Nina immediately opened her mouth to defend herself.

"I didn’t take it, I—"

Before she could finish, Patrick roughly grabbed her by the ear, his eyes full of disappointment. "The moment you came back, I knew you were up to no good! Just like your scheming mother—stealing now, are you? Tell me, where did you hide it? Don’t make me search you!"

The sudden accusation made my mind go blank. I instinctively rushed to protect my daughter, screaming at Patrick. How dare he hurt my child? Did he really believe everything Jennifer said?

Nonetheless, I was just a formless spirit. No one could hear my fury.

Nina clutched her ear, tears streaming down as she pleaded, "I didn’t take Aunt Jennifer’s bracelet! Mommy didn’t teach me to steal! She’s lying! She’s a bad person! Don’t believe her!"

Her tearful defense only fueled Patrick’s fury. He ordered her to kneel, then told Jennifer to search her.

With a triumphant smile, Jennifer pounced like a vulture, tearing at Nina’s dress.

"Where did you hide it?"

The beautiful princess dress was soon in tatters. Nina’s face burned with humiliation as she struggled against Jennifer’s grasp.

"I didn’t take it! Why won’t you believe me?!"

Unfortunately, Jennifer dug her nails into Nina’s soft skin, making her cry out in pain. I watched helplessly as my daughter was stripped to only her underclothes.

Seeing no bracelet, Patrick clenched his jaw. Furious at her defiance, he grabbed Nina and threw her into the study.

"If you won’t behave, then kneel on the acupressure mat until you learn your lesson!"

The sharp spikes made it impossible for her to kneel properly.

Patrick barked, "Kneel until I’m satisfied, then I’ll give you the music box!"

A bone-deep chill consumed me. I knew my daughter too well. She must have believed that if she obeyed, she could protect me.

Just as I feared, she stopped struggling. She knelt there, letting the spikes dig into her small legs, blood seeping out.

Meanwhile, Jennifer sat by the warm fireplace with Johnny, pretending to be concerned. "Patrick, she’s just a child. What if she gets sick?"

However, Patrick only stared coldly at Nina. "If she can’t endure this and make amends for her mistake, how can she be the heir of the Harts?"

Jennifer smiled triumphantly. When she saw the tattered princess dress, she felt even more victorious—both mother and daughter had lost to her.

While the family enjoyed a warm, happy evening in the bedroom, Nina lay beside the acupressure mat in the study, her body trembling.

Before she fainted, she mumbled, "Once Daddy isn’t mad anymore, I can wake Mommy up… Mommy, please wait for me…"

That night, as Patrick prepared to eat dinner, he suddenly asked, "How long has Nina been kneeling? Did she give in?"

His secretary, Lily, hesitated before answering in a trembling voice, "Three hours… She fainted just now."

"What?!"

His spoon clattered to the floor as his expression changed.

Before he could react, his phone rang urgently.

"Hello?"

A cold voice answered, "Mr. Hart, we received a report. We found a woman's corpse at one of your rental properties."