“Evander, you will marry this woman.”

Evander snapped, “No way! I already said it. If someone wants to marry me, they have to go through the blind box draw. But she rigged it. There’s no way I’m letting a manipulative woman like her into our family!”

A brief silence fell.

Then Madam Astrid spoke, voice like ice.

“That blind box… was my arrangement.”

The entire room went still.

No one could understand why she, Madam Astrid herself was standing up for an outsider like me.

Evander’s fury exploded.

“Mom, are you out of your mind?! Why are you defending her? What did she do to brainwash you all?!”

Madam Astrid gave me a sideways look, her voice thick with mockery.

“Your mother isn’t so easily brainwashed. This came from your grandfather himself. He gave a clear order and if you don’t marry her, forget about inheriting the Vale Family.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd as dozens of stunned eyes turned toward me.

No one could understand what kind of power I held, or what kind of charm I had, that made Henry issue such an ultimatum.

But inside, I laughed coldly.

Clearly, Henry had no intention of letting go of the patent opportunity.

Unfortunately for him, all he’d done was guarantee that Evander would hate me even more.

Sure enough, Evander’s rage boiled over.

“That old man… he’s completely lost his mind!”

Before Evander could finish his sentence, a loud slap echoed through the hall.

Madam Astrid had struck him square across the face.

“How dare you say such nonsense?” she snapped. “The Vale Family doesn’t revolve around you alone!”

That single sentence shut him up completely.

His jaw clenched tight, fists curled at his sides. After a tense silence, he reluctantly nodded. “Fine. Since Grandpa insists, I’ll marry her. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

I scoffed coldly. “Do any of you even care what I think? I already said that I don’t want this marriage!”

Bianca, mistaking my refusal for arrogance, was beside herself with rage. She lunged at me again.

“You bitch! What did you do? How did you force Henry to make Evander marry a woman he doesn’t even like?!”

Before she could strike, Madam Astrid stepped in.

“Enough!” she barked. “The matter is settled.”

She turned to me, her eyes sharp and cold.

“Odette, I don’t care what you did to make the old man side with you. But since you got what you wanted, don’t you dare play coy.”

“This was your choice. You two are getting your marriage certificate today. The rest can wait.”

Before I could speak, she signaled her bodyguards to seize my bag. They snatched it away, pulled out my ID and ordered someone to begin the registration process.

My blood boiled.

“Are all of you deaf? I said I don’t agree to this marriage! Give me my ID back right now!”

But no one listened. No matter how I resisted, they ignored me completely.

Not long after, the marriage certificate was done.

Bianca and the others watched in disbelief as the red booklet was handed over. Hopelessness settled in their expressions.

“Unbelievable… What’s so special about her?” one of the girls muttered bitterly. “She’s just some backwater nobody. Why is Henry protecting her of all people?”

“We all had a chance to marry into the Vale Family and now it’s ruined because of her.”

Bianca clutched Evander’s arm tearfully. “Evander, now that you’re married does this mean I have to move out of the Vale estate?”

Evander, face full of pity, pulled her into his embrace. “Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a villa. You’ll be my golden canary. That certificate means nothing. She doesn’t get to control me.”

I stared at them, rage surging like a storm tide. I wanted nothing more than to slap every one of these people across the face.

But Madam Astrid misunderstood my glare. She thought I was jealous.

She sneered. “Odette, now that you’ve married into the Vale Family, you’re one of us. If you don’t want him to keep a mistress, then you’d better learn how to win his heart.”

I gave a cold laugh. “You’re out of your mind. This is forced marriage. It’s illegal!”

Her face twisted with fury. “Watch your tongue! I’m your mother-in-law, your elder and you dare talk back to me? I’ll teach you the rules of the Vale Family myself!”

She ordered the guards to pin me down. They forced my head to the floor again and again until blood trickled down my forehead.

Only then did she finally seem satisfied.

Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

“Don’t think marrying into the Vale Family means you can relax. If you don’t meet our expectations, don’t blame us for disciplining you.”

“From now on, you’ll get up early every day to help the maids prepare meals, wash clothes and manage the household.”

“You’ll give Evander at least three sons. If you can’t, don’t blame him for going elsewhere.”

“No more using your phone or any electronic devices. It’s bad for my grandson’s health.”

“And in this house, you answer to Evander. Be the perfect wife and mother or face the consequences. The Vale Family has plenty of rules for rebellious women.”

The moment she finished, the girls who had dreamed of marrying into a rich family finally realized being a wealthy man’s wife wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies.

Someone gasped, “God, being Young Master’s canary is a thousand times better. Look at Bianca, she gets pampered, lives in luxury and doesn’t have to do a damn thing.”

Bianca instantly beamed with joy turns out, the option Evander gave her was the best after all.

I ignored the farce unfolding around me, silently calculating the time in my head.

Earlier, Bianca had ignored the first call from my superior. Knowing how cautious he is, he would definitely call again to confirm my safety.

Sure enough, her pocket began vibrating once more.

Now that everything was settled, Bianca finally pressed the answer button.

From the other end came my superior’s voice: “Odette, how did the blind date go? I hope I didn’t interrupt anything earlier.”

Bianca chuckled sweetly. “Don’t worry. Odette has successfully become Evander’s wife. They've even gotten their marriage certificate. Right now, she’s kneeling on the floor, being disciplined by the Vale Family.”

My superior’s tone instantly turned alert. “Who are you? Where is Odette? Put her on the phone now!”

Bianca mocked sarcastically, “Oh, what’s the matter? Getting dumped by your old flame so publicly doesn’t feel too good, does it? Isn’t this what you all wanted anyway?”

He snapped. “Who gave you the right to spread lies! I’m warning you, if anything happens to Odette, none of you will get away with it!”

Evander took the phone and sneered coldly, “Is that so? I’d love to see what consequences I’ll face.”

Then, without warning, he walked over and slapped me across the face. My ears rang from the impact.

“You hear that? Even if I beat her to death, there’s nothing you can do about it!”

“And if you’ve got the guts, come here! I’ll deal with you too, old man!”

With that, he ended the call with a hard click.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Evander, the lot of you are truly beyond foolish. Too bad you won’t get the chance to regret it.”

Just as my words fell, startled gasps rose from beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows:

“Oh my god, what is that?”

A fleet of green helicopters rapidly approached, cutting through the air. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen agile figures in special ops uniforms rappelled down.

The banquet hall doors were then kicked open with a resounding bang.