Chapter 3

My fingers clenched.

That gown had belonged to my grandmother. Father had entrusted it to me, hoping I would one day wear it when I married someone who truly loved me.

“Why should I? Her servant made the mistake. Why should I clean up her mess?”

Mother frowned as though she were discussing something perfectly ordinary.

“We're family. Why divide everything into yours and hers? Vivian is marrying into the Bellandi Family. We cannot let others laugh at her. You're only marrying a driver. You have no need for such an expensive gown.”

Then she muttered, “I don't know what Alessandro was thinking. Something that valuable should have gone to Vivian, not you...”

Her words pierced my heart like a needle.

In Mother's eyes, I did not deserve anything good.

Tears spilled down my face as I shouted,

“Because Father knew it was meant for his daughter! If he were here, he would never let you take what’s mine and give it to Vivian!”

Mother's face went white.

My voice shook.

“Sometimes I truly wish... I wish you'd stayed in South America and never come home.”

Then I would not have kept hoping, only to have every hope shattered again.

Mother flew into a rage.

“Take her to the basement. Today she'll learn what happens when someone defies the Donna.”

Mia immediately stepped in front of me and pleaded,

“Donna, please stop! Seraphina has been frail since childhood. She falls seriously ill every winter. She can't survive this kind of family punishment.”

That only made Mother angrier.

“Nonsense! She has lived with the Moretti Family all her life. I arrange doctors and supplements for her every year. How could she possibly be frail?”

I nearly laughed.

Her ledgers showed exactly how many of the supplements and gifts she sent from overseas each year were meant specifically for Vivian.

Almost nothing actually reached me.

The servants followed Mother's example.

Everything in Vivian's room was the finest money could buy.

When my cup cracked, no one replaced it.

When the heat in my room broke during winter, the housekeeper delayed repairs for a month.

No one cared about my education either. The language tutors and etiquette instructors hired by the family taught only Vivian. Mother refused even to let me sit in on their lessons.

I stopped Mia, walked to the bench in the center of the basement, and bent over it.

Mother's angry voice came from behind me.

“Stop acting as though you've been wronged. Today you'll learn that the Moretti Family's rules are not to be defied.”

Again and again, she brought down the black leather belt a guard handed her.

Within a few strikes, my shirt tore open and warm blood ran down my back. Cold sweat soaked my hairline, and even my breathing began to shake.

As my consciousness blurred, only one thought remained:

Let this beating be my way of giving back the life she gave me.