Chapter 3

I walked back to the Harrington family mansion, feeling like a walking corpse.

The servants had all vanished, leaving the entire Harrington estate eerily quiet and gloomy.

My parents were facing off in the living room.

"Quint, I can clean up the mess with Scarlett's engagement for you, but I want 10% of the company shares in return."

Mom took a sip of tea, casually negotiating with Dad.

Dad leapt up from the sofa, his eyes blazing with anger:

"Heath, don't push it too far!"

Mom let out a derisive laugh:

"I'm pushing it? If you're going to cheat, at least be discreet about it. Hide your dirty little secret before Scarlett finds out. Now you're trying to gain the upper hand in the Harrington family, relying on her marriage to the Prescott family to secure more benefits. You could have any woman you want, yet you go after that Jasmine. Talk about desperation."

Dad calmed down unexpectedly. He sat back down and casually brushed his bangs aside.

"Scarlett is so close with Jasmine anyway. I'm just strengthening family ties even further."Mama pursed her lips. "You're truly shameless. Stop wasting time and get to the point. Are you going to hand over the shares or not?"

I stood silently behind the entryway, letting my tears fall freely.

So in their eyes, I wasn't a daughter. I wasn't even considered human.

I was nothing more than a tool to be traded for profit.

All these years of pampering were just like fattening up livestock for future gain.

And now, it was time for the slaughter to reap their returns.

I slowly walked out and stood before my parents.

My emotions were as desolate and lifeless as a dried-up well.

"So why did you even have me? You went through all the trouble of birthing a human tool when adopting would've been far cheaper?"

Dad's expression returned to normal the moment he saw me.

He casually picked up an ornate ruler from the side table, weighing it in his hand while fixing me with a stern gaze.

"Scarlett, is this how you speak to your own father?"

Mom looked on coldly, even starting to stand as if to leave.

Disregarding the intimidating aura Dad was radiating, I turned to look at Mom.

"Mom, you never loved me either, did you?"Scarlett, so all that loving tenderness was fake. All that gentle nurturing had ulterior motives. All those choices forced on me in the name of love were just cold, calculated plans.

Mom looked me up and down and sighed.

"Scarlett, coming back looking like this - it's embarrassing for people to see."

The pain hit me like a tidal wave, even worse than when Alec slapped me.

"Embarrassing? ...In New York City today, who could be more embarrassing than Quint and Alec!"

At that moment, Dad slowly stood up and approached me step by step.

His gaze seemed full of disappointment.

"Scarlett, you've truly lost sight of your place. Our family has invested so much in cultivating you all these years, not for you to go and do so many reckless things."

I looked at him with a bitter laugh. Through my blurry tears, even his fatherly love became grotesque.

"That's right, I'm the one who's confused. I'm the fool who dared to seek true family affection and romance, forgetting that in the depths of high society, there are always monsters waiting to devour you."

Dad nodded, completely unmoved."Scarlett, since you're so obstinate, it's time for you to sober up. Go kneel in the ancestral hall, and have Aunt Callie replace your mat with the red one."

I looked up at him in terror.

The so-called red mat was what Dad used to punish disobedient subordinates in the past. It was covered with hard, sharp thorns that would tear into the flesh of your knees in no time, causing excruciating pain.

Meeting my gaze, Dad smiled.

"Scarlett, Daddy's in a very bad mood today. You've made a mistake, did you think you'd get away with it just like that?"

I broke down and tried to escape this hell, but was instantly restrained by the bodyguards outside the door.

Following Dad's orders, they forcibly dragged me to the ancestral hall, ignoring my struggles, and pressed me down onto the red mat.

The intense pain was soul-crushing.

I fixed my fierce, bloodshot eyes on my coldly indifferent parents standing at the doorway, and gritted out each word:

"I will never get engaged to Alec again, nor will I stay with the Harrington family. As long as I'm alive, I'll stay far away from you all and never look back!"