Crescentia's hands trembled. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to lash out, to scream, to claw at their smug faces—but she didn't.
Instead, she took a slow, deep breath and smiled through gritted teeth.
Crescentia bit her lip to keep from snapping back. She needed the money for Noella's hospital bills—without it, her sister's condition would only worsen.
If she had enough, she wouldn't be here, pleading with the two people she despised most. Not after what they had done. And yet, they had the audacity to sit there, eating and drinking as if they owned the world.
"That's right!" Magnus chimed in with a smirk. "I have a friend who owns a club, and he pays the ladies well. You're twenty, an adult now—no one's going to throw him in jail. So why don't you try that?"
They weren't going to help her. They were only mocking her, enjoying her desperation. Crescentia still couldn't believe how drastically things had changed in less than a day.
They hadn't always been this way. When they visited before, they were at least civil.
But after her parents' deaths, they didn't grieve—not once. Instead, they had seized everything her father had worked for, thrown her and Noella out of their own home, and lived lavishly off stolen wealth.
"Please," Crescentia pleaded, her voice trembling. "I need this money, or Noella could… die."
"So what if she dies?" Magnus scoffed, swirling his wine glass. "She wouldn't be the first child to die from congenital heart disease. If she's going to die, let her. Or you can earn the money yourself—because I'm not giving you anything. Now, leave my house."
Crescentia's hands clenched into fists. The urge to grab the fork from Magnus's plate and stab him surged through her, her blood boiling with rage.
Her eyes darkened. "You didn't shed a single tear when they died," she said, her voice low and steady. "And now you sit here, feasting on what doesn't belong to you. Tell me, Magnus—" she stepped forward, staring him down, "did you kill my parents?"
The air shifted. Magnus's hand froze midair, his grip tightening around his glass.
Crescentia's heart pounded. "You're the only one who benefited from their deaths. Maybe you planned it. Maybe you—"
A sharp sting erupted across her face, cutting her words short. The impact was so strong that the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
Slowly, she turned back to Magnus, her rage now unhidden.
Wiping her bleeding lip, she smirked. "So I'm right?"
"You need to watch your mouth," Magnus snarled, his face reddening with fury. "I could have you arrested for slander. You just accused me of murder!"
"I didn't accuse you." Crescentia met his gaze without flinching. "I stated the truth."
Another slap. Harder this time.
Crescentia spat a mouthful of blood onto the pristine marble floor.
"Get out of my house," Magnus seethed, his wrinkled face contorted in rage.
Victoria stood now, but she didn't intervene. She just watched, lips twitching with barely concealed amusement.
Crescentia met their eyes one last time, her stare filled with a promise. "I'll leave," she said. "But I'll be back. And when I am, I'll take back everything you stole. And when I find proof that you killed my parents…" She let the words hang in the air, her voice laced with quiet fury. "I'll make you wish you'd never been born."
With that, she spat another drop of blood onto the floor—her mark of defiance—before turning on her heel and walking away, disappearing behind the door.
Magnus and Victoria exchanged glances, unease flickering in their eyes.
"She's going to be a problem," Victoria murmured. "We need to get rid of her."
Magnus exhaled, his lips curling into a smirk. "She has nothing on us. And I've already told the rest of the family to ignore her if she asks for help."
"And you think they'll listen?"
Magnus chuckled darkly. "Money, my dear. It turns even the strongest people into puppets when the right amount is offered."
Victoria let out a breath, relief washing over her. "You're right. There's no evidence. We did a clean job." But then her expression hardened. "Still… if she keeps pushing, we'll have to send her where we sent her parents."
Magnus reached over, cupping her cheek with his aged, wrinkled hands. "You know I don't hesitate to eliminate any threats."
"I trust you," Victoria whispered.
They called a servant to clean off Crescentia's blood before they resumed their dinner like bother ever happened.
At the Hospital, Crescentia pulled open the door to Noella's room, a bag of food in hand.
"Cress, you're back!" Noella cheered, her voice small but excited. "Where were you? I was so alone—Doctor Nathan had to keep me company."
Nathan, sitting on the edge of the bed, glanced up—and his expression immediately darkened when he noticed the cut on Crescentia's lip.
"I'm sorry," Crescentia said softly, forcing a smile. "I went to get your favorite snacks to surprise you. But I guess I was too late." She placed the bag on the bed.
Noella peeked inside, her face lighting up. "Yay!"
"Doctor Nathan, thanks for keeping her company."
"No problem." His voice was calm, but his gaze didn't waver from her injury. "How did you get hurt?"
Crescentia stiffened for half a second—barely noticeable, but Nathan caught it.
Noella, too, lifted her head, her eyes filled with concern.
"I bit my lip too hard while thinking about what Noella could eat," Crescentia lied smoothly. Then, before anyone could press further, she changed the subject. "I'd like to make a deposit."
She didn't have much saved. Her parents had left a savings account in her name, but she couldn't access it until she turned twenty-five. And with Magnus and Victoria controlling everything, she knew better than to ask them about it.
Instead, she took what little she had, splitting it between daily expenses and Noella's surgery. But it still wasn't enough. Not even close.
And if she didn't find a way to get more soon… Noella wouldn't make it.
Crescentia spent the night at the hospital, so as to stay as close to Noella as possible with the thought of going house hunting the next day since it was already so late. Even a smallest apartment would do as long as it was affordable.
However, Crescentia didn't sleep that night because she was busy sending out mails and texts to her other relatives, informing them about the death of her parents, the wicked act of her aunt and uncle and then about Noella's condition.
A few replied saying they couldn't help financially while some saw the texts but didn't reply at all.
"They must be working with them as well," Crescentia mumbled under her breath.
Her family's name, the Belmore family, wasn't exactly the richest family in the city of Velmora, but it was in the top five richest families but out of her father's siblings, he was the richest. So they must have plotted to kill him because of their jealousy and greed.