Chapter 2

“Mr. Stock Sr.”

My stepmother dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Yuna has a heart condition. She can barely get out of bed. How could Our Lord possibly choose her…”

Seeing her cry so pitifully, the women around her immediately began speaking up for her.

“So many girls have already been sent into that crypt before. Some died, some came back crippled.”

“Yuna’s been in the ICU before. There’s no way Our Lord would accept her. Sending her in there would be the same as sending her straight to hell.”

“There’s something sinister about Our Lord too. For centuries, people prayed to him like he was some kind of saint, but over the past few years, his resentment has only grown stronger.”

“Our Lord died young while building this family empire. He never married, never had children. It’s no wonder he left this world carrying so much resentment.”

“But isn’t this too much? Failed investments in Stockholm, collapsing buildings, the heads of the family dying one after another…”

Vincent Stock tilted his head slightly and cleared his throat. The women instantly fell silent.

Then he turned back to my stepmother and spoke patiently.

“Sharon, out of the entire Stock bloodline, your daughter is the only eligible woman left to be Our Lord’s bribe.”

My stepmother cried even harder.

Then suddenly, she shot to her feet.

She yanked me over by the arm, grabbed my hair, and forced my head down onto the floor in front of Vincent.

“Mr. Stock Sr., this girl is from Stockholm too. She’s Ryan’s biological daughter!”

“Nonsense!”

Vincent slammed his hand against the table and pointed at me furiously.

“Ryan personally erased her name from the family registry years ago. Sending her in would be an act of deception. If Our Lord is enraged, can you bear the consequences?”

The men on both sides instantly exploded into chaos, all siding with Vincent.

“Exactly! If that happens, it won’t just be Ryan’s daughter who dies. The rest of us could be dragged down with her!”

“The family registry rules were established by Our Lord himself. Who dares break them?”

“It’s only one girl. If sacrificing Yuna can save the entire family, what’s there to hesitate about?”

“Exactly. That girl may be pretty, but nobody dares joke around with the family registry!”

Right then, I let out a soft yelp and pushed myself to my feet.

Still smiling, I rubbed my swollen knees and blinked innocently at Vincent.

“If I switch names with Yuna, wouldn’t that mean I could take her place as Our Lord’s bride?”

The noisy courtyard fell silent for a second.

“You’re willing?” Vincent narrowed his eyes. “To be entered into the family registry, you’ll have to slit your wrist and perform a blood ritual yourself.”

“Well…” I propped my chin on my hand and pretended to hesitate.

“She’s willing!” My stepmother suddenly lunged forward.

As if she’d finally found a lifeline, she burst into tears and pleaded with me. “Nina, for the sake of everything between us as mother and daughter, please save your sister.”

I lowered my lashes and continued acting thoughtful.

The anger in my stepmother’s eyes flared instantly. She clamped down hard on my arm. “Answer him already!”

“Let her go.” Vincent had someone pull my stepmother away before warning coldly, “If the girl herself isn’t willing, then even bloodletting won’t make the ritual work.”

Only then did I shrug casually.

“I’m fine with it, sure. But I do have one small condition.”

“Name it.” It was obvious Vincent was tempted too.

“If…”

I hid my true intentions behind lowered lashes and casually pointed at my lips.

“If you return my pearl, then I’ll agree.”

“Well…”

This time, the others hesitated. “Our Lord ordered it to be sealed away…”

As they exchanged uneasy glances, my stepmother’s scream shattered the deadlock.

“The pearl is hidden inside the compartment beneath Our Lord’s crystal coffin!”

Vincent shot my stepmother an annoyed look.

He set down the rosary beads in his hand aside and slowly rose from his chair.

With his hands behind his back, he paced over to me.

“That’s right.”

As though he had finally made up his mind, Vincent lifted a hand and patted my shoulder.

“You’ll follow the rules and consummate the marriage to conceive a child. If you can walk out alive tomorrow morning… the pearl will be returned to you!”