Chapter 3

"Knew you'd be hiding here. Absolutely shameless."

Chloe crossed her arms, looking me up and down with a sneer of pure contempt.

"Feelings change, Hannah. What's the point of embarrassing yourself like this?"

"Besides, Daisy is the heiress of Vance Enterprises. She beats you in wealth, looks, and status. Give it up."

Tyler leaned against the entryway wall, cutting his eyes at me with an irritated scowl.

"They're having their private engagement afterparty here in an hour."

"If you don't pack your crap and get out, don't blame us when we call security to throw you out on the street."

The way they looked at me made me feel like an ugly, pathetic circus act.

Amid the chaos, Ethan secretly caught my wrist, his voice dropped to a hurried whisper.

"Just calm down. I'll explain everything later."

"Her family is my biggest investor..."

Seeing him calculate his odds, trying to have it both ways, shattered whatever microscopic sliver of hope I had left.

With burning eyes, I screamed with everything in my lungs:

"Do you even know who she is?!"

"Her mother is the reason my home was destroyed and my mother went insane!"

"How... how could you do this to me?!"

Ethan froze, stunned disbelief washing over his features.

The next second, the elevator dinged, and Daisy stepped inside.

The pearl necklace draped over her collarbone instantly caught my eye.

That was my mother's heirloom necklace from her wedding day, given to me as my eighteenth birthday gift.

Daisy linked her arm casually around Ethan's, her voice sweet and innocent.

"I found it sitting in Ethan's dresser drawer. I thought it was pretty, so I just put it on."

"Big sister, you're not going to be petty over a little piece of jewelry, are you?"

It was a blatant, calculated humiliation.

I snapped. I lunged forward and ripped the pearl necklace off her throat with all my strength.

The string snapped, and pearls scattered across the floor, bouncing and rolling into every dark corner.

Just like the devotion I had poured into him over the years—smashed to pieces, never to be gathered again.

Daisy stood there frozen, her eyes wide with shock.

She clearly never expected me to react with such vicious finality.

Right then, my phone screen lit up.

A notification confirmed that my overseas transfer was officially processed. I had locked it in during the very last minute of the deadline window.

The day before my flight, I went to the psychiatric facility to see my mother.

When I pushed the room door open, I found Daisy holding my mother's frail, bony hand, smiling sweetly.

"Auntie, you're family to me too. I'll make sure to visit you often."

The moment she turned and saw me, a smug, triumphant smirk flashed across her face.

"I thought you were too busy throwing a temper tantrum to visit your own mother."

I locked eyes with her, my nails digging deep into my palms. "Do you have any shame at all?"

Daisy stood up languidly, leaning close to my ear to whisper mockingly, "What good is shame?"

"Ever since I found out Ethan was your boyfriend, I decided he had to be mine."

"After all, the guy you guarded like a treasure for seven years dropped everything the second I crooked my finger. It's hilarious."

Shaking with rage, I raised my hand to slap the smug look off her face.

Before my palm could even graze her skin, her knees buckled and she tumbled backward onto the floor.

She curled up, clutching her face, tears streaming down like a helpless victim.

"Hannah, I just came to check on your mom... why would you hit me?!"

In the blink of an eye, a crushing grip clamped onto my wrist.

Ethan shoved me aside with raw force. I lost my balance and slammed hard onto my knees.

A sharp, searing pain shot up through my joints.

He dropped down beside Daisy, gathering her protectively into his arms, brushing her cheek with frantic tenderness.

When he looked up at me, his eyes burned with pure revulsion and fury.

"Hannah Vance, you're a lunatic! Insanity really does run in your family!"

"Daisy is carrying my child!"

"If anything happens to her or the baby, I will destroy you!"

He scooped Daisy into his arms and stormed out of the ward without looking back.

Watching the scene unfold from the hospital bed, my mother suffered a catastrophic breakdown.

"Mistress! I hate mistresses!"

"You ruined someone's family! You filthy whore!"

She lunged out of bed, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt, screaming and thrashing.

She was so frantic that even two orderlies could barely hold her down.

Her eyes were completely unfocused as she flailed wildly, her slaps raining down on my face, stinging and sharp.

"Sedatives! She needs a sedative right now or she'll hurt herself!"

The doctor rushed in, yelling that they had to administer an emergency shot immediately.

However, that specific clinical sedative was strictly controlled, and only hospitals affiliated with Vance Healthcare had the clearance to release an emergency dispatch.