The crippled Don of Chicago demanded a bride from the Kovalenko family.

To secure a vital business alliance, my parents decided I would be the sacrifice, as they couldn't bear to send their precious adopted daughter, Sophia.

In my past life, I refused and fled. Sophia was forced to marry him instead.

Her subsequent affair and suicide brought disgrace upon our family and utterly destroyed our business.

I begged my fiancé, Marcus, to save us, but he only sneered:

“I spent a fortune to bring you all down. If you hadn't forced Sophia to marry that cripple, she wouldn't be dead!”

He threw me to his enemies himself, watching as I was tortured to death.

Only then did I realize: in everyone's heart, there was only Sophia.

Reborn, I volunteered to marry into the Chicago family.

But when I wore the matriarch's crown and stood at the pinnacle of power, they were all driven mad with regret...

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1

Seven years ago, Dante Torrino, the Don of Chicago's Torrino family, was ambushed. He barely escaped with his life but has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

Yet, when it came time to choose a wife, his long, slender fingers clutched the photograph of a Kovalenko daughter.

The Don gave the order: he would marry the Kovalenko daughter.

The news spread like wildfire through Chicago's underworld, and the heiresses of every family were waiting to watch Sophia become a laughingstock.

After all, everyone knew the Kovalenko family had only one doted-upon daughter: Sophia.

My parents were frantic.

As one of the most powerful families in the Ukrainian Bratva, they were used to giving orders, not taking them, but their entire expansion into the Chicago port system depended on this alliance.

They couldn't bear to let the apple of their eye marry a cripple, even if that man was the Don who controlled Chicago's entire underworld.

I gazed at my own youthful face in the mirror and silently counted down in my head.

Three, two, one...

The door was kicked open, and my brother, Viktor Kovalenko, was the first to burst in.

"Katya! You're the one with Kovalenko blood. This marriage should rightfully be yours. Why should Sophia have to marry that cripple?"

"Whether you like it or not, the Torrinos are coming for their bride in a week, and you will be the one to marry in Sophia's place!"

My parents were right behind him.

Judging by the anxious looks on their faces, they must have just rushed over from Sophia's room.

An hour ago, the house was in an uproar. Our old housekeeper, Elena, secretly told me that Sophia had sworn she would die before she married, smashing everything in her room.

My parents were scared out of their wits, and it took all their pleading and coaxing to finally calm her down.

They couldn't bear to force Sophia, so they came to pressure me instead.

But I am their only biological daughter!

I met Viktor's hate-filled gaze without flinching. "Brother, have you forgotten? Ten years ago, in front of all his men, Dad threw me out of the house himself and disowned me."

"He said he would only ever acknowledge Sophia as his daughter and that the Kovalenko family had only one heiress—her!"

"The Torrinos specifically want to marry a daughter of the Kovalenko family. If I, a disowned daughter, marry him, aren't you afraid of angering their Don and bringing ruin upon our entire family in Chicago?"

Sophia is not my mother's flesh and blood, yet she has usurped all her affection. Ten years ago, my mother was kidnapped by a rival family.

Our Moldovan maid took a bullet for her, dying on the spot and leaving behind a young daughter.

My mother, eternally grateful for the sacrifice, kept the girl by her side and personally raised her.

She not only gave her the Kovalenko surname and added her name to the family register, but she also gradually grew distant from me.

Sophia was charming and vivacious, and with my mother's doting, her status in the family soon surpassed mine, that of the trueborn daughter.

Being young, I couldn't hide my feelings and warned her not to forget her place.

But she showed no fear. Instead, she provoked me brazenly, and just as I lost my temper and pushed her, she stumbled sideways and fell into the ice-cold swimming pool.

Without a second thought, my mother dove in like a madwoman and pulled her out.

Sophia's little face was deathly pale from the cold. She timidly tugged on my mother's sleeve, whimpering, "Madam, I… I just missed my own mother so much, I accidentally called you Mom. Miss Katya, she… she wants me dead…"

My mother’s heart ached for her. "You silly child," she cooed, "from now on, just call me Mom!"

Then she turned to me, her eyes brimming with disappointment. "How could you be so cruel? Sometimes, I truly doubt you are my own flesh and blood!"

Watching them in their tight embrace, my heart felt as though a dull blade was slicing through it, inch by inch, the pain so sharp I couldn't breathe.

She wouldn’t even listen to a single word of my explanation. She just let my father lock me in the basement and then personally had my name struck from the family records.

Overnight, I became the only outsider in this family, while Sophia became the treasure of my parents' hearts.

They doted on her like that for ten years. Even my hot-tempered brother, Viktor, was completely disarmed by her.

In my past life, they had forced me to marry in Sophia’s place just like this.

Their cruelty shattered my heart, and I stormed out of the house that very night, only to find I couldn't escape my fate of being ruined by Sophia.

This time, I won't let my emotions get the better of me.

“If I recall correctly, the Kovalenko family’s next crucial shipment has to go through the Torrino family’s docks. Can you afford the consequences if they get angry?”

My reminder finally gave them pause. My parents hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say.

Viktor scoffed, “Are you blaming Mom for neglecting you?”

“Katya, how could I have such a petty sister like you... Compared to Sophia, you really don't seem like a Kovalenko!” In the past, his words would have broken my heart, but now, I no longer cared.

I knew this was the beginning of my revenge, and my chance to escape this hypocritical family.

A smirk played on my lips as I nodded respectfully toward my parents.

"Father, Mother, I am willing to marry that cripple from the Torrino family."

My parents' eyes lit up.

"However... I have a condition..."

"I want you to hold a family meeting and restore my status as the true heir to the Kovalenko family."

Hesitation crossed their faces.

"Well..."

Before they could respond, Viktor rushed in front of me and seized me by the collar.

"I knew you weren't that kind-hearted! After all these years, you're still holding a grudge against Sophia for taking your place!"

I twisted my wrist, forcing his hand away.

"You misunderstand, brother. This isn't out of selfishness..."

"Only when my status as the Kovalenko family heir is made public can I marry into the Torrino family with proper standing!"

My mother looked conflicted. After a long pause, she reluctantly conceded, "Fine. I'll make the arrangements now to hold a family meeting for you, restore your status, and I will personally tell them that Sophia is the one we adopted."

Sophia, leaning on her mother for support, had just reached the doorway when she heard those words. Tears immediately welled in her eyes as she whimpered pathetically.

"Mom... don't you want Sophia anymore?" After she spoke, she shot me a resentful glare and turned to run, but after only a few steps, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in a dead faint.

Quick as a flash, Viktor strode forward and swept her up in his arms. My parents, their hearts aching for her, rushed after them.

A bitter taste flooded my mouth.

In this family, I had always been the only outsider.

Word was that Sophia threw a massive fit when she woke up, but the family meeting went ahead as scheduled regardless.

I stood perfectly still, allowing the elderly housekeeper, Elena, to place a diamond necklace around my smooth neck, a bitter sense of irony washing over me.

I was their biological daughter, yet I didn’t own a single piece of decent jewelry.

Even this necklace was one of Sophia's cast-offs from last year.

If not for this special occasion, I doubt it would have ever been given to me.

For the first time in my life, my mother took my arm as we entered, and we took our seats. Sophia was seated on the other side.

In the audience were invited members of our family, as well as representatives from several other prominent families in Chicago.

"Thank you all for joining us. Today, I have a joyous announcement to share with everyone..."

"We are honored by the favor Don Torrino has shown us; he wishes to take a daughter of the House of Kovalenko as his bride. I have not yet had the opportunity to properly introduce her to you all... Katya, our adopted daughter. In a few days, she will be married and move to Chicago..."

An adopted daughter?

My surprise quickly morphed into a sneer as I turned to the woman beside me—my mother. So this was the extent of her adoration for Sophia; she was unwilling to let her suffer even the slightest inconvenience.

Not even sacrificing my entire life's happiness could reclaim the identity that was rightfully mine.

The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of whispers rippled through the crowd as people put their heads together.

“The Kovalenkos have another daughter? How come we've never heard of her? I thought they always told everyone Sophia was the adopted one…”

“Are you blind? It's obvious the Kovalenkos can't bear to marry their precious treasure to that crippled Don. So they're trying to push an adopted daughter forward to take her place! After all, Don Torrino only asked for a daughter from the Kovalenko family. He never specified which one!”

“Besides, I heard this Katya is the daughter of a Moldovan maid. For trash like that to marry Don Torrino... she's the one getting the better end of the deal, really!”

My face darkened as I watched them point and whisper. From across the room, Sophia shot me a look of pure provocation.

A cold sneer glinted in her eyes, as if to say, if we're going to put on a show, let's make it a good one.

I returned her a contemptuous smile of my own, slowly withdrawing my hand. “There is something you all do not know...” I retorted, my voice low and steady.

"Actually, the Kovalenko family has only ever had one daughter from the very beginning—me. Sophia is the one born to that Moldovan maid you all speak of!"

My mother never expected that I would expose her lies right then and there; she reached out frantically, trying to cover my mouth.

"Shut up! Don't you dare spout such nonsense!"

But everyone in attendance today was sharp and ruthless, people who had lived life on a knife's edge. Their minds were already racing, their gazes shifting between Sophia and me, scrutinizing us.

"A matter of bloodlines... no one would dare make such a public accusation without concrete proof. And from the look on Mrs. Kovalenko's face, what Katya said is most likely true..."

"I always thought Katya had more of the air and bearing of a true matriarch. No wonder I've always felt there was a certain low-class air about Sophia that I could never quite put my finger on."

"Still, who in this world would ignore their own flesh and blood, only to dote on a maid's daughter and treat her like a precious treasure?"

Sophia’s face flushed crimson under everyone's scrutiny, and she waved her hands in shame and indignation.

"No, it's not like that, Katya! Why would you say such a thing?"

I scoffed coldly. "What's the matter? After all these years of living under my identity, have you actually forgotten who you really are, Anya Popescu?"

Popescu is a typical lower-class Moldovan surname.

"So her name is Anya Popescu. It just reeks of poverty. She must be the maid's daughter, no doubt about it!"

Several of the other young heiresses laughed out loud, their words sharp and thoughtless. Sophia’s face went from crimson to ghostly white in her humiliation.

"That's enough! I won't allow you to speak to Sophia like that!"

My mother strode forward and pulled Sophia into a protective embrace.

"Katya! Isn't it enough that you are both daughters of the Kovalenko family? Why must you constantly torment Sophia and humiliate her in front of everyone?"

Marcus Castellano rushed over, his chest heaving with fury.

He was my fiancé, yet here he was, publicly defending Sophia and pointing an accusing finger at me. Remembering his bone-deep hatred just before I died in my past life, and the agony of being brutally violated by those Soldati, a chill ran down my spine.

"What's the matter? The heir to the Castellano family can't accept that his future wife was born to a maid?" I stared at him coldly.

A flicker of guilt flashed in Marcus’s eyes.

"You… you know?"

"Your marriage to the Torrino family in Chicago was their decision, and our family didn't dare to defy them. Our engagement was naturally voided. I've been in love with Sophia for years, and I was the one who asked your father for her hand… Don't take your anger out on Sophia. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Marcus’s betrayal exposed his heartless and fickle nature to everyone present, but he seemed utterly unconcerned with his reputation.

"Hah. Stealing my identity, snatching my mother's affection, forcing me to be the substitute bride, and then turning around to take my fiancé. She's just so innocent, isn't she?" I ruthlessly exposed Sophia’s true colors.

The crowd around us gasped, their gazes on Sophia growing more and more complicated.

Sophia's face turned ghastly pale.

Yet, she picked up the scalding coffee beside her and, with a forced air of composure, walked toward me to apologize, her expression pitifully humble.

"Katya, I know I've wronged you, but on an occasion like this, could you spare me some dignity?"

Before I could even speak, her body trembled violently, and the scalding coffee spilled all over her. Her delicate, fair hands instantly turned bright red.

The next second, a searing heat flared across my cheek as it began to swell. My mother’s hand was frozen in mid-air, trembling from the force of the slap.

She glanced at my face, hesitating as if she wanted to say something more, but it took her a long moment before she finally choked out, "Katya, you’ve gone too far!"

Then she immediately turned away to fuss over Sophia’s injuries.

The very instant Sophia cried out in pain, Marcus pulled her protectively behind him. He cradled her hands as if they were precious jewels, blowing on them gently, before frantically shouting for the private doctor to come and treat her.

I stood there, utterly alone, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me. The whole charade felt pointless.

When the family meeting finally ended, I went home alone, feeling utterly desolate.

Back in my room, a document lay on my vanity.

It was in Marcus's handwriting, a script I knew better than my own.

I opened it. The words "Engagement Annulment Agreement" stared up at me, bold and searing.

He really couldn't wait to cut all ties with me.

This was for the best. From this day forward, when we meet, I'll repay every wrong and settle every score!

The door creaked open.

I turned my head and, for once, I saw a flicker of guilt in my mother’s eyes. "Katya... Mom was impulsive. I shouldn't have laid a hand on you. Please, don't blame me..."

"Sophia's mother died because of me. I owe her a life. I know I've neglected you all these years and made you suffer, but I need you and Sophia to get along. You are both the most important people in the world to me!"

A cool sensation spread across my cheek as my mother dabbed ointment on it.

"You're getting married soon. A scar on your face wouldn't look good..."

How long had it been since she’d spoken to me so softly? For a fleeting moment, my resolve wavered. But her very next words sent my heart plummeting.

I looked at my mother's feigned concern, a bitter irony washing over me. So, even this last shred of warmth was a lie.

"About what happened earlier... you were too impulsive. Go and apologize to Sophia, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened."