My half sister always had a habit of disappearing.

Every single time my fiancé Apollo's men found her and brought her back, Agatha would cry, play the victim, and tell him I was the one behind it.

The ninth time she vanished, Apollo finally snapped.

I still remembered the look in his eyes that night. Cold. Deadly. The kind of look that made grown men lower their heads and pray not to become his next target.

Apollo Riccio. The ruthless Don of De Sangue. The powerful CEO of Riccio Group. The man everyone feared.

He had me dragged to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

I didn't understand what was happening until I saw the coffin waiting in the middle of the concrete floor.

My blood turned cold.

“No...” I whispered, shaking my head. “Apollo, what are you doing?”

He stood in front of me with one hand in his pocket while the other lazily spun the ring on his finger. The warehouse lights carved sharp shadows across his features, making him look less like a man and more like the devil himself.

“This is your last chance, Elarisse.” His voice was dangerously low. “Tell me where the fuck Agatha is.”

“I d-don't know!” Tears blurred my vision. “I swear I don't know.”

Apollo laughed coldly. “Still lying to me?”

He gave a slight nod.

The next second, his men grabbed me.

I screamed, kicked, and struggled until every muscle ached, but nobody listened.

The coffin lid opened and the moment I saw what was inside, nausea rose violently in my throat.

Maggots writhed across the filthy interior. Rats crawled over rotting wood, their tiny red eyes reflecting the dim warehouse lights.

“No! No, Apollo!”

I completely lost control.

He knew.

God, he knew! He knew I was terrified of rats and maggots. He knew I couldn't even look at one without panicking and yet he didn't blink.

“PUT HER IN.”

The men obeyed immediately.

I fought so hard my nails split against their arms, but what could I do against trained soldiers?

Nothing—absolutely nothing!

The lid slammed shut and darkness swallowed me whole.

I heard the lock click then something brushed against my ankle.

A rat.

A scream tore from my throat. Another crawled across my leg while maggots squirmed against my skin. The air inside the coffin felt suffocating. My chest tightened painfully as panic crashed through me.

I pounded desperately against the lid.

“Apollo!!!” My voice cracked. “Please! Please let me out!”

My heart was racing.

I had been born with severe hypoglycemia. Ever since I was a child, my blood sugar could drop without warning. If it wasn't treated immediately, I could lose consciousness or even die.

Did he forget that?

Or did he simply not care anymore?

“Apollo!” I screamed again. “I'm telling the truth! I don't know where she is!”

Outside the coffin, his voice came through calmly.

Almost casually.

“You think I'm stupid?”

I sobbed as my fists slammed against the wood.

“Apollo, please!”

“Agatha's missing because of you.” His voice turned even colder. “So stop wasting my fucking time and tell me where she is.”

“I don't know!” I cried. “I swear to God, I don't know!”

For several more minutes, he ignored every plea.

The rats kept moving around me. One crawled across my stomach, nearly driving me insane.

Then, through the panic, I suddenly remembered something.

A location.

A photo Agatha had posted on Instagram two days earlier. With the last bit of strength I had left, I screamed, “I remember something!”

“Talk.”

“The abandoned textile factory on the outskirts of North City! The basement storage room. That's where she was being held a few days ago!”

The warehouse fell quiet and a few seconds later, I heard footsteps.

Apollo was leaving but before he walked away, he gave one final order.

“Don't let her out.”

My heart stopped. “What?!”

“If she's telling the truth, I'll call.”

Then he was gone and just like that. He left me inside the coffin with the rats and maggots.

...

Half an hour later, someone finally opened it.

Fresh air rushed into my lungs, but I couldn't even move. My body was drenched in sweat. My heart felt as if it were being ripped apart from the inside.

I passed out before anyone could pull me completely out.

When I woke up the next morning, fever burned through my body.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling while memories of Apollo replayed over and over in my mind like a cruel joke.

Because once upon a time, Apollo had loved me.

Or at least I thought he did.

Apollo had been my father's closest friend despite being much older than me. Back then, I was a sick little girl who spent more time in hospital rooms than anywhere else, yet I followed him everywhere and invented countless excuses to visit the Riccio estate.

Whenever I lost my appetite, rare delicacies from private auctions and exclusive imports appeared at my doorstep. If I casually mentioned liking a designer dress, it would be waiting in my bedroom the next morning. Money meant nothing to Apollo, not when it came to me.

My father used to laugh whenever he saw us together.

“At this rate, Apollo's going to steal you away and make you his wife.”

I always denied it yet my face would turn bright red every single time because even then, I loved him.

I loved him so much.

When I turned eighteen, Apollo gave me a confession nobody in the city could forget.

Every major building owned by the Riccio family lit up with my name. Hundreds of black helicopters crossed the night sky carrying the De Sangue insignia while giant holographic projections illuminated the city skyline.

One sentence dominated the darkness.

“Elarisse, marry me.”

The entire city watched.

The entire underworld watched.

Aboard his private superyacht, surrounded by armed guards and the most powerful figures in the criminal world, Apollo wrapped his arms around me from behind.

His chin rested against my shoulder.

“Baby, say yes.”

Tears filled my eyes while he pressed a kiss against my temple and slipped a diamond ring onto my finger.

“I'll take care of you for the rest of my life.” His arms tightened around me. “In this life, the next one, and every fucking life after that.”

The city lights glittered across the black ocean while helicopters circled overhead like loyal sentinels.

And with tears running down my face, I nodded.

But less than eight months after our engagement, everything fell apart.

The Redd family went bankrupt. Years of pressure, debt, and humiliation crushed my father until his health deteriorated so quickly that even the doctors couldn't stop it.

On the day he died, Apollo stood beside his hospital bed. My father's hand trembled as he grabbed Apollo's wrist.

“A-apollo... t-take care of Elara...”

He struggled for breath before continuing, “And don't ever... don't ever let anyone hurt her.”

Apollo's jaw tightened. For a moment, he looked exactly like the man I fell in love with.

“You have my word. I'll protect her.”

My father passed away a few hours later.

After the funeral, I moved into the Riccio estate.

Back then, everyone in Chicago knew how much Apollo Riccio adored me. How much he spoiled me as if I were the most precious thing in his world.

At least, that's what everyone believed.

Until Agatha Redd appeared.

My half-sister. She was 3 years older than me. The daughter my father had with another woman years before he met my mother.

Nobody knew she existed until she arrived carrying a DNA test and a stack of documents proving who she was. By then, her mother had already been dead for years. She claimed she'd grown up alone in foster homes and shelters with no family to rely on. An orphan. A pitiful girl.

At least that was how she presented herself.

Big innocent eyes, a soft voice, constant mistakes, always looking helpless. People couldn't help wanting to protect her.

Especially Apollo.

She joined Riccio Group as Apollo's assistant shortly afterward, and that was when everything started changing.

At first, it seemed harmless.

One evening during dinner, Apollo chuckled while scrolling through his phone.

“You know that girl nearly shot a hole through my office wall trying to learn how to use a handgun.”

I looked up and he was smiling.

“She spent twenty minutes arguing that the safety was broken before realizing she hadn't even switched it off.” His laugh deepened. “So I had to teach her myself.”

Something uncomfortable twisted inside my chest.

Apollo rarely talked about anyone, yet here he was talking about Agatha again and again.

“She's a disaster,” he continued. “Every time I give her a simple task, she somehow turns it into a crisis.”

His voice carried a warmth I hadn't heard in months.

Why did it hurt so much? Why was I jealous over something so small?

I told myself I was overthinking but I was wrong.

...

Months later, Agatha accidentally handed sensitive documents intended for one of Apollo's allies to the wrong family. The mistake nearly caused a major conflict and jeopardized a deal worth hundreds of billions.

Apollo walked into the conference room. Everyone expected him to explode— instead, he just laughed.

Then he reached over and ruffled Agatha's hair.

“Our Agatha's just too innocent.”

She'd nearly caused a disaster.

Yet he wasn't angry.

Another time, Agatha wandered into my dressing room and became fascinated with a vintage diamond necklace my mother had left behind. It was one of a kind and impossible to replace.

The next day, it was found shattered across the marble floor.

I knew exactly who had done it.

Agatha stood nearby with a guilty expression while Apollo examined the broken jewelry then he looked at her and smiled.

“It was an accident.”

That same afternoon, he commissioned an even more expensive piece.

Not for me, for Agatha.

I remember standing there wondering whether I should laugh or cry.

Had I become invisible?

Or had I simply stopped mattering?

The answer came on my twenty-first birthday.

The entire ballroom had been decorated for me. Guests filled every corner, and a towering cake stood in the center of the room.

Apollo was beside me cutting the first slice when he suddenly paused. His gaze drifted somewhere far away, and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Agatha loves tiramisu.”

The room fell silent.

Apollo glanced at the cake.

“If she were here, she'd probably claim the biggest slice before anyone else could touch it.”

Everyone laughed. Everyone... except me.

Something shattered inside my chest.

Because I finally understood.

Agatha wasn't just some assistant. She wasn't just my half-sister.

She'd already moved into Apollo's heart completely and there wasn't any room left for me.

...

After that, Agatha stopped pretending.

She'd show up at the mansion whenever she wanted. Sometimes she'd cling to Apollo's arm. Sometimes she'd spend hours in his office. Sometimes she'd look at me and smile, a smile nobody else seemed to notice, a smile that felt poisonous.

I swallowed every insult, every humiliation, every bit of pain. I kept telling myself to endure it.

Then she started disappearing.

The first time, Apollo nearly tore the city apart looking for her.

When she returned crying and trembling, she immediately pointed at me.

Apollo believed her.

The second time, he believed her.

The third time, he believed her.

The fourth time, he believed her.

By the eighth time, I already knew how it would end.

Every disappearance followed the same pattern. Before vanishing, Agatha would secretly tell me where she planned to go before tilting her head with a sweet, innocent smile.

The kind everyone loved.

“Do you think Apollo's going to lose his mind looking for me again?”

I never answered. She'd just giggle before leaning closer.

“Do you think he'll punish you this time too?”

My hands clenched.

Agatha's smile widened because she already knew the answer.

She disappeared eight times.

And I suffered eight times.

Apollo never once questioned her accusations, never once asked for proof, never once believed me.

I lost every single time.

That night, after he'd buried me alive in a coffin full of rats and maggots because of her, I finally fell asleep.

But even in my dreams, Apollo wouldn't leave me alone. His face kept appearing, growing closer, colder, more terrifying with every passing second.

I woke up gasping.

My pajamas were soaked with sweat, and my body trembled uncontrollably. For several seconds, I couldn't tell whether I was still trapped inside that coffin, whether rats were still crawling over me, whether I was even safe.

Eventually, reality settled in.

I sat up and stared out the bedroom window. A bitter laugh escaped my throat.

What was I still holding onto?

A promise?

A memory?

A ghost?

Slowly, I opened the wooden box hidden at the back of my closet. At the very bottom was an envelope.

My acceptance letter.

To the European Forensic Science Institute.

I'd secretly applied months ago, hoping to study forensic science and criminal investigation. It was the only future I'd ever imagined for myself that didn't revolve around Apollo.

The letter had been sitting there ever since because I knew he'd never let me go.

I stared at it for a long time before picking up my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed the number.

“Mr. Brahms...” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I've made my decision.”

A brief silence followed.

“I accept your offer.”

Mr. Brahms sounded genuinely relieved. “Elarisse... are you certain?”

“I am.”

“You've turned this opportunity down several times before. I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind.”

I forced a weak smile even though he couldn't see it.

“My circumstances have changed.”

He hesitated. “But your health... and your family. Will they allow this?”

Family?

The word almost made me laugh.

Apollo had stopped being my family a long time ago.

The first time I'd talked about studying overseas, he'd patiently talked me out of it.

“Elara.” He'd cupped my face so gently. “Be good. Your body's too weak for long flights. Once you're healthier, I'll take you anywhere in the world myself.”

Back then, I'd believed him.

Later, everything changed.

Whenever I brought it up, his face would darken.

“I promised your father I'd look after you.” His voice would turn cold. “So stop making shit difficult for me and stay where you're supposed to.”

After that, I never mentioned it again.

Not even after my acceptance letter arrived.

“I don't have any family anymore.” My voice came out barely above a whisper. “Mr. Brahms... I just want to build a life that's mine.”

A quiet sigh came through the phone.

“I understand. Orientation begins in a week. You should start preparing.”

“I will.”

As soon as the call ended, the front door downstairs slammed open so violently the whole house seemed to shake.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the mansion.

My heart clenched.

Apollo.

A second later, my bedroom door burst open.

He walked in wearing a black suit, his expression cold enough to freeze the room. Without saying a word, he grabbed my wrist hard.

Pain shot through my hand. The skin was still raw from clawing at that coffin yesterday, trying to escape the rats and maggots.

I flinched.

“Apollo...” I tried pulling away. “You're hurting me.”

He didn't even slow down.

“Where are we going?” I asked desperately.

His grip tightened.

“To the hospital.” His voice was flat. “You're going to apologize to Agatha.”

My steps froze.

“What?”

He finally looked at me. His dark eyes held nothing but anger.

“She twisted her ankle because of your bullshit yesterday.” His jaw clenched. “She cried all fucking night. Her eyes are still swollen. And you're going to apologize.”

For a moment, I honestly thought I'd heard him wrong.

She had only sprained her ankle but Apollo had buried me alive in a coffin crawling with rats and maggots and somehow, I was still the villain?

“Apollo...” Every breath hurt. “I didn't kidnap her. I told you already. I only remembered the location because Agatha posted it herself a few days ago.”

“Keep talking.” His eyes narrowed. “Let's hear what other bullshit you've come up with.”

I stared at him.

“You know...” His voice was dangerously calm. “Your father was one of the kindest men I ever knew.”

He took another step closer.

“So tell me. How the fuck did a man like him end up raising someone as rotten as you? Why can't you be like Agatha?!”

Everything inside me went still.

Dad...

This was the first time Apollo had mentioned him since the funeral. And he used my father to tear me apart.

Something inside my chest cracked.

Apollo suddenly kicked the bookshelf beside me. The massive shelf crashed onto the floor, sending books flying in every direction. The deafening noise made me jump.

He pointed toward the door.

“I don't give a damn whether you admit it. You are going to apologize. You can walk there, or my men can drag your ass there. Your choice.”

Before I could answer, a familiar voice came from the hallway.

“Please...”

Agatha limped into the room. A bandage wrapped around her ankle, and her swollen red eyes filled with tears the moment she saw Apollo.

“Apollo...” she sniffled. “Please don't blame my sister.”

She looked so fragile... so fake innocent like she'd never hurt anyone in her life.

“It wasn't her fault. I left on my own. My sister didn't do anything.” She wiped away another tear. “I made everyone worry. I'm sorry...”

Then, to my shock, Agatha slowly knelt in front of me.

She lowered her head as if she were the one asking for forgiveness.

Apollo's eyes turned bloodshot the second Agatha dropped to her knees.

“Agatha!”

His voice cracked with panic as he shoved me aside so hard I nearly lost my balance. He rushed over and gathered her into his arms as though she were made of glass.

“Apollo... p-please put me down.” Tears streamed down Agatha's face as she struggled weakly against his embrace. “I should be the one apologizing. I only made things worse between you and my sister. If anyone deserves to be punished, it's me. I'd rather be the one who dies.”

“Don't say something so ridiculous.” Apollo's voice softened instantly as he carried her to the sofa and carefully settled her down. “None of this is your fault. As long as I'm here, nobody's going to hurt you.”

Only after making sure she was comfortable did he turn to face me.

The warmth vanished from his face.

Only fury remained.

His stare felt sharp enough to kill.

“Happy now?” His voice was terrifyingly calm. “Is this what you wanted to see? Watching her cry, forcing her to kneel, making her blame herself. Does that finally satisfy you?”

I dug my nails into the blisters covering my palms. The wounds I'd gotten from clawing at that coffin yesterday split open again, sending pain shooting through my hands.

Good.

At least the pain kept me from crying.

Without warning, Apollo strode toward me, grabbed both my shoulders, and slammed me onto the marble floor. The impact knocked the air from my lungs.

“Kneel.” He leaned over me, his eyes burning with anger. “You're unbelievably stubborn. Apologize to Agatha, admit you were wrong, and I'll end this here.”

Slowly, I straightened my back.

Even while kneeling...

I refused to lower my head.

Apollo's expression darkened.

“So that's your answer?” He let out a cold, humorless laugh. “Fine. If you don't want to apologize, you'll spend the next ten days in the punishment room. You'll copy every word of De Sangue's code of loyalty and family rules until your fingers bleed.”

Every ounce of color drained from my face.

The punishment room.

Ever since Agatha entered our lives, Apollo loved locking me in there.

It was a tiny concrete room with no windows, lit by nothing but a single candle. There was no phone, no books, no contact with anyone. Only endless pages of De Sangue's rules waiting to be copied again and again.

Hour after hour. Day after day. The silence alone was enough to drive anyone insane. Every time I walked out, it felt like I'd left part of myself behind.

No! I couldn't go back.

Seven days. I only needed to survive seven more days, then I'd leave.

Forever.

I couldn't ruin everything now.

I looked around the mansion. Dozens of De Sangue soldiers stood silently along the walls, every exit heavily guarded. Even if I wanted to run, there was nowhere to go.

Humiliation crashed over me.

Slowly, I lowered my head and bowed.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

My forehead struck the cold marble floor with each bow.

“I... I'm sorry, Agatha.” My voice was barely audible. “I'm sorry for everything. Please... forgive me.”

Agatha hurried over and pretended to help me to my feet.

“Oh, Sister...” Her eyes filled with tears as she gently held my arm. “Please don't do this. I forgave you a long time ago. I never wanted things to end like this between us.”

The moment she pulled me closer, her lips brushed against my ear.

The sweetness disappeared from her voice.

“You lost again,” she whispered with a smile. “I told you Apollo would always choose me. No matter what happens, you'll never win.”