Chapter 2

Adriene pushed open the heavy carved doors of the Morales main estate. The grand foyer was blindingly bright. The smell of expensive lilies and lemon polish hit her nose, and for the first time in three years, the sheer luxury of it made her want to vomit.

Brenda, the head maid, rushed forward, reaching for her soaking wet trench coat.

Adriene stepped back, avoiding the touch. "Just run a hot bath," she ordered, her voice flat.

Soft footsteps echoed from the top of the sweeping marble staircase. Elaina walked slowly down the steps, wrapped in a pure silk robe. She looked down at Adriene, her eyes filled with a sickening, superior pity.

"Adriene, why are you all wet?" Elaina asked, her voice dripping with fake concern. "Running around the city in the middle of the night? It's not safe."

Adriene stared at her. The cold water dripped from her hair onto the marble floor. She didn't say a word. She turned and walked toward the hallway leading to her wing.

Elaina's pace quickened. She stepped directly in front of Adriene, blocking her path.

Elaina leaned in, dropping the sweet voice. "You can't even keep your own husband's attention," she whispered, a cruel smile twisting her lips. "Running around in the rain like a stray dog."

Adriene didn't flinch. She looked Elaina up and down. "At least I'm a wife. Not a widow living off her dead husband's family like a parasite."

Elaina's face instantly contorted. The smugness vanished, replaced by a dark, ugly rage.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elaina saw the flash of headlights sweeping across the front windows. Dallin's car was pulling up. A vicious, calculating light sparked in Elaina's eyes.

She spun around, walked straight to the display pedestal, and shoved Eleonora's prized Ming dynasty porcelain vase.

The crash was deafening. The priceless antique shattered against the marble floor, sending razor-sharp shards flying in every direction. One large piece sliced directly into Adriene's calf.

A sharp sting shot up Adriene's leg. Warm blood immediately began to trickle down her skin.

Elaina collapsed to the floor, covering her face with her hands, and let out a piercing, hysterical sob. She shook violently, acting as if she had just survived an attack.

The front doors burst open. Dallin rushed in, the cold night air swirling around him. His eyes instantly locked onto Elaina sitting in the middle of the wreckage.

He stepped right over the broken porcelain, his expensive shoes crunching on the shards, and pulled Elaina tightly into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, then slowly turned his head to glare at Adriene. His eyes were murderous.

Adriene stood perfectly straight. She felt the blood running down her leg, pooling slightly at her heel. She looked at the two of them, watching the pathetic performance with absolute zero emotion.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dallin roared, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Why did you push her? Why did you smash the vase?"

Adriene opened her mouth to speak, but the heavy, rhythmic thud of a wooden cane hitting the floorboards interrupted her. Eleonora, the matriarch of the Morales family, stood at the top of the stairs. Her face was a mask of pure fury.

Eleonora looked at the shattered Ming vase and her chest heaved. She pointed a trembling finger at Adriene. "You uncultured trash! You bring nothing but chaos into this house!"

Dallin stood up. He walked over to Adriene, stopping inches from her face. He leaned down, his voice dropping to a harsh, dangerous whisper that only she could hear.

"Admit you did it. Right now. Or I cut off the funding for your father's hospital bills."

Adriene's pupils dilated. Her heart seized in her chest, a painful, suffocating squeeze. Her father. He was her only weakness. She clamped her jaw shut, her back teeth grinding together.

Eleonora was still screaming about family honor. Adriene closed her eyes. The humiliation burned in her throat like acid.

"I'm sorry," Adriene said, her voice hollow. "I knocked it over by accident."

Eleonora let out a disgusted scoff. "This is a desecration of our home," she announced loudly. She turned to the butler. "Cut off all of her supplementary black cards immediately."

But Eleonora wasn't done. "And revoke her access to the family trust. She gets nothing until she learns how to behave."

Adriene kept her head down. Her fingernails bit so deeply into her palms that the skin nearly broke. She felt the absolute, crushing weight of having all her power stripped away in a matter of seconds.

Dallin didn't say a word in her defense. He turned his back to her, bent down, and gently scooped Elaina into his arms.

He carried Elaina past Adriene, his eyes focused entirely on the woman in his arms. He didn't even glance down at the blood dripping from Adriene's leg.

As Dallin carried her away, Elaina rested her chin on his shoulder. She looked back at Adriene and smiled. It was a wide, victorious, deeply malicious smile.

The foyer slowly emptied until Adriene was left standing entirely alone in the center of the shattered porcelain.

Brenda nervously approached with a first-aid kit.

"Thank you, Brenda. I'll handle it," Adriene said softly. She turned and limped up the stairs, each step pulling at the cut on her calf.

She walked into her freezing, empty bedroom and locked the door. She slid down the wall until she hit the floor. She stared at the blood drying on her skin. She didn't shed a single tear.

She reached under the false bottom of her nightstand drawer and pulled out a hidden backup phone. Her eyes were sharp, focused, and deadly. She dialed her best friend Kaia's encrypted number.