Chapter 2

The remaining guests didn't even try to hide their stares. They gathered in small, whispering clusters, their gazes flicking between me, holding an ice pack to my reddening cheek, and Melody, who was being comforted by a circle of sympathetic onlookers. They had all chosen a side, and it wasn't mine. I was the rich, cruel princess, and she was the beautiful, wronged victim.

"How could she treat that poor girl so terribly?" a woman in pearls murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.

"David is a saint for putting up with her," her companion agreed.

My father, David, stood with his arm around Melody, patting her shoulder. He avoided my eyes, his face a mask of weary disapproval. Ryan stood beside them, a conquering hero.

I felt a surge of cold fury. I walked directly toward my father, my steps deliberate.

"I want them out of this house," I said, my voice low but clear. "Her and her mother."

David' s head snapped up. "Don't be ridiculous, Chloe. You are the one who caused this scene. You will go to your room."

"This is my mother's house," I shot back, the words like stones. "And my mother would never allow this to happen. I wonder what she'll say when she finds out how you've let her daughter be treated."

The mention of Evelyn changed the air. David' s face paled slightly. The guests fell silent. Even in her absence, my mother's name was a weapon, a reminder of the true source of the wealth and power David now wielded so comfortably. He was the CEO of Sterling Corporation, but she was the founder and the majority shareholder. He was her husband, but he was also her employee.

Just then, a woman glided through the remaining guests, her movements smooth and practiced. It was Sarah, Melody' s mother. She was older than my mother, but she carried herself with an air of practiced fragility. Her eyes, however, were sharp and calculating. She went straight to David, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"David, don't be harsh with Chloe," she said, her voice soft and full of understanding. "She's just a young girl who's not used to sharing her father's affection. It's a difficult adjustment."

Her words were perfectly crafted to sound kind while painting me as a jealous child.

David' s expression softened as he looked at Sarah. That old, rekindled flame was obvious to anyone who bothered to look. He was so easily swayed by her mock sympathy.

Ryan, emboldened by his father's support and Sarah's presence, took another step toward me. "You heard him. Go to your room. Maybe you'll learn some manners there."

He raised his hand again, as if to grab my arm and drag me away.

"Don't you dare touch me," I warned, my voice like ice.

He hesitated. The threat of my mother's name, of Evelyn, still held some power over him. He knew that while David might be his biological father, Evelyn had never formally adopted him. He was a guest in this empire, just like Melody, and his position was far less secure than he liked to believe.

Sarah saw his hesitation and smoothly intervened, her voice rising to address the remaining guests.

"You all see how difficult this is," she said, her eyes sweeping the room, gathering sympathy. "My Melody is such a sweet girl. She would never cause trouble. She looks up to Chloe, but Chloe... well, the pressure of being a Sterling is clearly a heavy burden."

She made it sound like I was cracking under pressure, unstable and cruel. The guests nodded, their faces full of pity for the manipulative duo. I was completely isolated, cast as the villain in my own home.

David was no help. His attention was completely captured by Sarah. He looked at her with a soft, nostalgic expression, his mind clearly drifting back to a time before my mother, before the Sterling empire. He was lost in a past fantasy, completely oblivious to the venomous drama she was orchestrating in the present. In that moment, he wasn't my father. He was just a man, weak and easily led, and I was utterly alone.