SHARED BY THE RIVAL SPADE BROTHERS.

CORALINE Today was the day I would finally escape this madhouse. I yelped as my fingers nearly slipped, tightening my grip while my feet scrambled against the wall to keep myself from falling. “Ah!” I gasped, looking up in absolute terror. And there she was, looking down at me with a smile. “Hey, sister. Where might you be going?” My blood immediately turned to ice. Vanessa stood at the window with a small grin plastered across her face, holding the rope in one hand. With her other hand, she extended a sharp claw, positioning its tip dangerously close to the rope. Her perfect blonde hair fell over her shoulders, and the amusement in her eyes made my stomach twist. “V-Vanessa,” I stammered. “Please, please don't.” “What?” She tilted her head innocently. “I can see you're in such a hurry to leave, but you're taking forever to reach the ground. I just want to help.” “Vanessa, please! I could fall!” I screamed. “Then perhaps you should've thought about that before trying to run away, no?” She gave the rope another sharp tug, and I screamed, my fingers slipped as I struggled to hold on. My arms were already aching, and the thought of falling several feet to the hard ground made tears gather in my eyes. “Okay, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” I begged, shaking my head frantically. “Please, don't cut the rope!” Vanessa's claw moved closer. If she cut the rope, I would fall to my death. There was no question about it. I'd go straight to the ancestral lane, and nobody would shed a tear over my death. “Please, Vanessa. J-Just let me climb back up. I'm sorry. I won't leave again. I don't even know what I was thinking, please.” She laughed at my desperate pleas before finally pulling the rope toward the window. I scrambled to get my hands on the windowsill, and she grabbed my wrist, dragging me back into the room. The moment my feet touched the floor, she slapped me. My face snapped to the side, and the sting spread across my cheek. “Ungrateful little bitch.” she spat. “You actually thought you could run away from this house?” She laughed, looking me up and down with disgust. “I've never seen an Omega more pathetic. Honestly, it's getting ridiculous at this point.” I lowered my gaze, swallowing the sob threatening to escape my throat. There was no point arguing with Vanessa. No matter what I said, she would always find a reason to punish me. Besides, I knew better than to aggravate her. She was an Alpha and she could snap me in half and peel the flesh from my bones like meat. “What is going on here?” The bedroom door suddenly swung open, and my stepmother, Shantel, appeared in the doorway. Her gaze moved from Vanessa to the rope hanging outside the window, then to the nearly severed section where Vanessa's claw had almost cut through it, before returning on me. “Coraline Preminger, what have you done now?” I opened my mouth, but Vanessa beat me to it, as always. “Mother, you won't believe what I caught this ungrateful girl doing. She was trying to run away!” Shantel's expression darkened, and my knees went weak. “You were trying to run away?” I pressed my lips together. “Answer me when I speak to you, girl.” “I just... I...” I swallowed nervously. There was no point denying it. I'd already been caught rope-handed. “I just wanted to leave,” I whispered. “And who gave you permission to leave?” she snapped. “Have you forgotten who takes care of you? After everything you've been given, this is how you repay us?” My brows creased at the absurdity of her words. Given? What exactly had they given me besides misery? This had been my home long before Shantel married my father. These walls had once been filled with warmth and laughter, and I had never needed to sneak out of my bedroom like a prisoner. But everything changed after my parents died in that fire. Shantel took control of the household, and Vanessa made it her personal mission to ensure that every day of my life was unbearable. I was no longer treated like a daughter. I was treated like a servant who had outlived her usefulness. And the worst part was that I had nowhere else to go. “Look at her, Mother,” Vanessa scoffed. “She can't even defend herself. Honestly, I don't know why we still keep her here.” Shantel rolled her eyes. “Sweetheart, if we don't keep her here, who's going to clean this house? A ghost?” “Oh, right.” She exclaimed, suddenly looking mischievous as she tapped a finger against her lips. “Come to think of it, I like it better when she cleans. And she hasn't even cleaned my room today. Imagine trying to run away when she still has work to do.” “Hold on, Vanessa.” Shantel's phone rang, interrupting her daughter. She glanced at the screen, and her expression immediately brightened. Whenever Shantel was happy, I became even more frightened. In my experience, her good moods rarely meant anything good for me. Sometimes, they meant I would end up with fresh bruises. Other times, they meant she'd press a burning cigarette against my back and use my skin as an ashtray. I still had fading scars from those incidents. Shantel answered the call, turning away from us to discuss a luxury handbag she apparently intended to purchase. I stood quietly by the wall, rubbing my itchy cheek while Vanessa examined her expensive nails. The irony wasn't lost on me. Only last week, I had begged Shantel to buy me a few decent clothes. The ones I wore were practically oily, stained rags, yet even the house staff she hired had better clothing than I did. It was my father's money she was spending, after all. “What do you mean there's insufficient money in the account?” I lifted my head to her “This can't be right. Check the account again.” Her face grew paler with every passing second. “You must be mistaken. There should be more than enough money in that trust fund account.” My trust fund? My stomach tightened. She told me that my father didn't set up any trust fund for me. I pushed myself away from the wall, barely aware of what I was doing. Shantel ended the call and slowly turned toward Vanessa with a livid expression. “Vanessa, what did you do?” “Mom, what are you talking about?” For the first time since I had known her, she looked uncomfortable. She shifted her weight and avoided her mother's gaze. “Okay, fine. I may have used some of it.” “Some of it?” Shantel repeated. “What do you mean, some of it?” Vanessa scratched the back of her head. “Okay, fine. I may or may not have gambled away Coraline's entire trust fund. But it's not really a big deal. I mean, we have money.” “No, Vanessa, we don't have money!” Shantel shrieked. “That trust fund was the only—Oh, Goddess!” She pressed both hands against her head, pacing around the room. “We're ruined! We're ruined! We're ruined! We're bloody ruined!” My heart trembled as I stared at Vanessa. “Y-You gambled away what?” I whispered. “Oh, shut up, Coraline.” she snapped. “What use did you have for all that money anyway?” I stared at her, unable to believe what I was hearing. That money was the last thing I could've used to secure my freedom, and she had thrown it away in some casino like it was nothing. Shantel continued pacing around the room. “Mom, what do you mean we're ruined?” “Because we have no other source of income except that trust fund, Vanessa.” She tugged on her braids. “We are freaking bankrupt!”