Todos los capítulos de The Heart They Stole: Rebirth of the Scapegoat Bride : Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 5

“If you die, just think of it as paying back the air you’ve wasted for twenty-three years.”My mother’s voice was as cool as the sterilized tiles of the operating theater. She didn’t look at my face. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the surgical consent form in her hand, her thumb stroking the paper with a rhythmic, anxious twitch. She wasn’t worried about the needles that were about to pierce my skin; she was worried the ink wasn't dry enough on the legalities that would save her ‘precious’ son.“Sign it, Elara,” my father added. He stood by the window, the harsh afternoon sun casting his shadow long and jagged across the floor. He smelled of expensive cedarwood and the metallic tang of the hospital. “Leo is the only heir this family has. You? You’re just a girl with a cursed mark and a debt to pay. This heart is the only thing you’ve ever possessed that is actually worth something.”I looked down at my hands. They were trembling, the hospital gown—thin, scratchy, and smelling of indu

The word was quiet, but it carried the weight of a gavel. Leo paused, his hand inches from the flask. "What’s your problem now, Elara? Are you jealous that she didn't make any for you?" "Actually," I said, walking toward them. The heels of my shoes clicked against the hardwood like the ticking of a countdown clock. "I’m worried about your health, Leo. You’ve always had a sensitive stomach. Who knows what 'herbs' she found in the slums? For all we know, she’s been cooking hemlock in a rusted pot." "How dare you!" Mother screamed, standing up. "Elena is a saint! She’s trying to bond with her brother, and you’re accusing her of—of what? Poor hygiene?" "I'm accusing her of being a stranger," I said, looking Elena dead in the eye. "Seventeen years is a long time. People change. Some people get bitter. Some people learn how to extract what they want from those who abandoned them." Elena’s hand trembled—just a fraction. She knew I was seeing through the veil. She quickly turned to Leo,

The night air was a sharp, biting reminder that I was alive. As I slipped through the back gate of the Silas estate, the mud ruined my silk shoes, but I didn't care. Every step away from that house felt like shedding a layer of lead. I wasn't just walking into the dark; I was walking toward the only man who had ever seen my talent as a weapon rather than a charity case.In my past life, I had been so brainwashed by the "loyalty" my father preached that I viewed Mister Joe as a predator trying to lure me away from my family duties. I had ignored his letters, blocked his calls, and eventually, he had stopped asking. I had chosen a cage of gold over a throne of diamonds.I flagged a taxi at the edge of the district, my breath hitching as I gave the address to the Vanguard Tower. It was a sleek, glass needle piercing the city’s skyline, a monument to the jewelry empire that rivaled—and often crushed—my father’s stagnant business.When I stepped into the lobby, the silence was heavy and ex