From large dolls to small, handmade trinkets, everything was a gift from him and Glen.

He scoffed. "I thought you were tough. Talking about leaving, yet you're packing up all this junk? Aria, you're pathetic."

He was so focused on humiliating me that he didn't see the word "TRASH" scrawled in bold black marker on the side of the box.

Natalie, standing by, shot me a disdainful look before turning to Clark, her voice coquettish.

"Glen already booked a table to celebrate me getting the offer from the Vanguard Research Institute. Let's hurry and get changed. We can't keep him waiting."

Clark stroked her hair, his expression softening with adoration.

Natalie blushed, then glanced back at me.

"Aria, don't get the wrong idea. They're just celebrating me getting the job. They don't have any other feelings for me. We're all family here."

Hearing this, Clark glanced at me. He saw no reaction.

He impatiently pulled Natalie closer.

"Why are you wasting your breath on her? She's a nobody with no job and a ruined reputation. From now on, she'll have to survive on our charity."

After that, they ignored me, changed their clothes, and left.

The next day, while I was out getting my visa processed, I ran into a colleague from the institute, Ryan Cole.

Seeing the passport in my hand, he looked surprised.

"I thought you'd back down after what happened yesterday. I didn't expect you to actually agree to go to Zurich. That project is a real grind."

The overseas assignment from Vanguard was grueling. I'd been hesitant, unwilling to sever the bonds of my childhood.

But now, I had to look out for myself. There was nothing left for me in that house.

I had to discuss a few things with Professor Davies, so I went to the institute with Ryan after getting my papers in order.

At the entrance, we ran into Natalie and the others.

When Glen saw me, his brow furrowed, his tone sharp with reprimand.

"Aria, didn't you promise me you'd give up the spot? What are you doing here? Are you going back on your word?"

"Professor Davies has been very good to me," I replied, not wanting to cause a scene. "I just wanted to apologize to her in person."

But Natalie wouldn't let it go.

"The institute is only hiring one person this year. It's not a place for just anyone. Professor Davies and I just met, and she was very pleased with me."

She waved the documents in her hand.

Ryan, standing beside me, couldn't stomach her attitude.

"The institute hires based on ability, but also on character. Every researcher here is an elite who has passed a rigorous selection process, not someone who got in through connections."

Color flared in Natalie's cheeks.

Glen, looking displeased, stepped in front of her.

"Aria, when did you start associating with people like this? Make him apologize to Natalie. Now."

I stared at Glen, dumbfounded by his audacity.

"This is the institute's chief virologist, Ryan Cole. He's also one of the lead researchers on the very project you 'sponsored.' You want him to apologize?"

Hearing this, Natalie quickly pasted on a smile and extended her hand.

"Oh, Dr. Cole, it's an honor. I've heard so much about you. My name is Natalie Reed. I'll be your colleague from now on."

But Ryan didn't even glance at her, completely ignoring her outstretched hand. He turned to me and said gently, "Let's go, Aria. The professor is waiting."

With that, he swiped his keycard and led me into the high-security internal area.

Natalie froze, stomping her foot in a fit of rage.

Glen's eyes followed me as I walked away, his expression unreadable. Then he calmly took out his phone and made a call.

"The plan is still on, but I need it fast. I want it on GossipWire's front page within half an hour. The more sensational the headline, the better."

I stayed at the institute until evening, confirming sample data with Professor Davies and finalizing our departure time for the next morning.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with news alerts.

I tapped one open.

Pop-ups flooded the screen, each one a nightmarish clip of my ordeal—of me, humiliated and violated.

The headline was bold and glaring: Downfall of a Tycoon's Adopted Daughter: Trapped in an Orgy.

My blood ran cold. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I stumbled, crashing into a glass sample cabinet.

How could this be? I had already promised to give up the spot. I had already backed down. Why wouldn't they just let me go?

The memories of those nights flooded back like a nightmare. The dark, damp basement, the masked men, the cold instruments...

"Aria!"

My arm was badly cut by the shattered glass, blood pouring from the wound, but I couldn't feel the pain. Just as my knees gave out, Professor Davies and Ryan rushed to my side.

Seeing my state, Professor Davies's eyes welled with tears.

She was an old friend of my parents, an elder who had watched me grow up.

She knew me. She knew I would never do something like that.

She held me tightly as I trembled, just like my mother used to. I could no longer hold back and sobbed uncontrollably in her arms, the whole story spilling out of me in broken pieces.

She patted my back, her voice firm with heartbreak. "My dear girl, don't be afraid. We won't stay in this filthy place another second. We'll leave tomorrow and get away from these devils forever."

After a quick patch-up, I returned to the Knight mansion in a daze.

I had to get something back.

Natalie opened the door. When she saw me, her voice dripped with a false concern that couldn't hide her glee.

"Aria, your videos are all over the internet. How pitiful. I truly feel for you."

As she spoke, she preened, showing off the gemstone pendant on her neck.

That was the heirloom my mother had left me, set with an impossibly rare raw stone.

I always kept it locked away in the vault. How did she get it?

Clark walked over.

"Who let your video get out? Natalie was worried sick about you all afternoon and in a terrible mood, so I gave her the pendant to cheer her up. Besides, a person like you doesn't deserve to wear it anyway."

He said it so casually, as if he were discarding a cheap trinket.

In that moment, the last shred of illusion I held for him, the illusion of "family," shattered completely.

I didn't waste my breath responding. I just held out my hand.

"Give it back."

Clark seemed surprised by my defiance.

He spoke with contempt.

"Your mom's dead, so it's useless to you. The institute is holding a welcome party tomorrow. Natalie can wear it and make a splash. That would be putting it to good use."

I no longer hesitated. I lunged at Natalie.

My hands wrapped tightly around her neck.

"Give it back!"

My expression must have frightened Clark.

He froze, stunned.

But Glen, who had just walked in on the scene, reacted instantly.

He kicked me hard in the ribs, sending me flying.