Chapter 2

Ashton knocked on the door. "Are you dressed yet? The guests will be here soon."

I said nothing.

He knocked again, his tone softening slightly. "Once tonight's party is over, you'll officially be a daughter of the Scott family."

I glanced at the maid's uniform on the bed and put it on. In the mirror, I saw myself dressed in a gray maid's uniform, with a gold dog tag hanging from the collar around my neck.

My name was engraved on the dog tag.

By the time I went downstairs, the living room was already packed with people.

There were even quite a few reporters, their cameras mounted on tripods. They had set up a live-streaming station in the corner.

"Isabel's here! Everyone, please welcome the eldest daughter of the Scott family home!"

Tina stood in the center in a white evening gown. When she saw me, she smiled and led the room in applause.

Dozens of faces turned toward me at once. Some people put down their wine glasses. Others covered their mouths and laughed. A few simply raised their phones.

One reporter thrust a microphone toward me.

"Ms. Scott, what are your thoughts on the prison sentence you just served?"

Ashton blocked the microphone, frowning. "This is a family dinner. No interviews."

But he didn't stop the live-streaming cameras from rolling.

A wealthy woman came over and looked me up and down before tapping on the dog tag.

"Tina, is this the new maid your family hired?"

Tina giggled and said, "You shouldn't joke like that, Mrs. Kline. She's my sister."

"Oh…" Mrs. Kline hummed meaningfully. "The one who went to prison?"

Several people nearby began gossiping without making any effort to lower their voices around me.

"I heard what she did back then was pretty serious. She almost killed someone."

"Oh, dear. She looks like a pretty young woman, though. What a shame…"

Ashton took me around the room, introducing me to the guests. He chose his words carefully. "This is my sister, Isabel Scott. She made some mistakes in the past, but she's back with us now."

He didn't explicitly say I'd been to prison, but everyone understood what he meant.

Someone asked, "What mistakes did she make?"

Tina covered her mouth and whispered to her best friend, her voice just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"Isabel got into a little trouble before, but my brothers have put the past behind them and brought her home. The Scott family never abandons its own."

About halfway through the party, someone started calling for Tina to perform. She graciously sat down at the piano and played a sonata. The music flowed perfectly, with not a single mistake.

When the final note faded, the entire room erupted in applause.

Tina stood and bowed to everyone before turning to me with an innocent smile. "Now it's your turn, Isabel. What did you prepare? Everyone's waiting."

I stood in the corner, my fingers tightening around the hem of my dress. No one had told me I was supposed to prepare a performance.

Tina tilted her head, as if she had suddenly thought of something. "Why don't you and Rex do a joint performance? You can crawl around on the floor with him!"

She clapped her hands and lifted Rex down from the couch. "Rex loves playing with people!"

The living room fell silent for a moment. Ashton's hand stiffened around his wineglass.

"Tina… There are so many people here, and the party is being live-streamed as well," Dalton muttered. "I don't think that's appropriate."

Tina's smile stiffened. "What's wrong with it? Haven't you always said that Rex is part of the family, too? What's wrong with having Isabel play with her family?"

She raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye, her lips trembling. "Or is this because you're favoring Isabel over me? Everything I do is wrong, right?"

Dalton immediately stopped protesting. Ashton put down his wineglass and looked at me.

"Get on your knees."

I took a deep breath. The system sounded in my mind again. "Time remaining: 8 hours and 34 minutes."

I was leaving anyway. There was no point in trying to fight this. I bent my knees and put both hands on the floor. Just as I was about to drop onto all fours, a furious roar abruptly rang out behind me.

"Let me see who dares to make her crawl like a dog!"