Not One, But Two!

Chapter 3

A sudden realization dawned upon Abigail when she heard what Sasha said. This whole thing was a setup from the very beginning!

Emma had baited Abigail out last night and set her up to be assaulted. When the deed was done, Sasha would appeal to Philip's greed and convince him to push Emma and Jonathan together. The mother-and-daughter duo had planned for all this to happen in their favor!

Philip had never inquired into Abigail's well-being all these years, but she had brushed off his indifference and told herself that he had, at the very least, acknowledged her as his biological daughter. It was only now that she knew her real place in the family; she was nothing more than a cash cow to the Kains!

How pathetic! How foolish of me! She was so incredulous that she burst out laughing, and tears started to spill over her eyes.

"You find this funny, do you? I ought to beat you to death!" Incensed by her flippant and somewhat hysterical demeanor, Philip once again rained punches on her.

At some point, Abigail must have blacked out, and the only thing she remembered was how cold the world was and how her heart felt frozen.

Three days passed before she finally came to her senses. She found herself locked in the basement, where the air was so humid and musty that she choked and coughed. It didn't help that her body was aching so badly that she thought she might fall apart.

Throughout her imprisonment, Sasha only fed her one meal a day; it was enough to keep her body running, but not enough to restore her strength to aid her escape.

A month had gone by, and Abigail was starting to feel her body giving up on her. She felt weak and disgusting, so she decided that she could no longer stay there. She wasn't sure what Sasha and Emma had in mind for her, nor did she know what sort of fate lay waiting for her.

She had to leave, and she must do so at once. However, there was only one door in and out of the basement. With a frown on her face, she began contemplating her escape route.

tangled up in a lock of her

at the ring that looked tailor-made, and the maroon patterns carved into the band gave the ring an antique

his unmistakable air of nobility. The

out of here now. She closed her fingers over the ring and held onto it like it was her lifeline. Then, she waited for Emma to show up with her

what Sasha said. This whole

you to escape; you won't even be able to make it out of this room, so just give up. My mom's already picked out a husband for you—Mr. Donovan from Harrion's very own Furniture Court. He's in his fifties and recently widowed, and he'd be more than willing to take you as his new wife.

hands tightly together. The fine edge of the ring pierced through her palm, but she paid no mind to it. Instead, she kept up her bright smile as she muttered to no one in particular, "He'll come and

about? Jonathan? Don't be ridiculous!" Emma snorted, but that was when she saw the black ring nestled within Abigail's palm, and from where she stood,

come in a

snatched the ring out of Abigail's hand and assessed it. This ring is worth a whole lot!

with the ring in hand, but the moment her back was turned, Abigail summoned all her strength and reached for one of the random items in the storage pile next to her.

her consciousness slipped away. Seizing this chance, Abigail bolted

home. Sasha had probably gone out to play poker with her friends, and Philip was likely at the company. Not even the servants were in sight. As she relished her escape, Abigail made her way to her room and packed up a few of her clothes. Then, she grabbed

time Sasha discovered Emma lying on the basement floor, Abigail was already long gone. Cursing under her breath, Sasha carried Emma up to her bedroom

the ring in her palm, Emma did not wait for her injuries to heal before she headed out with the ring on

noticed it. He cross-referred Emma's silhouette

insidiously. "So we've found the mysterious lady. Looks like she has come out of hiding after a month's disappearance. What are we waiting

another pulled