They Chose the Wrong Daughter

Chapter 3

The sound of shattering glass startled everyone in the room.

Cynthia reacted first. She screamed and rushed to Asher. "Asher! Are you all right?!"

As she fumbled to help him, she pinched her thigh hard where no one could see.

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

She looked up at me with fear and hatred, her voice shaking badly. "Bella, if you hate me, take it out on me. Why did you have to hurt Asher like this? You hid the bracelet yourself. Why are you blaming me and attacking him?"

Just then, someone shoved the door open.

My parents hurried inside.

They'd been downstairs. Cynthia had called them in tears, and they'd rushed straight up.

"What happened?!" My father spotted Asher among the broken glass, and his face darkened.

"Dad!" Cynthia threw herself into my mother's arms, sobbing. "You have to stand up for Asher and me! Bella stole Lily's bracelet. When I caught her, she lashed out. She blamed me and hurt Asher like this!"

The bodyguards helped Asher up. Blood seeped from a cut on his forehead. He pointed at me, his teeth clenched. "Dad, it was her! She's lost her mind. She tried to kill me!"

"Shut your mouth!"

My father turned on me, his chest heaving. "Bella! I sent you out to make friends, and this is what you do? Stealing, attacking people, hurting your own brother! You..."

"Are you done? How about we look at the footage first?"

I calmly took a blue diamond earring off my ear.

It was exactly the same movement I'd made beside the pool.

My father stopped midsentence.

Cynthia's sobbing faltered almost imperceptibly.

I connected the earring to the room's projection screen.

The screen lit up.

The footage showed the room a little over 10 minutes earlier. Fireworks blazed outside, and everyone had crowded onto the terrace to watch. Lily was the only one left in the room.

I'd gone to the restroom.

On the screen, Lily quickly slipped the diamond bracelet off her wrist, bent down, and pushed it into the purse I'd left on the sofa.

Cynthia kept watch for her.

The room went utterly silent.

My mother covered her mouth.

The screen's light fell across Cynthia's face. Every trace of color had drained away.

Lily's legs nearly gave out. She stumbled back two steps. "No... That's not what happened! Bella faked it. That video is fake!"

"Fake?"

I walked up to her and looked down at her. "Lily, you told everyone how much your mother's bracelet meant to you. If it meant more to you than your own life, why would you put it in someone else's bag? You staged this to frame me. Who told you to do it? If you won't tell me, you can explain it at the police station."

Lily's lips trembled.

In the end, she still wouldn't name Cynthia.

She only said she disliked me and had accused me of theft to get even for Cynthia.

I chose to press charges.

Even when the officers took Lily away, she still refused to admit that Cynthia had put her up to it.

I didn't care.

Lily had been so reckless because she believed Cynthia could protect her. What she didn't understand was that if I decided someone was going down, not even the Pierce family could save them.

I would make sure no one did business with Lily or her family again.

The gathering broke up soon after.

On the ride home, Asher arrogantly demanded that I apologize to Cynthia for what I'd said earlier. He insisted Lily had caused all the trouble and Cynthia had done nothing wrong.

My parents snapped at him. "Enough, Asher! Bella is your own sister. Even if you won't protect her, you have no right to hurt her!"

But I knew they were only stopping him to silence me.

Of course they knew something was wrong. Cynthia had to be behind it.

They were pretending not to see because they couldn't bear to let her suffer even the slightest grievance.

My father said, "Here's what we'll do. We'll cancel Cynthia's birthday party in 3 days and hold only the homecoming reception."

Asher frowned. "Dad, that's Cynthia's birthday!"

My father ignored him and turned to Cynthia. "What do you think, Cynthia? You didn't look after Bella at the gathering, did you?"

She caught the warning behind his words. She opened her mouth, then gave in. "Whatever you say, Dad. I didn't take care of Bella. I deserve to be punished."

My mother patted me reassuringly.

I wasn't satisfied.

I lowered my eyes. That was their second chance. They had one left.

If they disappointed me again, they would lose any chance of being my family.

For a while after that, my parents really were good to me.

They made a point of learning my tastes and filling the table with food I liked.

My mother set aside plenty of time to take me shopping and to beauty appointments.

My father took me hunting. He also said he would transfer some of the family's shares into my name at the homecoming reception and announce me as one of the Pierce heirs.

Even Asher toned it down and gave me a luxury car as an apology.

That kind of family warmth was something I'd rarely known.

I even began to think that if they kept treating me like family, joining the Pierces might not be so bad.

Perhaps I should tell them who I really was at the homecoming reception.

With that in mind, I sent orders to my men. I increased the arms allocation the Pierce family had been begging for to 30 percent and had an urgent shipment brought in from overseas. I wanted to give them a magnificent gift at the reception.

My men soon delivered the contract.

Once it was signed, the Pierce family would receive 30 percent of the West Coast's arms allocation and become the most powerful crime family on the West Coast.

*****

On the day of the reception, crystal chandeliers cast brilliant light across the marble floor.

Champagne towers and red and white roses filled the ballroom. Servers moved among laughing, chatting socialites.

My parents stood with me in the center of the ballroom, the chandelier light falling across my face.

My father raised his glass and looked around, pride in his voice. "Everyone, I invited you here today to introduce my daughter, Bella Pierce. After 19 years away, she's finally home."

Applause swelled through the room.

My mother took my hand and placed a velvet box in my palm.

Inside was a ruby necklace. The center stone was a little larger than my fingernail.

"This has been passed down through the women who lead the Pierce family." Her eyes reddened as she fastened it around my neck. "Now it's yours."

My father spoke again as the lawyer stepped up beside him, holding a document. "I hereby announce that 15 percent of the family's shares will be transferred to Bella. From today on, she is a legal heir to the Pierce family, just like Asher and Cynthia."

The room erupted.

Camera flashes, congratulations, and raised glasses surrounded us.

The same socialites who had mocked me for coming from the slums now wore carefully measured looks of envy.

"Mr. Pierce really does love this daughter..."

"It's more than that. Haven't you heard? That person finally agreed to the West Coast deal."

"Who? You mean... the Queen?"

"Keep your voice down. The arms allocation the Pierce family has been begging for over the past 3 years came through this morning. It went straight up to 30 percent. Once they sign that contract, the West Coast will belong to them."

"Has the Queen lost her mind? Other families get on their knees and beg for even one percent. Why would she just hand it to the Pierces?"

"Who knows? Maybe she has her eye on Asher..."

I heard the whispers, lowered my eyes to my champagne, and smiled.

My father stood surrounded by senior gang leaders, his face flushed with barely contained excitement.

He had no idea the contract that gave him such confidence was in my purse.

I set down my glass and approached him. "Dad, Mom, I have a gift for you too."

The room quieted.

I took the contract out of my purse and handed it to my father.

He was about to open it when a crash rang out.

The heavy ballroom doors burst open from outside, and Cynthia stumbled in.

Her custom-made white gown was in tatters.

One strap had snapped, exposing dark marks where something had dug into her skin. Her hair was a mess. One foot was bare and covered in bloody scratches.

She staggered a couple of steps, then fell, leaving a smear of blood across the polished marble. She raised her bloodied face and looked straight at me. "Bella..."

Her voice was hoarse and broken, but everyone in the ballroom heard her clearly. "I know you don't want me here... But why did you hire people to ruin me?"

The room went dead silent.

My mother rushed over first and pulled her into her arms. Her eyes reddened at the sight of Cynthia's injuries. "Cynthia! Who did this?! Tell me!"

The bodyguards forced two men in black to their knees by the door. One raised a trembling hand and pointed at me. "It... It was her. She paid us 500,000 dollars to take this girl to the dockside warehouse. She said to ruin her so she'd never be able to show her face again..."

Asher stepped forward and yanked open one man's shirt, exposing an axe emblem. He turned to me in disgust. "Bella, you worked with a rival gang to hurt Cynthia!"

"Enough." My father's voice rang out in anger.

I turned and met his eyes.

The warmth they'd held moments earlier was gone. Now they were ice cold.

"Bella," he asked, stressing every word, "is what he said true?"

I looked at him and suddenly found it almost laughable.

"Dad, what kidnappers take the money, leave their hostage alive, then volunteer to come back to a reception and testify? Her injuries look bloody, but none of them are serious. The edges of her skirt are clean. It was cut with scissors, not torn. Her evidence..."

His palm cracked across my face before I could turn my head.

The ruby necklace jerked to one side, its cold center stone digging into my collarbone.

A metallic taste spread through my mouth. My left ear rang, and one side of my face began to burn and swell.

"Evidence?" His chest heaved, his voice shaking. "Your sister has been hurt like this, and you want to talk about evidence?! Bella, you've disappointed me so much!"

My mother held Cynthia as tears streamed down her face. She looked at me with open regret. "Cynthia has lived with us for 19 years. I know what kind of person she is better than anyone! How long have you been back? How could you be so vicious? How dare you! We just gave you shares, and this is how you repay us? I wish we'd never found you!"

"Mom, don't say that about Bella..." Cynthia leaned against her shoulder, crying fake tears. "Bella, I'll leave. I'll go right now. Just please stop hurting me..."

Asher hurried to comfort her. "She's the one who should leave! Don't get upset."

I closed my eyes for a moment, held back my anger, and tried to explain calmly. "Dad, look carefully at the contract in your hand. It can prove everything..."

Before I could finish, Asher rushed over and pointed at me, shouting, "You think one contract gets you off the hook?! Take your worthless gift and go. Cynthia is the only sister I want!"

My father agreed. "He's right. Apologize to Cynthia right now! Beg her to forgive you! Otherwise, you're no daughter of mine."

Then he raised the contract, gripped it in both hands, and tore it in half.

The sound of ripping paper carried through the silent room.

I looked down at the scraps by my feet and gave a quiet laugh.

I hadn't been injured in more than 10 years. Now I'd been hurt again, by my own family instead of an enemy.

That made them my enemies.

Daniel Pierce frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

I raised a hand and slowly wiped the blood from my mouth.

Then I took off the ruby necklace and dropped it on the floor.

Elena Foster instinctively reached out as it fell, then froze.

"Mr. Pierce," I said calmly, no longer calling him Dad, "do you have any idea how many people would line up and get on their knees for what you just tore apart?"

The ballroom fell quiet for a moment.

Everyone stared at me in confusion.

"Has she lost her mind? She's some nobody from the slums. What could she possibly have that Mr. Pierce would beg her for?"

"Of course an orphan raised in foster care doesn't know any better. Why else would she work with a rival gang to hurt someone? That's one of the biggest taboos in our world!"

"Mr. Pierce is so powerful that even the arms Queen favors him. How did his biological daughter turn out to be such an i***t?"

Their mockery rang out around me.

I gave a cold smile and raised my hand.

A deafening crash shook the ballroom. Everyone turned in alarm.

The ballroom doors were smashed open. The heavy wood buckled, scattering fragments across the floor.

The first military vehicle rolled over the broken wood and drove inside. It was a Humvee with a .50-caliber heavy machine gun mounted on its roof. The barrel gleamed under the lights.

Armored vehicles followed, one after another. Ten vehicles loaded with weapons surrounded everyone in the ballroom.

"What's happening? Are we under attack?!"

Panic swept through the guests.

I walked out into the center of the formation.

Engines rumbled. The headlights shone on me, dazzlingly bright.

The doors opened.

About a hundred fully armed bodyguards jumped out and formed two rows. They lowered their arms, bowed, and shouted to me in unison, "Boss!"