heart. How could he have done this to her?

"I'll never accept that bastard! Why should the child you had with the other woman stand equal to me?"

"Watch your mouth!"

My father slapped me across the face.

"Lock her in the cellar! She can come out when she's learned her lesson!"

At his order, two bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me down to the cellar.

As the eldest daughter of the Rossini Family, I had only ever been the one who put people in this cellar.

Now I was the one behind the locked door.

Later, Rhett came down with some medicine.

I turned my head away and ignored him.

He didn't care. He reached over and rubbed ointment onto my swollen cheek.

"Why did you talk back to your father? Does your face still hurt?"

When I refused to answer, he continued.

"I'm married to Lina now. That ring belongs to the Donna, so I need you to give it back."

I stared at him in disbelief.

I looked down at the ring on my finger. Rhett had bought the pink diamond at an auction shortly after we got engaged, paying a fortune for it.

Then he'd spent three months looking for the right designer. It took another year before the ring was finally finished.

Our names were engraved inside the band.

At our engagement party, Rhett had surprised everyone by slipping it onto my finger early.

In front of everyone, he swore that he and the ring would belong to me and no one else.

Now he was taking that promise back with his own hands.

"Our Families need this ring to seal the alliance. It's time you accepted the truth. Your father chose Lina over you."

So that was it. The ring had only ever been a bargaining chip for the resources and connections behind me. Every moment from the very beginning had been calculated.

I'd worn the ring for three years, and it had left a pale mark around my finger.

It took effort to wrench the ring off. The moment it came free, I threw it at him.

"Get out. Don't ever come near me again."

Rhett picked up the ring. He didn't even flinch. He just looked at me like a spoiled child throwing a fit.

On my father's orders, the servants brought me no food or water all day.

I tried to ignore my hunger, but then the cellar door opened and Lina walked in.

She was carrying a pitcher of water and a few pieces of bread.

Her face was all smug cruelty.

"Well, well, Vera. Look how far you've fallen.

"You always acted so high and mighty, looking down on me. We're both our father's daughters! Why did you get to be the Rossini princess while I had to pretend to be the maid's kid?

"You got the name, the money, the power. I had to scrounge for your leftovers like a stray dog, and you acted like every scrap was some great favor!"

I'd always known Lina was sensitive about the difference between us.

That was why I'd made sure she got the same clothes and jewelry as me.

I never imagined she'd seen those expensive gifts as an insult.

"But tonight, Dad is going to announce who I really am in front of everyone at the banquet and bring me into the Family.

"And Rhett will tell everyone that I'm the true Donna of the Raines Family!

"Haha! Look at you now, Vera. How pathetic. After everything you did for them, you can't even get a meal."

Lina held out her hand and flaunted the ring on her finger. My ring. Rhett had taken it from me only hours ago.

Then Lina tipped the pitcher over my head. She dropped the bread at my feet and ground it beneath her heel.

"Vera, get down on your knees and lick the water off the floor like a dog. Do that, and I'll ask Dad to let you out."