Chapter 6: The Family Tribunal and New Horrors

The Vance mansion had never felt like home, but tonight it seemed more like a courtroom.

Her step mother and her father face without smiling. It was obvious she was about to be lectured.

Jasper was there too, a white bandage cutting across his forehead where the bottle had shattered. He sat beside Matilda, who lounged at his side in triumphant ease, one gloved hand resting delicately on his knee.

She wore black dress, as though her years of absence had been a solemn sacrifice rather than the farce Sarah knew it to be.

The sight nearly made Sarah choke.

Her father's voice broke the silence. “Sit, Sarah.”

Sarah remained standing, though her knees trembled. “Why am I here?”

“To answer for your behavior,” he replied coolly. “Your actions have disgraced not just Jasper but our entire family. Word of the… incident at the party has traveled farther than you can imagine. Our name is a laughingstock.”

Sarah clenched her fists. “He hit me in front of everyone. And you call me a disgrace?”

“You ungrateful daughter. You dare to raise your voice at me?" He shouted, pointing fingers at her.

Matilda’s soft laugh sliced the air. “Daddy, I tried my best to protect her, you know. Even when she turned her jealousy on me. But one can only tolerate so much.” She pressed closer to Jasper, her head brushing his shoulder. “Jasper and I have endured enough of her hysteria.”

Sarah’s nails dug into her palms. “You...”

“Silence!!!.” Her father’s eyes were almost spitting fire. “This family will not descend further into scandal.”

Her step mother folded her hands in her lap, face composed but eyes glittering. “Here is what will happen. Jasper and Matilda will announce their engagement next week. You, Sarah, will inform the public that you ended the engagement because you fell in love with someone else. It's convenient. That way, everything you destroyed will be restored."

Sarah’s throat constricted. “You expect me to lie? To take the blame?”

“You will do it,” her father replied, his voice soft but steady. “Because if you do not, you will find yourself cut off from this family."

Sarah turned toward the door, her heart hammering. “I won’t. I won’t play along with this circus.”

But her father’s voice stopped her cold. “I'm your father. You must listen to me. I’ve made arrangements for your future.”

The words caused her to shudder. “Arrangements?”

No one explained. Instead Matilda smirked, her lips curling into a satisfactory smile. Jasper also looked smug, even through his bandage.

Sarah couldn't be bothered and left without turning back.

Indeed, her parents know about Matilda and Jasper. She was the only one blind enough not to see.

Two days later, she returned home with trembling hands, she had gone out of her apartment to shop for some groceries. But her fingerprint couldn't open the door. Even the password was not working.

Her father had bought this apartment for her when she turned eighteen.

Sarah knew this was his way of making her obey him. She had no choice but to go to the Vance mansion.

But when she stepped inside, the stench of expensive cigars and cologne hit her.

Laughter echoed down the corridor, low and masculine.

She followed the sound to the dining room.

Her parents sat at the long mahogany table, wine glasses raised in a toast. Across from them lounged a man she had seen only in business magazines Shawn Carter.

A seventy year old broad-shouldered, with thinning hair slicked back and a belly that pressed against his tailored waistcoat, he looked at Sarah the way men looked at property. His eyes crawled over her like grease, lingering at her neckline before he licked his lips.

His rude stares made Sarah uncomfortable.

“Well, well,” he drawled, his voice heavy with smoke and self-satisfaction. “So this is the daughter.”

Sarah froze, bile rising in her throat. “Why is he here?”

Her mother’s smile was sharp, rehearsed. “Darling, this is Mr. Shaw. Your future husband.”

The words detonated in her skull.

Her future...What?

Her step mother’s smile widened as Sarah’s knees nearly buckled. “Consider it the perfect solution. A respectable man with wealth and influence, eager to overlook your… reputation. You will marry him, and the disgrace you’ve brought us will be corrected.”

Shaw Cater raised his glass toward her, his eyes gleaming like a predator who had already won. “To my bride.”

Sarah’s breath stuttered, fury and terror clashing inside her.

And for the first time, she realized this was not about saving her. It was about selling her.

Shaw Carter raised his glass toward her, his oily smile glinting in the lamplight. “To my bride.”

To her father, her worth was nothing more than a bargaining chip at a dinner table.

To a man older than him.

To a man old enough to be her grandfather.

Her step mother watched her closely, waiting for submission. Her father leaned back, pleased. Matilda and Jasper exchanged the kind of satisfied glance that made Sarah’s blood curdle.

Something inside her snapped.

Sarah strode forward, snatched the crystal wine glass from Nathan’s hand, and hurled it against the marble floor. It shattered into a thousand glittering shards, the sound ricocheting off the walls like gunfire.

Everyone froze.

“I am not for sale,” Sarah said, her voice shaking but loud, steady. She glared at Shawn Carter, who was still blinking in disbelief at the stain spreading across his waistcoat. “And I will never ever marry a leering old vulture like you.”

Her step mother’s face drained of color, then flushed crimson. “Sarah..."

“No!” Sarah’s voice cracked the air like a whip. “I let Jasper humiliate me. I let Matilda manipulate me. I even let you...” her eyes burned into her step mother’s..."convince me I was small, unstable, unworthy. But this? This is where it ends.”

"You useless daughter!!! How can you be so ungrateful?" Her father shouted.

Shawn Carter rose slowly, dabbing at his soaked shirt with a napkin, his eyes narrowing. “You’ll regret this, little girl.”

Sarah’s stomach lurched at the threat in his tone, but she refused to flinch. She lifted her chin, trembling all over, but standing tall. "I won't!"

And for the first time, Sarah realized she was alone in this house. Truly alone.

But she was no longer powerless.

She turned on her heel and walked out, leaving behind the stunned faces of the family who thought they owned her.

"You ungrateful daughter!!!! You dare to defy me!!" Her father’s angry voice echoed behind her.

"Guards!! Get her for me!!"