"Let this be a lesson to all of you—stay away from trash like Glenda Cox. Understood?"

Mom walked up to me and slapped me hard across the face.

"What have I always taught you? A woman should have self-respect and dignity. How could you sink so low as to become someone's bedmate?"

Eric sneered. "I'm guessing this fake 'Mr. Sanchez' is just one of many clients she services."

"You have no idea the kind of damage a 'Number 36 Princess' can do!"

"If you don't mind me asking—what's your rate for one night?"

The words were designed to humiliate, and they worked. The relatives erupted in laughter.

Anne pounded her fists playfully against Eric's chest, her voice coy. "Why are you asking my sister her rates? Thinking of placing an order yourself?"

Eric slid his hand around Anne's waist in front of everyone. "Never. You're the only little temptress I want."

The display made my stomach lurch. I gagged.

Anne's voice turned cold. "Oh my—is my sister pregnant?"

I swallowed the pain, grabbed the feather duster from Dad's hand, and hurled it across the room. "Enough! Dad, you were hitting me that hard—were you trying to kill me?"

"If you actually beat me to death, that respectable career of yours goes up in smoke too!"

The words landed. Dad's grip went slack, his arm dropping to his side. The only thing left in his eyes was disgust—all of it aimed at me.

I turned to Eric and his weasel face. My voice was ice. "Save the slander for the police."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and swept my gaze across every gawking relative in the room. "Oh, and by the way—every word you all just hurled at me? I recorded it."

"When the verdict comes down and you're looking at jail time, don't come crying to me."

The color drained from their faces. The tone shifted instantly, voices turning saccharine. "Glenda, sweetheart, we were only looking out for you! Trying to set you straight! How can you repay our kindness like this?"

"What kind of man has Anne brought home? Does he even have real evidence? Don't drag us all down with you!"

Eric snatched my phone from my hand and killed the call to the police. "Calling the cops during New Year's? That's terrible luck. You want to curse everyone here with bad fortune?"

Anne burst into tears. "I don't want bad luck! This is my third time taking the IELTS—I have to get accepted to study abroad!"

Study abroad.

The words hit me like a shockwave. I turned slowly toward my parents. Both of them looked panicked.

Dad spoke first. "You know our financial situation. Between you and Anne, we can only afford to send one of you overseas."

My voice came out hoarse. "But I earned my admission to Imperial College London three years ago. You talked me out of it. You said it was too dangerous for a girl to go abroad alone. You said something had come up with the family finances and you couldn't afford to send me."

"I gave it up. It nearly destroyed me, but I gave it up and stayed by your side. And now you're promising to send Anne—who hasn't even passed the IELTS?"

Anne put on a remorseful face. "I'm sorry, sis. When you got into Imperial College London back then, I was so jealous. I told Mom and Dad I wanted to go abroad too."

"I never expected them to talk you out of going."

"They probably just figured you're so talented, you'd succeed no matter what!"

"I mean, look at you—you even excelled as a KTV princess. You managed to reel in a fake Mr. Sanchez and everything."

I couldn't hold back. My hand flew before I could think, and the slap cracked across her face.

Mom pulled Anne into her arms and unleashed on me.

"Glenda Cox! She's your sister! How dare you lay a hand on her? Giving up your spot abroad was YOUR FATHER'S decision and MINE! It had nothing to do with Anne!"

Dad hit me back—returning the slap on Anne's behalf. "I'm more convinced than ever that making you give up was the right call!"

"Your character is rotten. Your behavior is out of control. Wherever you go, you're nothing but a disaster!"

My heart plummeted. The tears I'd been fighting finally broke free, pouring down my face in a flood I couldn't stop.

I was only two years older than my sister, but our parents had never treated us equally. Not once.

Just because Anne had a sweet tongue, knew how to bat her eyelashes and play cute—while I was blunt and awkward—I deserved this?

Eric sneered. "What right do you have to cry? If you've got any guts, prove it yourself! That heart-shaped mole—if you don't have one, I'll get on my knees and beg your forgiveness."

"But if you do have one, you need to voluntarily give up your government position."

"Because someone like you doesn't deserve to be a public servant."

A chill sank through me. So this was what he'd been angling for all along. Everything tonight—the accusations, the spectacle—it had all been leading here.

The relatives exchanged confused glances, their voices tinged with something sour.

"Government position? Glenda passed the exam?"

"Passed and didn't even tell anyone? What an ungrateful child."

"Since when can a prostitute get a government job? Don't they do background checks?"

Five years. I'd spent five years preparing for the civil service exam. Four failures. This year, I'd finally come out on top—first place in both the written and oral exams. The background review was scheduled for after the New Year holiday.

Having learned my lesson from before, I hadn't told a single soul about the news this time.

And yet my parents, my sister, and Eric showed no surprise whatsoever. As if they'd known all along.

My voice came out cold and flat. "Eric, you placed second for that position, didn't you."

"Trying to use these filthy tactics to force me out. How pathetic."

Eric's jaw clenched. "Stop changing the subject!" He turned to the room. "Someone help me—hold her down and strip her!"

Anne was the first to grab me, pinning my arms. "Mom! Dad! Come help!"

I shouted, loud enough for every person in that room to hear: "If you lay a hand on me, you are no longer my family!"

My parents' footsteps faltered—but the words that left their mouths were ice.

"Glenda, don't blame us. Anne's boyfriend came all this way. We have to see that justice is done for him."

In front of everyone, my clothes were peeled off, layer by layer, until I stood in nothing but my bra.

Several relatives pulled out their phones and started taking pictures.

Twenty-seven years I'd been alive. Never—never—had I been subjected to humiliation like this.

Eric shoved me aside and bellowed, "Everyone, look! A heart-shaped mole! I wasn't lying! She's Princess Number Thirty-Six!"

The room erupted. Camera shutters clicked in a relentless, overlapping barrage.

In the chaos, I snatched my phone back and typed a text to Jarvis.

Help me.

Then I composed a message to the police and hit send.

My father grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me upright. "What do you have to say for yourself now?"

I wiped the tears from my face. I refused to bow my head. "You can pin any crime on someone if you try hard enough."

"This mole isn't mine. Someone put it there—and I don't need to spell out who."

His palm cracked across my face again. My entire cheek burned white-hot.

I'd lost count of how many times he'd hit me tonight.

"Still talking back?" His voice was a blade. "Glenda, you said it yourself—you don't claim us, and we sure as hell don't want to claim a vile daughter like you!"

"The Cox family elder is here tonight. He witnessed everything. He'll serve as our witness."

"Effective immediately, your name is struck from the Cox family registry! From this day forward, you are no longer one of us!"

The insults that followed his declaration were even worse than before.

"Laurence, removing the little tramp from the registry is the right call. I don't want people pointing fingers at me on the street."

"Too many daughters is more trouble than it's worth. One sweetheart like Anne is plenty."

"So does this mean Anne's boyfriend gets the government job now? Congratulations—landing a civil servant for a boyfriend, not bad at all."

"Eric, you know what they say—first thing a man does after getting a government post is dump his girlfriend. You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Eric pulled Anne into his arms and kissed her, deep and open-mouthed, right there in front of everyone. "Anne is the love of my life. I'd never leave her."

My stomach lurched. I doubled over and threw up everything I'd eaten that night.

My sister's face twisted with fury. "What's that supposed to mean? You see us together and you're so jealous you're losing your mind?"

I finished getting dressed and let out a cold laugh. "Oh, absolutely. Every single one of you in this room is revolting. So revolting I've already thrown up."

I waited for my moment, then darted toward the bags of New Year gifts I'd brought.

My parents had thrown family loyalty out the window and humiliated me in every way they could think of. So why should I keep their secrets?

Dad's voice erupted in rage. "Glenda Cox, you open that bag and I swear to God I'll kill you!"

I smiled, calm and deliberate, and tore the bag open, dumping everything onto the floor.

I moved too fast. By the time my parents lunged forward, it was already too late. The relatives' faces shifted, one by one.

At that exact moment, the front door was smashed open from outside.

Eric saw who walked in—and his legs gave out. He crumpled to the floor.