Chapter 3

I was shaking, eyes blurring with tears.

Lina smirked. "You'll never have kids, right, Bella? Always so sick and frail... Remember all those surgeries? The doctors warned you—you'd never carry."

She leaned in, fake-sweet. "You really think Jackson would waste his future on your broken body? He's a mafia boss, heir to a billion-dollar empire. He needs a legacy, not some orphaned charity case."

They all thought I couldn't get pregnant. That's why it was open season.

My fingers went numb with rage. Lina, with her usual fake innocence, reached out and took my hand.

"Don't stress," she purred. "When I give him his first baby, you'll be the first to know. You'll make such a cute aunt."

That was it.

"Lina!"

Tears blurred my vision as I ripped my hand away and slapped her.

She hit the floor, her scream echoing down the hall.

"Isabella! You hit me!"

Before I could even breathe, I heard his footsteps.

Jackson burst in. "What the hell's wrong with you?!"

He scooped her up.

Lina clung to him, sobbing like some tragic heroine.

"It's okay," she sniffled. "Bella's just... emotional."

"I'm talking to you, Isabella!" he snapped. "Why'd you hurt her?!"

"I didn't... I didn't push her..." My voice barely held.

Their friends began showing up, and I felt the weight of their judgmental stares.

I was shaking. Jackson gave the room one cold sweep, then made the move that crushed me—carried her to the master bedroom.

Lina looked up, all soft and pathetic. "I'm fine... but Bella, could you grab the first aid kit?"

"You're seriously babying her after she trashed the whole party?!"

I turned to leave.

"You heard her, Isabella!" Jackson snapped, eyes blazing.

Even after everything, my body still moved like it was wired to his commands.

When I came back, she was curled in his arms, crying like some damsel.

The second Jackson saw me, he dropped her like nothing and turned on me.

"Massage Lina's feet. Now."

"No." Tears were already streaming. "I'd rather die."

"What?!" he exploded.

"I said no!" My voice cracked.

He lost it—shoved me straight down in front of her.

My knees slammed the floor. Pain shot up my legs as I clutched my stomach.

"Lina's the one I actually love! You can't even do the bare minimum. Always playing the victim, always comparing yourself to your sister."

"Jackson!" I gasped, my whole body caving in. "Do you even care that I'm—"

"Enough," Lina cut in, all fake concern and sparkly eyes like she was the one being attacked.

She reached for his hand, angelic. "Don't blame Bella... she's just stuck in the past."

Then she turned to me, voice soft, eyes dripping superiority. "We're twins, born the same day, but our lives? Total opposites. I was healthy, raised by Mom and Dad, sent to private schools, loved, spoiled.

"And you? Because of your little 'condition,' you got dumped in an orphanage. You've always been the family's dirty secret.

"You know Mom never even says your name? She's terrified someone'll ask, 'How could you abandon your own kid?'

"You're the stain she can't scrub off. Me? I'm her pride."

"Shut up!" I screamed.

Smack.

Jackson's hand cracked across my face.

"Enough!" he yelled.

Lina gasped, all fake panic. "Bella, don't take it the wrong way. Jackson's just emotional..."

My head spun. Blood slipped from the corner of my mouth.

Then pain—hot and stabbing—ripped through my stomach.

I looked down.

Bright red was soaking through my dress.

"Blood..." I whispered.