Chapter 3

Cecilia’s POV

Adam stepped in, his tone sharp. “You told me you weren’t upset. So why are you lashing out at Eva again? Postponing the registration was my decision, not hers. If you’re going to blame someone, blame me.”

The dizziness surged again. My vision blurred at the edges, my breathing turned shallow and uneven.

“Let me go,” I tried to pull away, but Sebastian only shoved me harder.

I fell onto the carpet. The impact jarred my knees, but the pain there was nothing compared to the tight, crushing ache in my chest.

“What’s going on here?” Papa’s voice cut through the room.

Sebastian didn’t hesitate. “She’s picking on Eva again, Father. She may pretend to be sweet in front of you, but I saw how she treated Eva just now. She hasn’t changed at all.”

I tried to sit up, but my arms trembled beneath me. Still, I lifted my head just in time to see Father’s gaze land on me.

“No wonder you apologized earlier,” he said coldly. “You just wanted your mother and me to stop watching so you could bully Eva again?”

I was on the floor, struggling to breathe. And Eva stood there, untouched.

How was I the one hurting her?

“I didn’t…” I managed.

“She did,” Sebastian cut in immediately. “I saw it. Adam was here. He heard it too, didn’t you?”

Adam’s voice came, calm and distant. “She ignored Eva just now.”

That was enough.

Father’s expression hardened. “Guards.”

“Yes, Don.” Two men stepped out from the hallway.

“Take Cecilia Thornwood and lock her in the basement,” Father ordered. “She is not to come out until I say so.”

I looked up at Father. The light cast shadows across his face, and for a fleeting second, I saw him as he once was—years ago—when he would lift me into his arms and laugh.

Cece, my most cherished prize.

The memory felt like it belonged to someone else’s life.

The guards hauled me to my feet. My legs barely held. They dragged me across the floor.

“Please… let me go back to my room first,” I whispered.

Father’s voice drifted behind me, emotionless. “Since she enjoys making others feel helpless, she can have a taste of it herself.”

Mother sighed softly. “How did I raise a daughter like this…”

Eva’s voice trembled—perfectly measured. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Cece wouldn’t be like this…”

And almost at once, Adam and Sebastian answered together, “It’s not your fault.”

…

Click.

The basement door shut. The lock slid into place.

I rushed forward and pounded on it. “Open the door! Please—let me out!”

The pain had started spreading down my left leg. My chest felt crushed, like something enormous was pressing down on it.

“Please,” I gasped. “Tell Papa I’ll apologize. I just need to go out. I need to—”

My palm stung from hitting the metal. I kept banging until it went numb.

No one answered.

“Papa… please. I need my medication. I need to take the pill, or I will—”

“Miss Thornwood,” one of the guards finally said from outside, sounding almost bored. “Save your strength. Don and the family have already left the mansion. He said you are to remain here until he returns.”

Left.

They had left.

Darkness flickered at the edges of my vision.

How had everything turned like this so quickly?

Even if I had ignored Eva, hadn’t I told them I’d just had surgery? How could my own family show so little care? Not even the smallest decency?

They remembered Eva’s debut, her future, her every wish.

But they forgot me.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my back pocket. In the chaos, I had forgotten it was there.

With trembling fingers, I pulled it out.

I called Father. Voicemail.

Mother. Voicemail.

Sebastian. Voicemail.

Adam. Voicemail.

In the desperation, I remembered that Dr. May had given me her number before I left the hospital. She was too perceptive not to notice—no one had signed my waiver, and no one had come to pick me up. She must have sensed that I didn’t have anyone I could rely on. So she gave me her private number.

But before I could dial it, a message popped up on my screen.

From Adam, “Since you’re so upset about the Italy trip, maybe you should sit this one out. I still plan to go. Your father said he’ll introduce me to some important contacts. You can stay home and wait for me.”

I stared at Adam’s message for a second, then I laughed. It wasn’t loud, just bitter.

After that, I pressed call on Dr. May’s number.

She answered on the second ring.

When she heard my breathing, she didn’t waste time on unnecessary questions—she just asked for my location.

She said she would be here in ten minutes. Until then, I had to stay conscious, stay awake.

I slid down the wall and sat on the cold basement floor. The only sound around me was my own heartbeat—fast, uneven, too loud in the silence.

I had to stay awake, I told myself. So I forced my mind to drift back to my past life.

My earliest memories were of Papa praising me as his most beloved daughter—of believing I was precious.

Then came the day he brought Eva home, telling us we had to protect her, love her like our own.

After that, the scoldings began—how I wasn’t warm enough, kind enough, generous enough toward her.

Then I grew up a little bit. Eva transferred to my school. She was always surrounded by friends, laughter orbiting her wherever she went.

Back then, I had only one close friend. Somehow, Eva took that too.

After I graduated and began helping with the family casino business, I met Adam. We fell in love quickly—so quickly it almost felt unreal. I thought that maybe, finally, someone was truly mine.

But Eva started to show up, never openly hostile or obvious.

“Can I join you and Adam for dinner?” she would ask sweetly. And then she would sit between us like she belonged there.

“Can I borrow Adam for a party tonight? You know I don’t have a date.”

Little by little, she blurred the lines until I couldn’t tell what was mine anymore.

My eyelids felt heavy. I didn’t want to close them. But I was so tired.

The pain in my chest throbbed, spreading, pressing down harder.

Just before I let the darkness swallow me whole, the basement door burst open.

Voices and footsteps.

“Cecilia!” Dr. May’s voice cut through the haze.

She and several nurses rushed toward me.

I tried to say something, but no sound came out.

Slowly, I closed my eyes.