Chapter 2

Aurora held the steering wheel of the Jeep with one hand. The tires transitioned from the muddy mountain roads to the perfectly smooth asphalt of Redwood City's wealthiest district.

She hit the brakes, stopping the Jeep in front of the towering, wrought-iron gates of the Lott Estate.

She rolled down her window and pressed the intercom button. She stated her name clearly.

"Aurora Lott."

The security guard inside the booth looked up. A flash of undisguised disgust crossed his face as he took in her cheap clothes and the beat-up vehicle.

The heavy gates slowly swung open. Aurora drove the dirty Jeep onto the circular driveway, parking it directly between a pristine Bentley and a custom Porsche. It looked like a piece of trash washed up on a pristine beach.

Aurora pulled the keys from the ignition. She pushed the door open and stepped out. Her heavy combat boots hit the marble steps. She looked up, her eyes coldly scanning the excessive luxury of the mansion.

She pushed open the heavy oak double doors. The blinding light from the massive crystal chandelier in the foyer made her squint slightly.

The head butler immediately stepped into her path. He looked down his nose at her.

"Miss, you need to remove those boots. You are tracking mud onto the Persian rugs." His tone dripped with superiority.

Aurora didn't even blink. She walked right past him, her muddy boots sinking into the expensive fabric, leaving a trail of dark, wet footprints across the foyer.

She walked straight into the main living room.

Eleanor Lott, the matriarch of the family, sat perfectly straight on a velvet sofa, sipping English black tea from a porcelain cup.

Eleanor heard the heavy footsteps. She looked up. Her eyes scanned Aurora like a barcode reader, taking in the cheap, damp trench coat and her relaxed, unapologetic posture.

Eleanor slammed her teacup down onto the glass saucer. The sharp clatter echoed loudly in the quiet room, a physical manifestation of her extreme displeasure.

Stella Lott, the adopted daughter, sat beside Eleanor in a custom-fitted designer dress. She didn't reach for a handkerchief to cover her nose; instead, a sickly sweet, perfectly practiced smile bloomed on her face. She leaned closer to the matriarch.

"Grandma, the air is a bit damp today, isn't it?" Stella said, her voice soft but engineered to carry across the room. "It reminds me of the smell of wet earth and mold from the deep countryside. It must be bringing back such vivid memories for Aurora."

She turned her wide, innocent eyes toward the doorway. "Aurora," Stella said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Was life in the trailer park really that hard? You look... exhausted."

Aurora shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her trench coat. She stood tall, looking down at the grandmother and the adopted sister. A cold, mocking smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth.

Eleanor's face tightened with fury. "You have no manners. You have no breeding. You are an absolute embarrassment to the Lott family name."

Aurora raised an eyebrow. Her voice was flat, completely devoid of emotion. "A family that threw me out into the streets ten years ago wants to lecture me about breeding?"

The words hit Eleanor like a physical blow. She shot up from the sofa, her finger pointing violently at Aurora's face.

"You ungrateful bastard!" Eleanor screamed.

Stella quickly stood up, wrapping her arms around Eleanor to support her. She looked at Aurora with wide, innocent eyes, throwing fuel on the fire.

"Grandma, please calm down. Sister probably just picked up these vulgar habits from the bottom of society. She doesn't know any better."

Aurora's eyes turned lethal. She took one slow, deliberate step forward.

The sheer physical pressure radiating from Aurora hit Stella like a wall. Stella couldn't breathe. Her body reacted before her brain did, stumbling backward in pure terror.

Stella's lower back slammed hard into the sharp edge of the glass coffee table.

She gasped in pain. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, playing the perfect victim.

Eleanor gasped, pulling Stella behind her defensively. "You savage! This is not your filthy slum! You will not act like a wild animal in my house!"

Aurora broke eye contact. She was entirely bored by their pathetic performance. She cut straight to the point.

"Where is my father, Kevin?"

Eleanor let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "That useless failure? He's living in the rundown guest house at the edge of the property. Where he belongs."

Aurora's jaw clenched tight. Her stomach twisted with cold anger at the blatant disrespect toward her father.

Stella peaked out from behind Eleanor, rubbing her back. "Since you are back, Aurora, there is a very important family obligation you need to fulfill."

Eleanor sat back down, smoothing her skirt, regaining her arrogant posture. "You will fulfill the family's marriage pact."

Aurora laughed internally. Breaking that exact pact was one of the reasons she had returned. But her face remained a blank mask. She waited for them to show their hand.

"The Lott family does not feed useless mouths," Eleanor stated coldly. "This marriage is the only value you have to pay us back for our protection."

Aurora slowly looked around the room, taking in the suffocating smell of old money and rotting morals. Her eyes held nothing but pure disgust.

She didn't reject the demand. She simply turned her back on them.

"I'm going to see my father," Aurora said coldly.

She walked out of the living room, her heavy boots echoing down the hallway. Stella watched the muddy footprints on the rug, a vicious, calculating gleam flashing in her teary eyes.