After securing her visa, Victoria returned home. The moment she stepped through the door, she came face-to-face with Marjorie—perfectly dolled up as always.

Marjorie launched into her usual lecture the second she saw Victoria. "Vicky, so you finally decided to come back? You've been staying out all night for days on end! What kind of behavior is that for a young lady?"

Victoria didn't even glance her way. Instead, she reached for the tall porcelain vase standing by the entryway and smashed it to the floor with all her strength. The sound was deafening, and shards flew in every direction.

Marjorie let out a shriek and stumbled back a couple of steps.

Victoria looked at her calmly, her strikingly beautiful face etched with contempt and iciness. "And who the hell do you think you are? How dare a home-wrecking mistress lecture me, the legitimate daughter? Remember this, Marjorie—as long as I'm still in this house, you will never be the lady of the house!"

Her words were sharp, each one a precise strike, leaving Marjorie pale and trembling with rage.

"Victoria! What on earth is wrong with you now?"

Hugh burst out of the study at the sound, rushing to steady Marjorie before she could collapse. He glared at Victoria with fury. "The second you walk in, you turn the whole place upside down! Can't you behave for once?"

Seeing Hugh protect Marjorie, Victoria felt nothing but disappointment and bitter irony. She sniggered. "I'm the one turning everything upside down? Fine. Just give me my share of the inheritance early, and I'll go abroad. I won't bother any of you ever again."

Hugh froze, then quickly plastered on a mask of false concern. "What nonsense are you talking about? Go abroad? What would a young lady like you do out there? Stay here. This will always be your home. We're family—"

"Family?" Victoria laughed as if she'd heard the greatest joke. "Stop the act, Hugh. You, her, and Cassandra—you're a family. My mother died, and with her, my home. Just give me my share. I want what's rightfully mine."

Hugh's expression darkened. After a long silence, he offered, feigning sincerity, "I know you're upset with the family. How about this? I'll give you five million dollars first. You can go on a trip to clear your head—"

Victoria scoffed, "Five million dollars? Hugh Calloway, everything you have today was built on the Monroe family's capital! On my mother's wedding gift! On the life she sacrificed to save yours in that crash!

"And now, you're using my mother's money to support this mistress and her bastard daughter, living in a house my mother bought, and you think five million dollars is enough to pay off her only child? Have you no shame?"

Struck in his most vulnerable spot, Hugh flushed with anger. "You! Fine! Tell me exactly how much you want. Just name it!"

Victoria had come prepared. She pulled a document from her bag and recited the figures and stock holdings with cold precision.

"You're insane! That's impossible!" Hugh exploded. "You're trying to take half of Calloway Corporation!"

Unfazed, Victoria walked to the window, looking down at the yard below, her tone deceptively light. "No? That's fine. I've planted explosives around the villa. Either you agree, sign the agreement, and hand over what's mine, or we all die here today. Your choice."

Hugh's eyes widened sharply. He pointed a trembling finger at her. "You… You lunatic!"

"Yes," she said calmly, meeting his eyes without a trace of hesitation. "A lunatic driven mad by all of you."

Hugh's expression turned ashen, and his breathing grew ragged as he stared at her, trying to gauge the truth of her words. In the end, raw fear of death won out over everything else.

He collapsed onto the couch, a cold sweat breaking out. With a shaking hand, he signed Victoria's asset division agreement.

"Now… Now go get rid of those bombs!" His voice trembled.

Victoria picked up the agreement, carefully examined the signature, and a cold, mocking smile tugged on her lips. "Relax. There are no bombs. I lied. Just like how you lied to my mother to get her to marry you. Like father, like daughter."

Only then did Hugh realize he'd been fooled. He was so furious he could hardly catch his breath. Pointing a finger at her, he sputtered for a couple of seconds, unable to form a complete sentence, "You… You…"

Victoria had no more patience for him. She turned to go upstairs.

"Stop right there!" Hugh called out, panting, struggling to contain his rage.

"Cassandra is bringing her boyfriend home for dinner today! I don't care how you've acted before, but you will sit through this meal properly!"

He emphasized his words, a clear warning in his tone. "Her boyfriend is Caden Larkson! You know the standing of the Larkson family in Dravenia! We cannot afford to offend them! Tame that rebellious streak of yours, and don't you dare cause any trouble!"

Victoria's footsteps halted mid-step, and she went rigid.

Caden was visiting? As Cassandra's boyfriend?

The very next second, the front door opened. Cassandra walked in, arm in arm with Caden, a sweet smile gracing her lips.

"Dad, Mom, I'm home!"

Hugh and Marjorie, who had only just recovered from her earlier shock, immediately plastered on bright, welcoming smiles. They hurried forward, fussing over Cassandra with exaggerated concern while greeting and scraping toward Caden with servile respect.

Only Caden's gaze lingered on Victoria. His brows furrowed noticeably the moment he saw her. It seemed that he was only now learning that Victoria was Cassandra's sister.

At dinner, Cassandra and Caden were seated on one side of the long table, while Victoria sat alone directly across from them.

Throughout the meal, Victoria watched as Caden meticulously cut Cassandra's steak for her and refilled her glass, and when a dab of sauce stained Cassandra's lip, he naturally lifted a napkin to wipe it away.

Marjorie beamed at the display. "Cassie, darling, how did you and Mr. Larkson meet? Tell me all about it."

A delicate blush rose on Cassandra's cheeks. "It was at a charity gala. I saw a stray cat stuck in a tree and tried to help it down, but I slipped and almost fell myself. Caden caught me, and later, he asked for my contact."

She finished, casting an affectionate glance at Caden.

Victoria couldn't suppress a derisive snort.

Cassandra had always hated animals. As a child, she'd even tortured Victoria's cat to death. The idea of her voluntarily rescuing a cat was absurd. Either this was a carefully staged performance by Cassandra, or she'd actually rescued the cat only so she could torment it later.

Victoria's mocking laugh cut sharply through the quiet dining room. All eyes turned to her.

Cassandra's expression faltered slightly before she smiled. "What about you, Vicky? Have you had any boyfriends these years? When will you bring him home to meet us?"

Victoria's lips curved into a bright, dazzling smile. "Bring one home? Oh, I couldn't possibly."

Cassandra tilted her head, puzzled. "Why not?"

Victoria's grin widened, turning wild and unrestrained. Her gaze flicked meaningfully toward Caden before settling back on Cassandra's face. Her tone was deliberately light and teasing.

"Because there are just too many. Unlike you, who's apparently so… lacking in charm that it took you three whole years to bring home just one."

She drew out her words, like a carefree enchantress, "Just so you know, I've got suitors lined up from the front gate of the Calloway residence all the way to Beurreton in Avernia. Honestly, I couldn't possibly bring them all!"

"Victoria!" Hugh's face flushed with anger, and he slammed a hand on the table.

Marjorie seethed, her chest heaving. Cassandra looked wounded, and her eyes welled up as she turned a helpless gaze toward Caden.

Caden set down his cutlery and calmly wiped his hands with his napkin. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he reached over and took Cassandra's hand where it rested on the table.

"You have no need to compare your charm to anyone else's, Cassie," he said quietly, his voice steady and certain. "In my heart, no one comes close to you. You are the best—unrivaled."

The words landed like a final, irrevocable verdict, driving Victoria straight into an endless abyss.

Cassandra's tears transformed into a smile of triumph as she clasped his hand back, her face radiant with happiness and quiet triumph.

Victoria stared at their joined hands. Her heart felt as though it had been crushed in an instant—shattered so completely that she could barely maintain her mask of defiant arrogance.

After dinner, the family of four chatted merrily on the couch in the living room.

Victoria had no desire to participate in their farce of domestic bliss and retreated to the garden. The evening breeze carried the coolness of early summer, but it did nothing to ease the suffocating weight in her chest.

Not long after, Cassandra appeared in the garden as well, wearing a victor's smile, gentle yet piercing.

"Enjoying the evening breeze alone, Vicky?" Her voice was soft, but her tone held unmistakable provocation.

"To be honest, I know why you're upset. I've heard from others about what happened between you and Caden over the past three years."

Victoria, who had her back to Cassandra, stiffened almost imperceptibly, but she did not turn around.

"Truth be told, I was pretty worried when I first learned about it," Cassandra said, stepping beside her and examining Victoria's striking yet pale profile. "After all, you're such a beauty, Vicky. There'd hardly be any man who wouldn't fall for you.

"What a pity, then, to be blessed with such a pretty face for nothing. Your mother couldn't win against mine, and you can't win against me either. Those three years were nothing more than a little charity I allowed you. Now that I've returned, it's time for you, the dupe, to bow out."

Victoria turned slowly. Under the moonlight, her eyes gleamed with startling brightness—not with the rage or grief Cassandra had expected, but with pure, icy mockery.

"Charity?" Victoria's lips curved into a smile.

She enunciated each word clearly, "Cassandra, have you been abroad for so long that you've forgotten exactly who you are?

"You're just a bastard daughter who only entered this house because her mother played the mistress. A pathetic woman who has to scheme and manipulate just to hold onto a man, and you dare stand here talking about charity?

"Your mother picked up the scraps my mother discarded, and you picked up the man I discarded. You and your mother are truly cut from the same cloth—always scavenging what others leave behind."

"You!" The smile froze on Cassandra's face. Color drained from her face, then flooded back in ugly patches. She hadn't expected Victoria, already trampled into the mud, to still have such a sharp tongue.

"What about me?" Victoria took a step closer, her presence overwhelming.

"You think you've won? You've merely picked up a man I was done playing with and discarded, and you're parading him around like a treasure. Cassandra, this is truly the height of your capabilities."

Cassandra trembled with rage under the barrage of retorts, her carefully maintained mask of gentleness shattering completely.

Victoria had no interest in continuing the exchange, so she turned to leave.

But in the exact moment she turned her back, a piercing, agonized scream tore from Cassandra behind her. Cassandra had fallen, her forehead striking the edge of a stone garden bench. Blood instantly bloomed, vivid and stark.

"Cassie!"

Almost simultaneously, Caden, Hugh, and Marjorie rushed out from the living room.

Cassandra lay on the ground, clutching her bleeding forehead, her eyes welling with tears. "Dad, Mom, Caden… This isn't Vicky's fault. I slipped."

Marjorie immediately threw herself over Cassandra, wailing hysterically.

"Cassie! Oh, my precious baby! How could you be so silly? Why are you still defending her after what she's done to you?"

Hugh's expression was thunderous. He jabbed a finger at Victoria, voice shaking with rage. "Victoria Calloway! You vicious girl! What have you done to Cassie now?"

Victoria stood motionless, watching the meticulously staged scene of entrapment unfold with cold detachment. Her gaze swept past the enraged Hugh, the hypocritical Marjorie, and finally settled on Caden.

He was already crouched beside Cassandra, carefully examining the wound. When he lifted his head, those deep, unreadable eyes fixed on Victoria, and for the first time, the usual calm was gone. What remained was a piercing, bone-chilling scrutiny.

In that moment, her heart chilled to the marrow. He… He didn't believe her either. Of course. Cassandra was the one he cherished. Why would he ever take Victoria's word over hers?

A faint, bitter smile tugged at Victoria's lips. Then, without warning, she stepped forward.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, she reached for a heavy ceramic flowerpot nearby. She brought it down without a moment's hesitation on the exact spot on Cassandra's forehead that was already bleeding.

The dull thump from the impact was followed by Cassandra's even more agonized scream and the collective sharp intake of breath from the others.

Victoria let go, dropping the shattered remains of the pot. Her voice came out eerily calm, yet her eyes glinted like poisoned blades.

"You'd better listen up. I didn't lay a finger on her earlier. But this time? This one's all me."

Everyone was stunned into silence, Caden included.

Victoria shook the remaining fragments from her hand and turned to walk away. But before she could take two steps, a bone-crushing force clamped around her wrist. Pain shot up her arm.

Caden held her in a vice-like grip, his expression dark and stormy. When he looked at Hugh, his voice came out ice cold.

"Mr. Calloway, I won't overlook such behavior from your daughter. I'm afraid I must insist you teach her a proper lesson."

Hugh, torn between his distress for Cassandra and his fear of Caden's influence, hurriedly agreed and scraped. "Don't you worry, Mr. Larkson! I will most certainly discipline this insolent, ignorant daughter of mine!"

He immediately barked at the bodyguards who had hurried over, "Grab her! Take her to the family memorial hall and lock her up in there!"

"How dare you!" Victoria struggled, glaring fiercely at Hugh.

But Hugh looked to Caden, his tone fawning. "Mr. Larkson, what do you think? I'll lock her in the memorial hall to reflect on her actions. Is that punishment sufficient?"

Caden scooped up the still-bleeding Cassandra in his arms. His gaze swept over Victoria with glacial indifference, and his thin lips parted to utter words of breathtaking cruelty.

"That's too lenient. I noticed the riding crop hanging in the study. It didn't seem to be merely for decoration."

With that, he strode away without a backward glance, holding Cassandra close.

Victoria stood as if struck by lightning, staring in disbelief at his retreating figure.

Had he… Had he just suggested that Hugh use a riding crop on her?