Chapter 3

Margery's face flushed red with anger.

"Kathleen, you're so vicious! Why can't you stand to see me do well? Why would you curse me like this!"

Brent immediately soothed her gently.

"Maggie, ignore her. She's just talking nonsense because she's out of options, deliberately trying to spite you."

The guests murmured among themselves.

"Who doesn't know Mr. Wise spoils Miss Harding to the skies? His favoritism toward her has never changed since they were children."

"On Valentine's Day a few days ago, I heard Mr. Wise released a sky lantern for Miss Harding at an auction, spending at least a hundred million. Who would dare question that kind of devotion?"

"Exactly. A wild girl who ended up out in the countryside actually thinks she can break up this perfect couple. It's laughable."

Silas, who had been standing behind the Harding family, walked straight over to Margery, gently took her hand, and spoke in a soft, firm voice.

"In this life, I will marry no one but Maggie."

"The moment Maggie reaches legal age, we'll get married. I'll throw her a wedding no one can rival, and make her the happiest woman in the world."

The vow rang out with conviction, the favoritism shameless and open.

Margery instantly went from tears to a smile, lifting her eyes at me in triumph, her gaze full of showing off and provocation.

But the words had barely left his mouth when the Wise family's butler rushed into the hall, his voice filled with utter panic.

"Mr. Wise! Something terrible has happened! Your father was in a serious car accident on the way here. His injuries are critical—he won't make it!"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence; you could hear a pin drop.

Without even wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the butler pulled out his phone.

The horrific accident scene on the screen made Silas suck in a sharp breath, a chill spreading through his whole body.

The butler's brows knit together tightly in anxiety.

"Right now, only your mortal enemy, the Delgado family, has a medical team that can operate on your father and save his life!"

While everyone was still frozen in shock, I bolted like a madwoman toward the dog cage.

My adoptive father already had a bad heart, and now he was clutching his chest, gasping violently, his face a mix of pale and blue, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

My adoptive mother was covered in blood, her breathing growing weaker and weaker, her eyelids so heavy she could barely lift them.

Seeing me rush over, she used the last of her strength to open her eyes to a sliver, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

"Kathy, I'm sorry... we dragged you into this..."

Tears crashed down at once.

I gripped the cold iron lock with both hands, shaking and wrenching at it desperately, but the heavy lock wouldn't open no matter what.

Behind me, Silas snapped out of it, his face torn with panic, and let out a low, sharp roar.

"Then get the Delgado family here! Whatever it costs, I'll pay it! No matter the price, you have to save my father!"

The butler looked troubled.

"The Delgado family has spoken. They don't want money. They only want... they only want..."

Silas was beside himself, his eyes bloodshot.

"Say it! Does he want my family's shares? The company? I'll agree to anything as long as it saves my dad!"

"He said you have to marry the beggar woman outside the door..."

The moment those words landed, the whole hall erupted.

Everyone turned in unison toward the doorway.

There stood a woman with filthy, matted hair, covered in mud, dressed in tattered rags, staring dumbly into the room and grinning foolishly at Silas.

Margery panicked in an instant, clutching Silas's arm tightly, her eyes rimmed red as she pleaded in a soft, wheedling voice.

"Silas! You can't marry her! That woman is ugly and filthy, she's a raving lunatic! Don't listen to the Delgado family!"

Silas went rigid, completely stunned, his lips trembling.

"But if I don't do what he says, my dad will die..."

Just then, Silas's phone rang.

Whatever was said on the other end made his face go from panic to ghostly white, until at last he looked utterly defeated, as if all the life had drained out of him.

He looked long at Margery, then spoke with great difficulty.

"Fine, as long as it saves my dad... I—I'll marry that beggar."

The firm vow from moments ago still echoed in the air, only to be crushed in an instant by cruel reality.

The whole hall boiled over, whispers rising and falling.

"He's really going to marry a beggar? Then what about Miss Harding? That grand wedding just now was all empty words!"

"This is too eerie! Kathleen just said Silas didn't want her anymore, and it came true! Could she have put some kind of curse on her?"

"It's just a coincidence, right? There's no way something that bizarre could happen."

Margery couldn't believe it and burst out crying with a loud wail.

Sweat pouring down my face, tears blurring my vision, I looked at my adoptive parents lying half-dead in the cage, and my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

I raised my voice and screamed.

"Whoever helps me open this lock, I'll earn him a billion dollars!"

Brent's face went livid, and he jabbed a finger at me and roared.

"You still dare to spout such brazen talk! It's all your jinxing mouth at work! You made Maggie lose Silas!"

"Somebody! Seize her! Lock her in the cage and let her reflect on her sins and atone!"