Chapter 5

Chloe's POV

I made up my mind to go to the Vance estate.

I wanted to go to the exact room Ethan had once pointed to, saying, "This room will be yours in the future."

For seven years, I had nothing I could show the world except that room.

When he said those words, his family had all been present.

I had always believed that room was reserved for me, which was why I had the courage to endure the police station and bear that massive debt.

I wanted to claim that place back.

It was raining that day.

Having figured out the security shift change, I slipped in through the side entrance, the stone steps gleaming wet under the rain.

I pushed the door open, and the first thing I saw was a framed photo on the nightstand.

The woman smiling gracefully in the picture was Brooke Sterling.

A woman's jacket was draped over the back of the chair.

A roar came from behind me: "Who's there?!"

A newly hired bodyguard rushed in, grabbing my arm violently. "Who are you? Who let you in here?"

I yanked my arm away, my chest heaving. "Who am I? I am the rightful owner of this room!"

The bodyguard acted as though he had heard a joke, looking down at my washed-out, worn clothes. "Owner? I just took over this post last month and never heard of you. Looks to me like you're just desperate for cash."

"Go ask Ethan—"

He cut me off bluntly. "No need to ask. Trespassing on private property and spouting nonsense."

I argued, "I'm not spouting nonsense! Everything in this room, which piece wasn't picked out by my own hands?"

The guard sneered. "Picked by you? Everything here was selected by Miss Sterling."

I let out a bitter laugh, my eyes rimmed with red. "Selected by her? That bed, that wardrobe—he and I moved eight times, carrying them piece by piece!"

The guard shook his head. "Completely insane. Get her out of here."

Before I could say another word, a heavy sack was thrown over my head from behind, followed by a violent blow to the back of my neck.

My vision went black, and I collapsed.

When I woke up, I had been dragged onto the living room floor.

Several members of the Vance family were seated above, holding drinks, looking down at me with disdain.

Sitting in the center was Ethan's father, Marcus Vance.

Propping myself up on the floor, I managed to sit up, my voice trembling yet deliberate: "Back then, Ethan told you all to your faces that this room would be mine, that I was the woman he was going to marry."

Marcus scoffed coldly. "This room was reserved for the Sterling family's daughter from the very beginning. You're so young, yet if you wanted to climb into high society, couldn't you pick anyone else? Why target the Vance family?"

Panic rising, I crawled forward two steps. "He promised me! We had a deal—he said once he took power, he would marry me!"

An older woman nearby let out a sharp scoff. "A deal? Have you been watching too many movies? Ethan's wife has always been Miss Sterling."

Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Looks to me like you're trying to blackmail the Vance family."

Tears streamed down my face in frustration. "I don't want money! I just want the promise he gave me back then!"

Marcus waved his hand impatiently. "He said it himself? We've never even seen you before. Who knows what crazy nonsense you've concocted? She's out of her mind. Drag her outside."

The bodyguards swarmed forward.

I was pinned down on the stone steps outside the entrance, my hands twisted behind my back.

Fists rained down on me one after another. I curled into a ball in agony, trying to scream, but only choked gasps escaped my throat.

Those blows landed on my back, shoulders, and knees. I couldn't count how many hits I took; all I knew was that not a single person inside would call for them to stop.

In my ears was the sound of my own blood dripping onto the stone paving, drop after drop.

A mouthful of blood finally welled up and spilled out, splattering onto the icy cold floor.

The fists paused for a moment.

I lay prone on the steps, blood at the corner of my mouth, yet my eyes remained open, staring at the door I had believed would one day belong to me.

I had waited until he took power, endured every social circle where I was ignored, just for the day I could walk through that door with my head held high.

When Marcus spoke just now, not a single person hesitated.

That promise had never held any weight in this household.

The rain continued to fall.

Using the ground for leverage, I dragged myself up inch by inch.

The grand door shut behind me.

I didn't look back.

I simply stood in the rain for a very long time.

Starting today, I will never push that door open again.

What I want isn't here.

The pool of blood on the ground was washed away, diluted drop by drop by the rain.