Chapter 1

Tags: Engagement Drama, Stolen Heirloom, Entitled Mistress, Face-Slapping, Broken Engagement

Right before my engagement party started, I noticed the only heirloom my father had left me was missing.

It was a flawless Imperial Jade pendant worth a million dollars.

I searched the entire venue in a panic, only to find it hanging around the neck of Chloe Brooks—Carter's so-called "foster sister."

Chloe looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Natalie, I just borrowed it to match my dress. You're not going to be petty about a tiny necklace, are you?"

Carter stepped in front of her protectively. "Natalie, it’s just something left behind by a dead man. Chloe likes it, so let her wear it for the night. Stop acting like a bitter, nagging housewife."

His mother, Eleanor, sneered from the couch while chewing on roasted pistachios. "You haven't even signed the marriage license yet and you're already throwing your weight around? Who do you think you are? Selfish brat!"

Looking at their shameless faces, I pulled out my phone and dialed my chief financial officer.

"Cancel the five-million-dollar investment wire to Carter’s company immediately."

If they thought I was petty, then this engagement was officially over.

I hung up the phone and stared at the three of them with a stone-cold face.

Carter froze for a second, then burst into an arrogant laugh.

"Natalie, quit putting on an act."

"Pulling your investment? You honestly think Vance Group can't survive without your five million?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes and tossed a nutshell onto the pristine floor.

"Exactly. She thinks she's some kind of mafia boss."

"Who are you trying to intimidate with a fake phone call?"

Chloe hid behind Carter, gently tugging at his jacket sleeve like a helpless victim.

"Carter, it’s all my fault. Natalie is mad because of me."

"Natalie, please don't fight with Carter. I'll take the jade off and give it back to you..."

She sounded like an angel, but her hands were clutching the jade tight against her chest. She had zero intention of taking it off.

I didn't even spare her a glance. I turned around and walked straight toward the VIP lounge behind the ballroom.

I had brought my own gown for the party.

More importantly, my mother's heirloom—a flawless Imperial Jade bracelet worth ten million dollars—was locked in the private safe in that lounge.

However, the moment I pushed open the door, my heart dropped.

The safe was wide open. The velvet box was gone.

The bracelet was missing.

My mother had placed it on my wrist on her deathbed. It was priceless.

"Looking for something, Natalie?"

Chloe’s voice purred from the doorway.

She had slipped in behind me, leaning against the doorframe while twirling a red velvet box in her fingers.

It was the exact box from the safe.

"Looking for this?"

Chloe tilted her lips into a smug, victorious grin.

I stared at the box, my eyes chilling to absolute zero.

"Put it down."

Chloe chuckled as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. She slowly opened the box and lifted out the glowing green bracelet.

"Wow, this color is stunning."

"Too bad Carter said this bracelet looks way too tacky on you. He said someone with my delicate charm is the only one worthy of its elegance."

I inhaled slowly, suppressing the volcanic rage rising in my chest.

"Chloe, stealing jewelry worth ten million dollars will get you locked up for the rest of your life."

Chloe’s smile stiffened for a second, but then her arrogance returned.

"Prison? Who are you trying to scare?"

"Carter told me that what's yours is his, and what's his is mine."

"How can it be stealing if my brother gave it to me?"

Just then, Carter and Eleanor strolled into the room.

Carter frowned the second he crossed the threshold, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Natalie, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"

"Chloe just likes the bracelet. What's the big deal if she wears it for a bit?"

"Do you have to threaten her with prison over every little thing? Can't you show a shred of grace as the future lady of this house?"

Eleanor spat an olive pit into a napkin and sneered at me with pure contempt.

"She’s an orphan whose parents are six feet under. Any dowry she brings into this family belongs to the Vances anyway."

"Chloe is Carter's sister. Using your trinkets is doing you a favor."

"Guarding your jewelry before the wedding even starts... God, you're so cheap."

Hearing their twisted, thieving logic, I almost laughed out loud.

This was the man I had loved for three years, and this was his family.

In their eyes, I wasn't just a bottomless ATM; even my deceased parents' heirlooms were free for them to plunder.

I checked my phone.

It had been exactly three minutes since I called my CFO.

My executive assistant was ruthless and efficient. The five-million-dollar wire withdrawal had already cleared.

At that exact moment, Carter’s phone began buzzing frantically.

The caller ID flashed: *Chief Financial Officer.*

I met Carter’s eyes, a cold smirk gracing my lips.

"Carter, pick it up."

"Let's see if your grand Vance Group is running so smoothly now."

Carter glared at me, swiping to answer.

"Hello? What's the panic about?"

The CFO's hysterical scream blasted through the speaker.

"Mr. Vance! We're ruined!"

"Rivers Enterprises just pulled their five-million-dollar capital injection!"

"Our credit line is shattered! The bank just called—they're calling in our loan early!"

"Mr. Vance, the company is going under!"

In an instant, Carter’s face turned whiter than a sheet of paper.