Chapter 4

Nina's POV

By the time I pushed open the front doors of the Vance estate, it was already dusk.

The moment I stepped onto the second-floor landing, I knew something was wrong. The door to my secluded guest room stood slightly ajar, accompanied by the rustling sounds of someone tearing through things.

I shoved the door open. The sight inside made my fists clench instantly.

The once-neat room looked like a hurricane had ripped through it. Closet doors hung open, clothes were strewn across the carpet, and my books were scattered everywhere. Even the small locked drawer on my desk had been pried open with a screwdriver.

Chloe was sitting on my unmade bed, casually twirling an old silver pendant necklace between her manicured fingers. The pendant was shaped like a small lily.

It was the only possession I had on me when I was abandoned at the orphanage—the sole keepsake left by my biological mother!

"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped, taking predatory strides forward.

Chloe flinched, but quickly recovered her composure. She tilted her chin up, her face twisting into a nauseating sneer. "What does it look like? I'm looking for my missing diamond bracelet. Who knows if a broke orphan like you stole my jewelry?"

She dangled the silver necklace mockingly. "Nina, everything you own was paid for by the Vances. Did you really think you had private property? Trash like you makes me sick."

"Give it back," I commanded, my voice dropping to a dangerous chill as I closed the distance.

"Make me!" Chloe scrambled up, lifting the necklace high out of my reach. "Beg me! Get down on your knees and beg, and maybe I'll—"

Before she could finish, my arm shot out like lightning. I gripped the other end of the chain and yanked violently.

*Snap!*

The fragile silver clasp sheared under the force, and the pendant tumbled onto the rug with a muffled thud. The whiplash of the chain sliced a thin red line across Chloe’s wrist. She immediately shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Ah! You dared to hit me?!"

Downstairs, Evelyn heard the scream and rushed up the stairs. The moment she caught sight of the red welt on Chloe’s wrist, her eyes flared with fury. She lunged forward and shoved me hard.

"Nina! Have you lost your mind?! What are you trying to do to Chloe!" Evelyn screamed.

The shove knocked me back two steps, my spine crashing hard against the heavy edge of the wooden wardrobe. A dull thud of pain radiated across my back. But my face didn't register an ounce of hurt; I simply bent down, picked up the broken necklace, and squeezed it tightly in my fist.

"She ransacked my room first," I stated flatly.

"So what if she did!" Evelyn pointed a trembling finger right in my face. "Every single square inch of this house belongs to the Vances! You're living under my roof—what's wrong with Chloe looking through your things? If you can't tolerate Chloe, get the hell out of this house!"

I stared at Evelyn’s contorted, furious expression, and the absolute last ember of warmth in my heart died out.

"Oh, and another thing," Evelyn added with spiteful venom. "I discussed it with your father—we aren't paying for your advanced piano certification exam next month. That money is going toward Chloe's private equestrian lessons. She needs to break into the elite social circles, and horse riding is a must. As for you, you won't need that kind of vanity anyway. Stop wasting Vance money."

First my career prospects, then my dignity, and now my last remaining passion and hard-earned art—they wanted to crush it all.

I lowered my eyes, masking the lethal frost beneath. "Understood."

Without sparing Evelyn or Chloe another glance, I walked downstairs.

Down in the foyer, Brandon had arrived at some point. He was lounging on the designer Italian leather couch, long legs elegantly crossed.

Chloe ran down the stairs like a weeping damsel in distress, throwing herself down beside him and holding up her scratched wrist with pitiful whimpers.

Brandon frowned, a flash of protective sympathy in his eyes. He picked up an ornate silver fruit fork from the crystal platter on the table, speared a piece of dragon fruit, and gently fed it to Chloe's waiting lips.

Chloe smiled sweetly, biting down on the fruit, and cast a blatant, triumphant smirk toward the shadow of the staircase.

Standing in the dim hallway, I watched the tableau. That silver fork was something I had hand-carved and polished in an artisan metalsmith shop back during my sophomore year, paying for the materials with my own part-time earnings, and gifted to Brandon for his birthday. He had claimed he hated sweets, but said that if I gave it to him, he would gladly eat anything.

Now, he was using the fork I spent nights hand-crafting to feed another woman.

I didn't take another step forward. I turned around silently and walked back into the ransacked bedroom.

3:00 AM.

The Vance estate had settled into absolute silence, everyone lost in deep, comfortable slumber. No one knew, and no one cared, whether the girl at the end of the hall was asleep or awake.

I dragged out a single black carry-on suitcase. Inside were only a few sets of clothes I had bought with my own internship paychecks, along with the broken silver lily necklace. The luxury clothes, couture dresses, and expensive jewelry bought with Vance money remained untouched.

I changed into a sharp trench coat and pulled my long hair into a high, clean ponytail.

Taking one final look at the room I had occupied for ten years, I turned the framed engagement photo of Brandon and me face down on the desk, burying it alongside ten years of Vance "charity."

*Click.*

The front door shut with a quiet latch. Carrying my luggage, I stepped out into the thick, dark night.

A pre-booked yellow cab was waiting by the curb. The driver helped me load the suitcase into the trunk and asked, "Where to, miss?"

I slid into the backseat, watching the silhouette of the Vance mansion shrink into the rearview mirror. My voice was crystalline and firm, echoing clearly in the quiet car:

"The Hayes ancestral estate."