She gently set the painting down, her eyes completely lifeless.

Suddenly, she grabbed the shattered champagne glass beside her and lunged at Reagan. The jagged edge sliced across Reagan’s fair cheek, and she panicked instantly, gripping Ariadnie’s wrist with both hands and struggling as hard as she could.

Ariadnie was using a lot of force. Just as the glass was about to reach Reagan’s neck, something slammed into her.

It was Rasper.

He kicked Ariadnie off Reagan and stepped protectively in front of her, fury burning in his eyes. His voice was cold. “Ariadnie! Are you out of your mind?”

Redmond hurried to help Reagan up, looking at Ariadnie with nothing but disgust.

“Bro, hurry up and teach this crazy woman a lesson! She was trying to kill Reagan!”

Tears streamed down Reagan’s face as she curled into Redmond’s arms. “She suddenly snapped and grabbed the painting. She said if she couldn’t have it, then I couldn’t either. I was so scared…”

Rasper’s expression grew colder. He looked down at Ariadnie from above, his voice heavy. “So you really are exactly what they said—vicious and unreasonable.”

Ariadnie scoffed stubbornly, lifting her chin even as her eyes reddened. “She destroyed the painting on purpose! She forced me to kneel, and then—”

“Enough!” Rasper cut her off, irritation flashing in his eyes. “Reagan is kind and innocent. She would never do something like that. But you? You’ve always pushed her around.”

He waved a hand at the bodyguards behind him. “Throw her onto the champagne tower. Give her a taste of her own medicine.”

Ariadnie clenched her teeth, her voice rough. “Every word I said is true!”

A trace of hesitation flickered in Rasper’s eyes until Redmond spoke up. “Everyone knows you lie without blinking.”

Reagan added, voice trembling, “Ariadnie… how could you accuse me of that?”

Whatever hesitation Rasper had disappeared immediately. He turned, lifting Reagan into his arms, his tone cold. “Stay here and think about what you’ve done.”

With that, the bodyguards threw Ariadnie onto the floor scattered with broken glass. She looked like a discarded rag doll.

Pain spread across her entire body at once. She struggled to her feet, clutching the ruined painting tightly as tears streamed down her face.

Her breathing turned sharp and uneven from the pain. She had just reached the main doors when she realized they were locked.

She collapsed to the floor, a searing ache tearing through her chest.

“Rasper… your heart is really that cruel.”

Suddenly, she saw flames rising from the wooden stage in the center of the hall. Her heart lurched.

“Help!”

She pounded on the door with all her strength, screaming until her voice turned hoarse.

“There’s a fire!”

The hall was lavishly decorated, and the flames spread quickly. With each crackling burst, thick smoke filled her lungs.

She fumbled for her phone, but there was no signal. All she could see were the messages Reagan had sent earlier.

[Thanks to you, I finally know how much Rasper cares about me.]

[It’s just a small cut on my face, but he booked an entire floor of the hospital and even brought in specialists for me.]

[But you? Does anyone even care whether you live or die?]

Ariadnie’s vision blurred. The moment the fire scorched her arm, she snapped back to alertness.

She couldn’t die yet.

She carried the hatred her mother and sister left behind. Even if she died, she had to drag those people down with her.

She slammed her shoulder against the door again and again, her eyes fierce and unwavering.

Just before she lost consciousness, she fell into a warm embrace. Someone scooped her up, his voice full of heartache.

“I’ve already ordered people to move against the Stallones. Anyone who lay a hand on you—I won’t let a single one of them walk free.”

When Ariadnie opened her eyes, she was already in a hospital room.

The sharp smell of disinfectant lingered at the tip of her nose. She looked around—there wasn’t a single person there.

It felt as if the man she’d seen before losing consciousness had been nothing more than a hallucination.

Lowering her head, she caught a faint cedar scent on her clothes, and her heart eased.

‘It was him.’

Remembering what she needed to do next, and the wedding that was just around the corner, she immediately pulled out the IV from the back of her hand, checked herself out of the hospital, and headed home.

When she got home, the place was completely empty.

Scrolling through Reagan’s Instagram Stories, she saw that Rasper and Redmond were busy cheering her up—buying her jewelry, even booking out Disneyland for her.

A stabbing pain pierced through Ariadnie’s chest, like thousands of needles driving straight into her heart.

She looked down at her arm. The burn wrapped under gauze radiated heat and pain, keeping her from falling asleep.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before a heavy body suddenly crashed onto hers, the strong smell of alcohol making her frown.

The man’s voice was hoarse, dripping with lust. “Babe…”

Ariadnie froze. The moment she snapped back to herself, she used all her strength to push Redmond away.

“Still throwing a tantrum?” His expression turned cold. His tone was impatient. “It was your fault. I just locked you up for one night. Nothing happened to you, did it?”

Ariadnie’s cold gaze settled on the tear mole at the corner of his eye. Suddenly, she laughed.

“You know I hate the smell of alcohol. Couldn’t you at least take a shower first?”

Thinking she’d finally calmed down, Redmond looked satisfied. He took off his clothes and went to shower.

The moment the water started running, Ariadnie grabbed his phone. She tried several passwords with no luck until Reagan’s birthday flashed through her mind.

The phone unlocked at once. A knowing glint flashed across her eyes.

‘So Rasper isn’t the only one who likes Reagan…’

She quickly opened the photo album and deleted every video on both the phone and the cloud.

Just as she was about to exit, she accidentally noticed a hidden folder in the cloud. When she opened it, her pupils constricted sharply.

She hadn’t expected Redmond to gift her something this valuable.

Without a second of hesitation, Ariadnie transferred all the data onto her own phone.

By the time Redmond came out wrapped in a towel, he was mostly sober. He dimmed the lights first.

“Babe, you should cover your eyes later…”

Before he could finish, Ariadnie’s stomach twisted violently. She rushed into the bathroom and gagged.

When she stepped out, Redmond was on the balcony making a call.

“Bro, could Ariadnie be pregnant? I don’t want this kid.”

After a while, he replied, “Alright, I’ll figure out a way to take care of it.”

When he turned around and saw Ariadnie’s cold expression, a chill shot through him.

“Babe… did you… hear anything?”

Ariadnie quietly stared at his face. A moment later, she spoke softly.

“No.”

A flicker of guilt flashed in Redmond’s eyes. “Something urgent came up at work. I need to head out now.”

Ariadnie showed no reaction at all. “Okay.”

The next morning, just as she stepped out the door to go in for an abortion, a speeding sports car suddenly came straight at her.

She saw the vicious, unhinged look in Reagan’s eyes.

A loud crash followed as the car rammed directly into Ariadnie. She was thrown hard onto the ground.

Struggling, she reached into her bag for her phone—only for Reagan, who had already gotten out of the car, to kick it out of her hand.

“Go die!”

Not long after, Ariadnie lost consciousness completely, collapsing in a pool of her own blood.

When Ariadnie regained consciousness through the stabbing pain, the doctor beside her said, “Fortunately, the baby in your womb is safe.”

He asked gently, “Do you want us to inform your family?”

Ariadnie’s lips were drained of color. “No need. I don’t have a family.”

The doctor had just walked out when she heard Reagan’s choked voice outside the room. “I really didn’t mean it, Rasper. The brakes failed… You won’t blame me, right?”

Rasper’s cold voice followed. “I don’t blame you.”

Ariadnie forced herself upright and rushed to Reagan, swinging a slap across her face.

“You deliberately hurt me and then fled the scene. I’m calling the cops!”

Reagan looked utterly shocked, trembling all over. “It’s all my fault. The brakes malfunctioned… It’s all on me…”

Ariadnie raised her hand again, but Rasper grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. “Ariadnie, she said she didn’t do it on purpose. It was an accident. There’s no need to be so aggressive.”

“I’m aggressive?” Ariadnie let out a cold laugh. “She tried to fucking kill me!”

Tears filled Reagan’s eyes, making her look pitiful. “It’s all my fault. Ariadnie, you can hit me or punish me however you want…”

Ariadnie’s pale lips curled into a cold smile. “No wonder—you’re the daughter of a mistress. You really know how to put on a show.”

Reagan burst into tears and bit her lip hard. “A-Ariadnie… How could you say that about me?”

Ariadnie turned away, grabbed the water pitcher from the bedside table, and splashed it straight over Reagan’s head.

“Just looking at you makes me sick!”

Rasper clamped down on her arm, squeezing hard enough to crush bone. “Enough!”

Ariadnie didn’t back down. She looked him dead in the eyes. “I want her in jail!”

She picked up her phone, but Rasper snatched it away. His gaze was cold as ice. “She hit you, yes, but she’s still your sister. You’d really send her to jail? You don’t need to file a report. No one in all of Houston will take this case.”

Gripping the hem of her dress until her fingers hurt, Ariadnie finally asked, “Rasper… After three years, what exactly am I to you?”

He lowered his gaze, voice low. “Of course, you’re my girlfriend. Don’t worry. I’ll punish her.”

He explained, “I won’t let her leave the house for a day.”

Ariadnie suddenly laughed and laughed until tears spilled down her face.

“That’s your idea of punishment?”

His brows tightened. “Enough. Just rest here for the next couple of days. I’ll take her home first.”

The day she was discharged, Ariadnie walked straight out of the hospital and got into a cab.

Soon, she realized the route was wrong. “You’re going the wrong way.”

But the driver didn’t respond.

A chill ran through her. She tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

The next second, the driver slammed on the brakes, whipped around, and jabbed a syringe of anesthetic into her arm.

Then, her vision went black.

When she opened her eyes again, her hands and feet were tied tightly. Before she could make sense of anything, a bucket of ice water crashed over her head.

The freezing cold shot through her entire body, making her curl up involuntarily.

A second bucket followed, the sudden splash startling her. Then a third.

Her blood felt like it had frozen solid; her body shook violently.

But she bit down on her lip, refusing to scream.

By the time the ninety-ninth bucket poured over her, her mind was barely conscious, drifting into darkness.

“Sir, I’ve done what you ordered.”

A man’s voice echoed from somewhere far away.

On the other end of the phone, a familiar voice replied, “Good. She must’ve learned her lesson by now. Send her back.”

Ariadnie’s heart clenched; she recognized the voice. It really was Rasper.

Just because she poured a pitcher of water on Reagan, he had someone dump ninety-nine buckets of ice water on Ariadnie.

In the end, completely drained of strength, she passed out for good.