Chapter 1

Evelyn's POV

When Giselle Mercer saw me turn to leave without arguing, she only got more aggressive, clearly frustrated that she hadn't gotten a reaction out of me.

She picked up the bowl of herbal broth, wrinkled her nose in disgust, and dumped it straight into the trash. "Ugh, it smells like something you'd find in a dumpster! I can't even stand being near it. Grandpa only fell for your nonsense because he's too nice!"

The butler glanced at the discarded broth, then at the burns covering the back of my hand, his expression full of sympathy.

My skin was covered in tiny blisters. I got up at four every morning to prepare that broth, spending hours tending to it over a small stove. The rare herbs alone had cost me every penny I'd earned from scholarships and part-time jobs throughout medical school.

Hearing the commotion, my parents, Caspian Mercer and Vera Perron, came over. But instead of stopping Giselle, they immediately took her side.

"Evelyn, Giselle has been through so much while she was away. You're her older sister. Can't you cut her some slack?"

Vera frowned and waved a hand in front of her nose to clear the herbal smell. "Besides, Giselle's right. Those home remedies aren't reliable. Stop trying to impress your grandpa with all this weird, superstitious stuff. From now on, we'll listen to his nutritionist overseas."

Apparently, they thought I was doing all this just to win Kurt Mercer's favor.

If the Mercers hadn't taken me in all those years ago, I wouldn't have spent so much time and effort looking after them, let alone exhausting myself trying to keep the deadly poison in Kurt's body under control.

Grandpa took a piece of the bluefin tuna Giselle offered him and ate it.

He gave me a cold look. "Evelyn, this family raised you and provided everything you needed. The least you can do is show some gratitude. Giselle is my flesh and blood. Everything she does is for my own good."

I watched him eat the raw fish, knowing it could make his condition much worse. Any sympathy I had left for him disappeared.

"Fine. If you all think seafood is going to cure him, I'll leave. Just don't come crying to me when you regret it."

With that, I turned and went upstairs. Five minutes later, I came back down with a worn canvas bag.

Giselle and her parents were waiting in the living room. The moment Giselle realized I was actually leaving, she rushed over and snatched the bag out of my hand. "How do we know you haven't stolen anything from us?"

She turned the bag upside down and shook everything out onto the marble floor. Not a single piece of expensive jewelry was inside.

All I had were bags of herbs I'd stayed up late slicing, a few bottles of homemade ointment, and a medical textbook with pages so worn the corners were falling apart.

Giselle kicked the herbs aside in disgust. "Oh, my God! What is all this? Moldy roots and filthy dirt? Evelyn Mercer, you've been feeding my grandpa this garbage?"

Vera covered her nose and pointed angrily at the herbs scattered across the floor. "You ask us for 100 thousand dollars every month to buy your grandpa nutritional supplements!

"You keep telling us you're getting him the best products money can buy, and this cheap junk is what you've been spending it on? Have you been pocketing the rest of the money?"