Chapter 2

I clung to the fireplace, forcing myself to stand tall. The blood on my forehead was half-dry, pulling at my skin.

"You all look so sweet standing together," I smirked. "But a majority vote doesn't make you clean."

Nico frowned. A flash of pity crossed his eyes, but he stepped toward me anyway.

Julian put a hand up to stop him.

"Enough, Nico." Julian adjusted his collar. He looked at me with pure disgust. "Aurora, you're always so aggressive. You suffocate everyone around you. Sofia is different. She's sweet. She needs protection."

I stared at him.

Sweet?

That was the illusion she had maintained her whole life.

Since we were little, Sofia was always the sweet-talker, bubbling with words that easily melted our parents' hearts.

She knew exactly how to play the favorite. As we grew up, that 'sweetness' became her weapon.

Whenever she wanted to snatch my resources or steal my clients in the family business, she would play the victim, twisting the truth and crying to Isabella.

She effortlessly slandered me, ensuring the family deeply misunderstood and blamed me every single time.

If this engagement hadn't been arranged the day I was born, Julian probably would have never been mine at all.

And now, she had finally succeeded. She stole my man.

"The day we got engaged, you said my independence was what you loved most."

Julian avoided my eyes. He turned to Nico. "Watch her. Don't let her go crazy again."

Before the door shut, Isabella handed the wooden box to Nico.

"Put this in her room," her voice was dead calm. "Tell her she stays locked in until she flips that chip to the blank side and admits she was wrong."

Click. The deadbolt slid into place. Locked from the outside.

Noon, the next day.

I sat at my vanity, wiping the dried blood off my face with a damp towel. A muffled cry came from under the door.

"Miss Aurora." My maid Elena’s voice was shaking. "It's all over the news."

I walked to the door. "What is?"

"They say you had a total mental breakdown," Elena sobbed. "Mrs. Marchetti is downstairs right now. Madam apologized to her face. She brought Miss Sofia out and offered her as the bride instead. Said the Marchettis wouldn't lose out."

I gripped the doorknob. "Who started the rumor?"

"Madam told the family doctor herself." Elena pressed against the crack of the door. "She even told Mrs. Marchetti that you get violent when you have an episode. That you scratched Miss Sofia's face last night."

I shoved the door handle down. Locked tight. They were dead serious.

"Elena, find my father," I ordered, keeping my voice steady. "Tell him to come see me."

Ten minutes later, Elena rushed back.

"Sir said Madam runs the house. He's meeting with the Capos. Said not to disturb him."

I leaned my back against the heavy oak door and closed my eyes.

The foyer was at the end of the hall. Through the crack, I heard Julian's mother talking to Isabella.

"The poor girl," Isabella's voice was smooth. "Aurora’s had mental issues for years. We kept it quiet. We just wanted to find her a good home."

Silence in the foyer.

"To compensate," Isabella offered, "Sofia will bring double the port percentages. Our East Coast alliance remains solid."

Soft laughter from the two women outside.

They were trading my sanity for a business deal. A perfect deal.

I grabbed a crystal glass and hurled it at the door. It shattered. The chatting outside stopped dead.

A beat of silence. Then Isabella spoke again: "You hear that? She's having another episode. This is exactly why we have to send her to Switzerland."

I threw myself at the door, pounding my fists against the wood.

"I'm not sick!" I screamed down the hall. "I caught Julian and Sofia sleeping together! That's why they locked me up!"

Heels clicked down the hallway. Isabella stopped outside my door.

"Enough, Aurora!" Her voice was sharp. "Sofia is out here begging for you, and you're still trying to ruin her reputation?"

I glared at the locked door. The rage in my chest hit a boiling point.

"I didn't scratch her!" I yelled. "She hit the railing on the yacht! While she was screwing Julian!"

Chapter 3

"Miss Aurora isn't lying!"

Elena’s frantic voice suddenly rang out. "Miss Sofia hurt herself on the yacht! I heard it with my own ears—"

Pin-drop silence outside.

"Drag her to the foyer," Isabella ordered coldly.

The sound of fabric dragging on the floor. Then, a vicious slap.

"We pay you to lie for this psycho?" Isabella snapped.

"I'm not lying! Mrs. Marchetti, go ask the yacht crew..." Elena cried.

Slap! Another heavy hit cut Elena off.

The code of silence. Even the maids knew the penalty for breaking it.

I slammed my body against the door. "Let her go! Isabella, come after me!"

Heels clicked closer. Stopped at my door.

"Flip the chip to the blank side. Admit your guilt." Isabella spoke through the wood. "Admit you lied, and I'll let her go."

My fingers shook against the doorframe. "I'm not sick. I didn't hurt anyone. I won't confess."

"You'd rather watch her bleed than submit." Isabella's words were knives. "Aurora, you really are heartless."

"Don't do it, Miss Aurora!" Elena screamed from the foyer, before a guard violently muffled her.

Click. The deadbolt unlocked. The door opened.

I charged out without a second thought, but Nico grabbed my arm and slammed me hard against the hallway wall.

Isabella stepped aside, making sure Mrs. Marchetti got a good look at me.

"See?" Isabella pointed at the dried blood on my forehead. "This is one of her episodes. Completely out of her mind."

Mrs. Marchetti stepped back in disgust. "Julian certainly can't handle this. We'll do the marriage your way."

I glared dead at her. "I caught them cheating! And now they're locking me away!"

Mrs. Marchetti's face darkened.

Isabella stepped up and grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth shut. Nico pressed harder, making my shoulder bones pop. "Shut up," he hissed. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

In the foyer, Elena was on her knees on the marble floor. The left side of her face was swollen. She was bleeding from the mouth, trying to crawl toward me.

Isabella shot her a cold look. "Encouraging a psycho. She's done. Fired. Throw her off the estate."

"Leave Elena alone!" I thrashed violently.

Isabella didn't even flinch. She looked at Nico. "Get the family chips. We vote."

The wooden box was dropped on the round table. Nico dragged me over. I grabbed a chip, crest-side up, and slammed it onto the table.

The front door swung open. Marco walked in.

A guard gave him a quick whisper. My father didn't even look at me. He reached into the box. Pulled out a chip. Tossed it onto the table. Blank side up.

"Father!" I grabbed his sleeve. "Elena did nothing wrong!"

Marco ripped his arm away without an ounce of pity.

"Mind your own business. The vote is final." He dropped the words and walked straight into his study.

The guards dragged Elena out the front door. Tears streamed down her bruised cheeks.

I tried to run after her, but Nico grabbed me around the waist. He carried me back to my room and threw me onto the rug.

The door locked again.

The familiar wooden box slid in from under the door.

"Four blanks. One crest." Nico’s voice echoed through the wood. "In our house, that means you lose."

I sat on the floor. I took out the four chips and lined them up on the windowsill. All blank-side up.

In my palm, I held the single, lonely crest chip.

When I was ten, Isabella put these chips on the table for the first time.

"The chips mean fairness," she promised, stroking my hair. "Mommy will always make sure you get justice."

Her 'fairness' was a lie from the very beginning.