Chapter 2

A sharp sting tore across my neck.

I covered the wound with one hand as warm liquid trickled between my fingers.

“Ah! Blood!”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

Five-year-old Mia Harding screamed and ran toward me.

Then she kicked me hard in the knee.

Pain shot through my leg. I stumbled backward and nearly fell, but Julian caught me as he rushed inside.

My lips trembled.

I had just opened my mouth when his furious voice cut me off.

“Elena, didn’t I tell you Mia has hemophobia?”

“The last time you deliberately exposed her to blood, I let it go.”

“But this time, you’ve gone too far.”

His cold accusation left me stunned.

Before I could react, Mia shoved herself between us and threw her arms around Julian.

“Daddy, you’re finally home!”

“I was almost scared to death!”

She pushed me aside so violently that I fell to the floor.

The cold marble beneath me seemed to seep straight into my chest.

I looked down at my phone.

An hour had already passed.

I was about to speak when Julian rubbed his temples and sighed wearily.

“Elena, don’t you think you’re being ridiculously petty about the money?”

“Vanessa only charged a little money to your card, and you tried to have her arrested?”

“You’re Julian Harding’s wife. How can you behave like some cheap, money-grubbing nobody?”

My ears rang.

I stared at him, unable to believe those words had come from his mouth.

After Julian and I started dating, we had eaten ten-dollar skewers from roadside stands.

We had bought matching thirty-dollar T-shirts.

We had squeezed into photo booths that charged ten dollars for three pictures.

Dressed in his perfectly tailored suits, Julian had followed me through crowded streets and tiny shops without showing the slightest trace of embarrassment.

But now Vanessa had stolen the $600,000 my brother gave me.

All I wanted was for her to face the consequences.

And somehow, that made me cheap and greedy in Julian’s eyes?

My throat tightened until it hurt.

I clenched my hands and forced out the question.

“Julian, Vanessa used my card without permission. What she did was wrong.”

“Why shouldn’t I report her?”

“Do you even know that money came from my brother through the Valenti Family trust?”

“My brother is—”

“I don’t care who your brother is!”

Julian cut me off before I could finish.

He rubbed his temples again, his voice growing harsher.

“I’ve already had your police report blocked.”

“I’ll let your behavior slide this time.”

“But tomorrow is the anniversary of your parents’ deaths. You won’t be attending the memorial.”

“Stay home and reflect on what you did until you understand why you were wrong.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

A violent pain suddenly twisted through my abdomen.

I doubled over, clutching my stomach.

By the time I managed to look up again, Julian had already left.

I stood alone in the living room, the wound on my neck still burning.

Then my phone rang.

“Elena, we’ve completed our investigation. The Valenti Family’s No. 001 beneficiary account was indeed compromised.”

“The Family’s legal team has notified its local representative. A security team will arrive at the residence within one hour to handle the matter.”

After the call ended, I supported my stomach with one hand and lowered myself onto the living room sofa.

The moment my back touched the cushions, something sharp drove deep into my flesh.

It felt as though it had pierced straight through my skin.

My vision went black for a second.

I struggled to stand and braced both hands against the table.

But my palms stuck fast to the surface.

A servant’s voice drifted over from behind me.

“Mrs. Harding, I forgot to warn you.”

“Mia has recently become obsessed with short-form dramas about punishing evil women.”

“She set up all these traps herself.”

“She said only an evil woman would fall for them.”