Chapter 3

Dawn barely broke when the iron door of the wine cellar was kicked open.

Before I saw her face, I heard Eleanor's voice.

"Genevieve, hand over every offshore account and car key under your name."

I looked up. She held a thick stack of asset transfer documents in her hand. Several family lawyers stood right behind her.

"Your West Coast trust funds, three oceanfront penthouses, and the four sports cars in the garage. Today, all of them are being frozen and signed over to Chloe," Eleanor threw the papers down in front of me with zero room for argument. "I wanted to say this earlier. Chloe had nothing under her name since she came back. You're leaving for Chicago anyway. You won't need these material things anytime soon. Give them to your sister."

The sheets scattered across the cold floor by my feet.

I looked at the long list of financial accounts I built with my own hands, working day and night. My voice came out cracked and barely audible.

"I bled for this family for so many years. Are you really stripping away the last thing I own?"

When the late Don died and the family's money lines froze, I stepped up under fire. Everyone called me the backbone of this family back then. Just because Chloe suffered in the slums, all my blood and sweat meant nothing?

"Stripping you? We are family. There is no yours or mine!" Eleanor frowned and cut me off with annoyance. "If you still see me as your mother, sign the papers."

The air turned heavy. In the end, I reached for the pen.

Before I could read the first page, Chloe rushed in. Tears filled her eyes as she glanced shyly at the bodyguard standing in the dark outside the iron door.

"Genevieve, after you leave, can you leave Nate with me as my personal driver?" Chloe sniffled. "He's an ex-military operator. Having him around makes me feel safe."

Nate stood guard at the door. His face changed in an instant. He marched in and gave a cold, flat refusal.

"Second Miss, I'm sorry. The late Don assigned me to protect Miss Genevieve. My contract only answers to her. I must go to Chicago with her."

My legs were nearly frozen, but I forced myself to stand straight up.

"No."

For over twenty years, this was the first time I lost control in front of the whole family. My hands were shaking, but my voice was pure ice.

"The houses, the cars, the trusts. Take them all to please her. I don't care. But not Nate. He is the only person in this entire estate I am taking with me."

Chloe screamed and ducked behind Marcus, trembling all over.

"Sister... please don't be mad..."

"Genevieve, what the hell is wrong with you!" Marcus snapped, shoving Chloe behind his back. He glared at me with cold fury. "He's just an ex-guard! What good is he in Chicago? You hold the late Don's blood marker. Who in the Great Lakes would dare touch a hair on your head? Chloe has nothing to protect herself. What's wrong with leaving him for her!"

"My lady does not have the marker!"

Nate snapped. He took a hard step forward, placing himself between Marcus and me. He pulled his gun without hesitation, keeping the muzzle pointed at the floor. He looked like an erupting volcano, his eyes bloodshot as he scanned the room.

"Two years ago, Julian was trapped behind the Great Lakes line! They gave us twenty-four hours before his execution! Miss Genevieve knelt by the late Don's deathbed all night! She traded that blood marker—the family's only get-out-of-jail card—back to the Great Lakes just to pull Julian back from the firing squad!"

Nate's voice roared off the stone walls, carrying two years of buried agony.

"The marker was handed back long ago! Why would the Great Lakes honor a dead debt? Miss Genevieve is going to Chicago empty-handed to die! And you want to steal the only man willing to take a bullet for her? What kind of monsters are you!"

The entire cellar fell dead silent.

Eleanor's face drained of color. She took a step back on instinct.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the metal stairs.

Julian rushed down. His eyes swept across the mess on the floor, then locked right onto Nate's gun with the safety off.

There was no shock on his face. Only deep anger.

"Nate, who do you think you're pointing that gun at?" Julian stepped forward. "The late Don gave Genevieve the marker for the family's survival! How could he let her throw it away on a whim? You spread these lies to tear the Sterling family apart from the inside!"

"I am not lying! The settlement receipt is right in—"

Julian didn't let him finish. A vicious right hook slammed into the side of Nate's face.

Nate took the blow hard. His body crashed into the brick wall. Blood split his lip wide open. The gun slid from his hand.

A chill ran down my spine. I threw myself forward to shield Nate.

"Julian, stop!"

A heavy thud of a cane sounded outside the door.

Arthur stood at the top of the iron stairs, looking down with a dark, twisted expression.

"Outrageous," Arthur's voice was cold as poison. "A hired guard dares to pull a gun in the main house. Dares to twist the late Don's words to cause an uprising."

"Don!" Nate coughed up a mouthful of blood, still trying to shield me.

"Break his shins," Arthur ordered without blinking. "Throw him on a cargo ship heading for the Far East tonight. He never sets foot on the West Coast again."

"No!" I lunged forward and grabbed Arthur's pants leg. My knuckles went white. My voice broke completely. "I'll sign! I'll sign every asset transfer right now! Don't touch him! Let him walk!"

Two armed guards ignored my begging. They pinned Nate to the ground right in front of me.

A heavy iron bar slammed down. The sound of breaking bone cracked through the air.

Nate choked on a scream. His body convulsed violently. Veins popped on his forehead. Cold sweat soaked his gear. But he clenched his teeth, his bloodshot eyes locked onto me, forcing a weak whisper past his lips.

"Miss Genevieve... don't be afraid..."

Two guards dragged him out by his feet like a dead dog. A thick streak of dark red blood smeared across the concrete floor.

Tears blurred my vision. I tried to crawl after him, but Marcus grabbed my arms and pinned me down.

"Sign, Genevieve," Marcus slammed the documents down. A cold metal pen was shoved into my shaking hand.

He gripped my knuckles so hard they turned white with pain.

Chloe hid behind Julian, sobbing quietly into her hands. Julian frowned as he wiped her tears, whispering soft words to calm her down.

At that moment, the violent pounding in my chest died.

I stopped fighting. Under Marcus's cold stare, I signed my name on every single paper, giving everything away.