Chapter 2

The hall fell deathly quiet.

A flicker of discomfort crossed Ellie's face before she quickly choked up again. "Do you think I'm faking my suicide attempt?"

Ellie sobbed as if I had dealt her a crushing blow. "Fine. I'll do as you say and kill myself somewhere else..."

She had barely taken a step when Sarah Nobili, the Donna, pulled her into a tight embrace.

Tears still streaked Sarah's face, her expression full of tenderness.

But the moment she looked at me, that warmth turned icy.

"Lilith, I wish I could pretend you were never my daughter.

"How could I have given birth to someone so vicious and selfish that she'd push her own family this far?

"Does Ellie have to die before you're satisfied?"

She was supposed to be my mother, yet she treated her adopted and biological daughters completely differently.

Every word she spoke accused me. Any child would have been devastated to hear such things from her own mother.

I didn't even raise an eyebrow.

The Calvi and Cara families had given me all the recognition and support their Dons and Donnas could offer.

Donna Sofia Calvi doted on me as if I were her biological child and signed all her properties over to me.

Don Luca Cara gave me status equal to his own. I was the first person ever to be treated as the head of a family before being formally named heir.

That was worth far more than the empty affection the Nobili family offered.

So I agreed with her. "Yes, I am vicious and selfish.

"I was perfectly happy with the other two families. I never asked to come to a place where no one wanted me.

"If none of you wants to see me, tell the Don yourselves. The moment he agrees, I'll have a private jet pick me up."

John's expression darkened.

He looked angry enough to throw me out of the estate himself.

He had assumed I'd either accept Ellie as family to earn my place among them or complain to the Don, giving them an excuse to brand me as jealous and punish me for it.

After all, the Don despised anyone who vied for favor.

Instead, I didn't react and remained completely at ease, making the three of them look like the bullies.

John went to the desk, scribbled something, then held it out to me with obvious condescension.

"Lilith, stop using Father to intimidate us.

"If Father knew what you'd done, he'd regret bringing someone like you into this family.

"I've just drawn up an independence agreement. Once you sign it, you and the Nobili family will have no ties to each other, and neither side will interfere in the other's affairs.

"In public, you'll remain a Nobili princess, and we'll show you the respect your position deserves. In private, you'll have nothing to do with the family. You won't be responsible for the losses caused by Ellie's mistake. I'll ask Father to give you the same monthly allowance an heir would receive, as long as you stop causing scenes to force Ellie out."

He offered it as if it were an act of charity, certain I would accept with gratitude.

In their eyes, I was someone who latched onto powerful people and would gladly sign this so-called independence agreement for the status it offered.

Nearby, Jack scoffed. "Sign it, Lilith, and you'll get everything you want.

"You cling to one family after another. You even had a fortune teller lie for you. This has always been about money and status, hasn't it?"

I laughed too.

He didn't know those were the very things other people begged me to accept.

Sofia had gone on a hunger strike to force me to accept everything in her vaults and all her property deeds.

Luca had even wanted to rename his family after me as the ultimate proof of how much he valued me.

Yet my brother and fiancé actually believed I would compete with Ellie for either man's affection. It was absurd.

Ellie sat beside me like a startled deer and said softly, "Please don't be angry. John and Jack only acted impulsively because of me.

"Don't worry. The position of heir is yours. All I want is to stay with my mother and brother."

The next moment, I signed my name on the agreement.

Everyone in the room froze.

I smiled casually. "It's signed. Remember, all of this was your idea. You demanded that I stay out of Ellie's mess, and you wanted the family to have nothing to do with me."