Chapter 4

I curled up on the floor, buried my face in my knees, and let the tears fall silently.

At some point, I must have passed out.

By the time I woke up, it was already morning.

Frank stood in the doorway in a crisp suit, acting as if nothing had happened.

He gave me a quick look and said flatly, "Get ready. We're going to the venue."

At the IPO event, I stood at the edge of the crowd.

Then I looked up and saw Chloe in the center of the room. A butterfly brooch was pinned to her dress.

My mind went blank.

It was my mother's keepsake.

On her deathbed, she'd pressed it into my palm and told me, "Whenever you miss me, just look at this."

I'd kept it tucked away in the back of my nightstand drawer, carefully wrapped in velvet.

And there was only one person who could have taken it.

Frank.

I rushed over to Chloe.

"Why are you wearing that brooch?"

Chloe looked down at it and smiled innocently.

"Mr. Carter gave it to me. He said it was handmade by a designer, and the diamonds on the wings alone are worth as much as a house.

"He said it would just sit in your drawer collecting dust, so I might as well wear it."

Frank walked over, his tone cold.

"It's just an old brooch. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?"

I held out my hand. "Give it back."

"It's just some stupid old..."

Before Frank could finish, Chloe unpinned the brooch and gave me a sweet smile.

"Don't be mad, Cecilia. Here, you can have it back."

I reached for it.

But Chloe winked at me and suddenly let go.

The brooch hit the floor with a sharp crack.

The butterfly split down the middle, breaking into two pieces.

Chloe covered her mouth and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, Cecilia. I didn't mean to drop it..."

I crouched down to pick up the broken pieces. A sharp edge nicked my fingertip, and a bead of blood welled up.

I looked up at Chloe, trembling with anger.

"You knew this belonged to my mother. It's the only thing she left me."

Frank stepped between us and lowered his voice.

"It belonged to someone who's gone. It's broken. Get over it.

"Today's the company's IPO event, and Chloe has an important speech to give. Stop making a scene."

I closed my hand around the broken pieces, their edges pressing painfully into my palm.

I remembered Frank holding my hand beside my mother's hospital bed years ago.

"From now on, your problems are my problems. I'll treasure anything your mother left you just as much as you do."

Maybe he'd never cared about what it meant to me at all.

Frank turned away and rested a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"Don't let this get to you. Just focus on your speech."

Chloe nodded.

As she passed me, she leaned close enough that only I could hear her.

"Once something's broken, there's no point picking up the pieces."

I was about to respond when Frank grabbed my arm and warned me, "Don't cause trouble here. Keep this up and the wedding's off. You'll never get me to marry you..."

Before he could finish, the doors to the venue opened.

A man strode in with a cold laugh.

"Who said Cece was ever going to marry you?

"After the way you treated my sweetheart, did you really think that pathetic company of yours still had a chance of going public?"

Frank's face darkened at the man's audacity.

Chloe turned toward the voice too.

A second later, she recognized him. He was the same man from the photos she'd shown everyone at the wedding.

She grabbed Frank's arm and shook it excitedly.

"Mr. Carter! It's him! The guy Cecilia cheated on you with!"

Frank recognized the man's face too.

His face flushed with rage, and his gaze snapped to me.

"Cecilia! You really did cheat on me!"

He raised a hand to strike me, but a bodyguard caught his wrist and forced him to the floor in one swift move.

"Open your eyes and take a good look! This is Richard Bennett, head of Bennett Industries - the company that's Carter Group's largest investor.

"And he's Ms. Bennett's father."

Frank went completely still.

"Her... father?"

Before Frank could recover, a senior exchange official hurried over and greeted my father respectfully.

"Mr. Bennett, what brings you here in person?"