Chapter 3

3

Today, however, Roxy's luck was beginning to turn.

I accompanied her to a high-end art gallery exhibition.

Roxy was basking in the glowing compliments of the wealthy patrons surrounding her.

Suddenly, her smile froze as she looked toward the private viewing lounge.

A handsome older man had his arm wrapped around a delicate, petite young woman.

He was pointing at an oil painting, whispering in her ear with blatant intimacy.

Roxy lost her mind and charged forward, yanking the two of them apart.

Before anyone could react, she slapped the young woman hard across the face.

"Who the hell is this tramp?"

The man didn't scold Roxy, calmly wrapping his arm around the crying girl instead.

"Roxy, stop throwing a scene."

His tone was helpless and indulgent, completely devoid of blame.

"Dad!"

Roxy stamped her foot in furious indignation.

The onlookers whispered among themselves, entirely unsurprised by the spectacle.

Everyone in high society knew that billionaire Harrison Campbell spoiled his only daughter rotten.

Roxy's possessiveness over her father was practically psychotic.

Any woman who dared to get close to Harrison was eventually destroyed by Roxy's schemes.

Roxy's mother had passed away years ago.

A man of Harrison's wealth and status was never going to stay single forever.

A few years back, he remarried Valerie Vance, the heiress of the powerful Vance family.

Roxy had staged a runaway stunt on their wedding night, forcing Harrison to search the city for her until dawn.

Valerie spent her entire wedding night sitting alone in an empty bridal suite.

It was Roxy's childish way of asserting dominance and proving Harrison's favoritism.

When Valerie later became pregnant, Roxy completely snapped.

She viewed the unborn child as a betrayal of her deceased mother.

In a fit of madness, she pushed the pregnant Valerie down the grand staircase of their estate.

Valerie lost the baby, and the autopsy confirmed it had been a boy.

Harrison was initially furious and threatened to punish Roxy severely.

Anticipating his rage, Roxy gritted her teeth and threw herself down the stairs as well.

When Harrison arrived home, he found Roxy lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing.

Roxy whimpered weakly in his arms:

"Daddy, I was just so terrified. I was scared that once my baby brother was born, you would forget all about me and Mommy…"

Seeing Roxy in such a pitiful state, combined with his lingering nostalgia for his late wife, Harrison caved.

The matter was quietly swept under the rug.

Harrison merely docked Roxy's allowance for a few months and repossessed a couple of luxury properties.

Then, he turned around and told Valerie:

"Roxy is just an insecure child. She knows she was wrong, and I've already punished her. Let it go."

Valerie was never able to conceive again after that incident.

Soon enough, a steady stream of mistresses began appearing around Harrison.

Roxy couldn't even tolerate Valerie, let alone disposable side pieces.

Seeing Harrison defending this latest mistress, Roxy's sanity broke.

Ignoring all decorum, she lunged at the woman and began clawing at her face.

During the chaotic scuffle, the girl was shoved violently to the marble floor.

A trickle of bright red blood slowly stained the inner thighs of her white dress.

Roxy's face drained of color as she realized what she had done.

An hour later, Roxy and I were locked inside Harrison's private study.

"Annie, when my dad comes in, you tell him you were the one who pushed her."

Roxy looked down at me, her voice cold and demanding.

"B-but your father is Harrison Campbell!"

"If he thinks I hurt his mistress and killed his baby, he'll ruin my life!"

This was the first time I had ever pushed back against her since she took me in.

Shocked by my defiance, Roxy pointed a manicured finger directly at my face.

"Think carefully, Annie! If you confess right now, I can still beg my dad to show mercy!"

"If I have to testify that you did it, you won't survive the night in this city!"

My face turned completely pale.

"Miss Campbell, you can't do this to me…"

Before I could finish, the heavy oak doors swung open.

Harrison walked in with an icy, menacing expression.

He sat down in his leather armchair, crossing his legs and tapping his fingers against his knee.

"Roxy, your childish tantrums are getting out of hand."

Roxy instantly shifted into her delicate, helpless routine, looking at Harrison with tear-filled eyes.

"Daddy, I know I was wrong to cause a scene in public."

"B-but I didn't push her!"

As she spoke, she viciously pinched my arm from behind her back.

Her glare demanded that I step forward and take the fall immediately.

I didn't believe for a second that her subtle gesture escaped Harrison's sharp eyes.

The truth was, even if he saw it, he chose to play blind for his daughter.

Harrison smoothly picked up the narrative Roxy set up.

"Only the two of you were close enough to touch her. If it wasn't you, then it was her."

His razor-sharp gaze snapped toward me like a predator locking onto prey.

I took a shaky breath and stepped forward, trembling.

"I pushed her, Mr. Campbell… but it was an accident. I didn't mean to."

Roxy let out a subtle sigh of relief.

"Daddy, Annie didn't do it on purpose. Besides, I still need her to help me with my painting assignments."

Hearing this, Harrison stood up, closed the distance between us, and gripped my jaw in a vice-like hold.

He forced my head up so I had no choice but to meet his cold eyes.

"That child was a boy."

His voice was entirely flat, devoid of emotion yet dripping with deadly menace.

Seeing Harrison standing so close to me, Roxy's obsessive jealousy flared up again.

She burst into dramatic tears, desperate to pull his focus back to herself.

"Daddy, didn't you promise that I would be your only daughter forever?"

"Why do you keep getting these trashy women pregnant behind my back?"

"Have you forgotten how Mommy died? Have you forgotten the vow you made to her on her deathbed?"

The moment Roxy cried, Harrison's hardened demeanor instantly softened.

He released my chin and turned to pull Roxy into a comforting embrace.

"Roxy, Daddy hasn't forgotten."

Harrison patted her back gently, his previous hostility completely replaced by paternal warmth.

"I only wanted to give you a little brother so we could protect you together, sweetheart."