Two days later, at the morgue of a small church in the suburbs, I collected my grandmother's ashes.

As I bent to sign the papers, Vincent's call came through.

"Where are you? We had a dress fitting scheduled today. Why didn't you show up?"

I lowered my gaze, watching the staff carefully place the urn in a transport box. I was about to refuse.

But Vincent didn't give me a chance to speak and hung up.

"Text me the address. I'll send a car."

I didn't send it.

But less than half an hour after I left the church, a fleet of black cars pulled up at the entrance.

To my surprise, Vincent himself stepped out of the lead armored car.

He loosened the tie of his bespoke suit and gestured toward me with his chin.

"I was out of line the other day. No matter how busy I am with family business, I should have gone to see your grandmother."

"Even if you think her hands weren't clean, she's still the woman who raised you. I get that."

I frowned.

"Once we're married, she'll be your family too. And she would never steal anything."

"Fine. Since the cross wasn't found on her, she didn't steal it. Serena said she was distraught over the late Donna's heirloom and panicked when she had her men take your grandmother."

"She feels terrible about having your grandmother thrown in the dungeon over this. We'll go and get her out personally in a bit."

The passenger side window rolled down, and Serena's delicate face appeared, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I heard your grandmother has a heart condition. I forgot to have someone prepare her medicine that day. It was so thoughtless of me. This is a special medicine flown in from Switzerland, the best and most expensive kind. Let's bring it to the old lady."

The innocent, radiant smile on Serena's face was like a blade in my eyes.

"Save it. Cut the act."

Serena's smile vanished.

Vincent's expression immediately darkened.

"Chloe, don't push it. Serena and I just postponed a family meeting with the capos to come here. I didn't drive all this way to watch you make a scene."

"Get in the car. Don't waste my time."

Serena nodded, looking wronged.

"Chloe, I'm being sincere. I've come to apologize. I was too reckless before. It was all a misunderstanding."

But what she called a "reckless misunderstanding" had cost my only family her life in a cold dungeon.

I clenched my fists and took two steps back.

"Apologize? Fine. Then get on your knees and apologize to her."

Serena's eyes instantly turned red.

"How can you say that? I came here with medicine and a sincere heart, and you're humiliating me…"

"Forget it. It's my fault. It's what I deserve for losing something so important. You two go try on the dress. I should have never come back from Italy…"

She threw the car door open as if to bolt, but Vincent grabbed her.

He pushed her back into the passenger seat, murmuring soft comforts. After a long moment, he looked up at me, his gaze cold.

"Chloe, I understand you're angry, but you don't have the right to speak for your grandmother."

"It doesn't matter. She can hear everything."

Vincent's expression faltered. I didn't wait. I turned and walked toward the cemetery.

The staff at the cemetery had already called several times. It was time for the burial.

Alone, I laid my grandmother to rest in the public cemetery in the South District.

By the time I finished all the arrangements and took a car back to the city center, night had fallen.

I didn't want to go back to the apartment. I found a random roadside motel and checked in.

Just after I showered, my phone started ringing incessantly.

Vincent was sending me picture after picture of wedding dresses.

When I didn't reply, the calls started, one after another.

I didn't even look. I just turned my phone off.

Just as I was drifting off, my door was kicked open.

Vincent saw me, and a wave of relief washed over him.

"You scared the hell out of me. No matter how angry you are, you don't turn off your phone. And you don't run away."

"Since you don't want to see Serena, I came to get you myself."

I couldn't fight him, so I got in the car.

Going back was fine. It would give me a chance to get the brooch my grandmother had left me.

Just as I pushed open the apartment door, the crystal chandelier in the living room burst into light.

Serena, dressed in a satin nightgown that exposed most of her pale legs, pulled a party popper with a loud bang.

"A special celebration for me and my dear Vincent, for the anniversary of our first big score together!"

I froze in the doorway.

Behind me, Vincent laughed.

"I thought you went home. What are you doing back here?"

"And all this fuss… I'm surprised you remembered."

So he had sent Serena home, then used the time to come and "get" me.

Vincent opened his arms, catching Serena as she threw herself into his embrace.

They wrestled playfully, and over his shoulder, Serena shot me a triumphant smirk.

I didn't say a word, just turned and went into the bedroom.

I pushed open the door.

What used to be my bedroom was now a chaotic mess, piled high with luxury shopping bags and boxes like a storage room.

Even the haute couture wedding dress Vincent had sent over a few days ago was tossed carelessly in a corner, slashed to ribbons and covered in dust.

Not that I had the heart to care anymore.

I lifted the pillow, feeling for the brooch my grandmother had left me.

The red silk cloth was still there, but it was empty.

My mind went blank. A deafening roar filled my ears.

Just as I wondered if it had fallen somewhere, I heard Serena's cloying voice from the living room.

"I was browsing a flea market today and found this antique brooch. It's rather unique."

"Vincent, let me pin it on your suit. Will you have a drink with me tonight?"

Vincent's tone was playful.

"You sly little fox. Don't think I can't see what you're up to."

"You just want everyone to see me wearing something you gave me, don't you?"

"Oh, so what if I do?"

"I know you're about to marry Chloe, but we grew up together. I've always seen you as a brother. Does getting married mean I'm not your sister anymore?"

Serena pouted, melting into his arms.

Their bodies were pressed close. Vincent toyed with the brooch, its emerald glinting under the lights.

My heart clenched.

I rushed over and tore her hand away.

"Give me that brooch! You don't deserve to touch it!"

I had barely used any force, but Serena cried out and collapsed onto the cashmere rug.

The brooch clattered onto the marble floor.

She looked up at Vincent, her expression wounded.

"Vincent, I was just trying to help you with an accessory. Isn't Chloe being a little unreasonable?"

"Besides, I bought this myself. I already gave up on the diamond cross. Is she really going to fight me over a brooch now?"

Vincent's face was grim. "Chloe, apologize to her!"

"I let you have your way at the church today. Now you will apologize to Serena. Immediately."

I stood straight, tilting my head back to look at him.

"Why should I? That was a gift from my grandmother. It's a family heirloom she wanted me to wear when I married you!"

Vincent was stunned for a second, then scoffed.

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. Your grandmother was just a poor old woman from the slums. If she had an antique of this quality, would she have needed to steal from the family?"

"Apologize!"

I couldn't be bothered to argue. I bent down and grabbed for Serena's wrist.

But Serena, like a cornered animal, bit down hard on the back of my hand.

I cried out in pain and let go. The brooch clattered to the marble floor.

Before I could bend down to pick it up, Serena lifted her high heel and brought it down with a vicious stomp.

There was a sharp, cracking sound.

A piece of my heart shattered with it.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed, my outstretched fingers trembling uncontrollably.

"Serena… that was the last thing my grandmother left me in this world…"

"Still lying with the evidence right in front of you, Chloe? Like grandmother, like granddaughter. She had sticky fingers and stole the family's cross, and now you're trying to snatch some cheap brooch from me."

She clutched her uninjured ankle, crying that she was going to have the bodyguards throw me out.

I couldn't hear anything. My ears were ringing. My only thought was to lunge forward and rip that hypocritical mask from her face.

But as I moved to stand, Vincent slapped me across the face.

The force of the blow snapped my head to the side. His eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Chloe, I always thought you were different."

"I can't believe that after all this time with me, you've become so greedy and materialistic, so shallow that you'd fight Serena over some trinket she bought…"

"Listen to me. I'm giving you one last chance. You have one week. Get this brooch repaired by a master craftsman, and then you and your grandmother will come and bow your heads in apology to Serena."

"If I don't see your sincerity, not only will I call off the wedding, I will have you completely cast out of the family!"

With that, he bent down, scooped Serena up in his arms, and walked away without looking back.

I knelt amidst the wreckage, gathering the fragments of the brooch into my palm.

In the empty room, I wept silently.

That night, I tore the engagement ring from my left ring finger and packed up everything I could take, shipping it all away.

Then, with a one-way ticket south, I boarded a plane.

Meanwhile, in a high-end private hospital.

Vincent waited until the last day of the week, but I never showed up to apologize.

Serena leaned back lazily against her pillows, opening her mouth to accept a grape he fed her.

"Vincent, do you think Chloe got scared of the family's punishment and ran away? For the wedding tomorrow, how about you let me be your bride instead?"

A cold dread gripped Vincent's heart.

He glanced down at the phone that hadn't lit up once all week, forcibly suppressing the unease churning in his chest.

"She wouldn't. She knows better than to miss her own wedding."

He thought for a moment, typing, deleting, and retyping a message before finally sending it.

[You don't have to kneel. Just give the repaired brooch to Serena. I will still be the groom at tomorrow's wedding.]

The signal icon spun for a long time before the message sent.

A second later, it turned into a glaring red exclamation point.