The bodyguards were about to drag me away when hurried footsteps rang out from the doorway.
Alice Pruitt, my only sister, shoved the door open and rushed in.
The moment she saw me covered in blood, her eyes went red. She charged forward, pushed the bodyguards aside, and pulled me behind her. "Miles Winfield! You bastard! What did my sister ever do to you to deserve this?"
Alice was the youngest daughter of the Pruitt family. She had a fiery temper and loved me more than anyone.
When I'd severed ties with the family, she'd wired me money in secret, watching over me without a word.
Now, the moment she learned I was in trouble, she'd caught the first flight home from overseas.
She steadied me, her voice breaking. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm taking you home."
Stella's eyes flashed with something vicious when she spotted Alice, but in the blink of an eye she swapped it for a look of terror.
She grabbed Miles's arm, her whole body trembling violently. "Miles, she... is she here to hit me? I'm so scared. My baby..."
As she spoke, she deliberately stumbled a step toward Alice, as if she were about to be shoved.
Miles's eyes went bloodshot instantly. He didn't wait for Alice to explain, didn't listen to a single word. He roared, "Ungrateful little wretch! How dare you lay a hand on Stella!"
Before his voice even faded, Stella snatched a fruit knife from under the coffee table and plunged it straight at Alice.
The strike was fast and savage. The blade buried itself in Alice's chest, and blood sprayed out, spattering across my face.
"Alice!" My vision blurred red. I reached for her.
Her body crumpled into my arms. She looked down at the knife in her chest, then up at me. Her lips moved, but all that came out was a mouthful of blood.
Stella clutched the hem of Miles's shirt. Every trace of that viciousness had vanished, replaced by the trembling fragility of a woman on the verge of tears.
Her shoulders shook, her voice thin as thread. "Miles, I didn't mean to. She was going to push me. I was only defending myself..."
Miles lowered his gaze to her, and in his eyes I saw something I had never seen before: indulgence. Complete, unconditional indulgence.
He raised his hand and patted her back, his tone so gentle it burned. "It's all right. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."
His arm tightened around Stella, walling her off from me, from Alice, from the spreading pool of blood. Clean. Untouched.
He didn't so much as glance at Alice. His voice was ice. "She brought it on herself."
I held Alice and felt her warmth draining away, degree by degree.
Her fingers clenched the hem of my shirt. Her eyes were full of defiance, full of longing.
I dropped to my knees and slammed my forehead against the floor at Miles's feet, over and over, each impact a dull, wet thud. Blood seeped from my skin almost immediately.
"Miles, I'm begging you. Take Alice to the hospital. She's my only sister. I'm begging you! If you save her, I'll give you every share of Pruitt Group. I'll sign the divorce papers right now. I'll never bother you again. Please..."
My forehead was raw and bloody, my voice so hoarse it was barely audible.
But Miles just watched me with cold, empty eyes. Stella leaned into his ear and whispered, "Better if she dies. Saves us the medical bills. And if she does die, you can pull strings, find witnesses, call it self-defense. Don't let this blow back on you."
Something in Miles's gaze hardened into finality. Beneath that indifference lay undisguised consent.
He kicked my outstretched hand away. His voice held no trace of warmth. Not a single degree.
"Martha, this is what she deserved. She dared to raise a hand against Stella. She should have known the consequences. The hospital? I'm not wasting Stella's recovery time on some troublemaker."
He scooped Stella into his arms and headed upstairs without looking back. Over his shoulder, he called to the servants, "Drag these two lunatics out to the back courtyard. Don't dirty the living room."
"Miles Winfield, you can't do this!"
"Let go of me! I will destroy you both! I'll drag your names through the ground!"
Miles didn't flinch. He watched me being hauled away, eyes devoid of pity.
Stella stood at his side, the corner of her mouth curving into a victor's smile, sharp as a blade twisting into my chest.
The servants didn't dare disobey. They stepped forward to drag me and Alice away.
I clung to Alice with everything I had. I would not let go.
I could feel her breathing growing fainter, her eyes drifting shut. The last look she gave me was filled with nothing but heartache for me.
"Don't be sad, Martha..."
Those were the last words she ever said.
