Isabella Valentine slumped over the steering wheel, retching violently.

Her stomach churned violently, leaving her limbs weak.

It took half an hour before she could steady herself enough to drive back to Honey Court Apartment.

The bodyguards ignored her completely, allowing her to come and go as she pleased.

"Mom, I failed." Isabella collapsed onto the sofa, her voice hoarse. "I disguised myself as a nurse, but they still caught me."

Victoria Windsor shot to her feet. "Why would you go yourself? Couldn't you have sent someone else?"

"Who exactly can I order around now?" Isabella sneered. "I lost my status as the Valentine heiress long ago."

"Did Ethan give you any trouble?"

"He made his men force me to drink piss!" Isabella suddenly shrieked.

Victoria trembled with rage. "Men change their allegiances faster than flipping pages! That beast Theodore—the moment he found out you weren't his biological daughter, he locked me up with Hammer Ulrich!"

Isabella gave her a sidelong glance. "You seemed to enjoy it."

"I was forced!" Victoria's face flushed crimson. "I knew nothing about what happened back then!"

"Enough!"

Isabella slammed the bathroom door behind her.

With no clean clothes, she had to put back on the foul-smelling outfit.

When she emerged, Hammer was leaning against the wall.

His lecherous gaze roamed over her body before settling on her exposed calves.

"I'll gouge your eyes out if you keep staring!" Isabella snarled.

Hammer grinned. "What's wrong with a man looking at his own daughter?"

"I'm not your daughter!" Isabella grabbed a fruit knife. "Keep talking and I'll cut out your tongue!"

She sat on the sofa peeling an apple, each slice carved with vicious precision.

Victoria hurried over at the noise. "What now?"

Isabella suddenly looked up. "Are you absolutely sure no one did another paternity test?"

"Theodore locked us up right after his test. When would I have had the chance?"

Isabella abruptly stood and handed the half-peeled apple to Hammer.

"For me?" Hammer reached out eagerly.

A flash of steel!

Blood immediately welled from the gash on his hand.

"You little bitch!" Hammer roared.

Victoria rushed to shield her daughter. "She's your own flesh and blood!"

Expressionless, Isabella yanked a tissue and roughly pressed it against Hammer's wound.

The white paper instantly turned crimson.

She stuffed the bloodied tissue into her purse and left without a backward glance.

At the DNA Testing Center, Isabella submitted ten strands of hair and the stained tissue.

"Expedited service. I need the results by tomorrow."

Stepping outside, she headed to the mall for new clothes.

At the Burberry counter, the cashier politely returned her card. "I'm sorry, your account has been frozen."

Isabella's face drained of color.

On the phone, Theodore's voice was icy. "Your last name is Ulrich. What right do you have to spend my money?"

"You'll always be my father!" Isabella whimpered.

"What if I went bankrupt?"

She hesitated for a split second. "I—"

The line went dead.

That night, she curled up on Honey Court's sofa, tossing and turning.

The next day, when she received the test results, her entire body shook.

Confirmed biological match.

She tore the report to shreds, the fragments fluttering like snow.

"Twenty-dollar fine!" a sanitation worker bellowed.

Isabella painfully handed over twenty of her last fifty dollars.

After fueling her car with the remaining cash, she sped straight to the Valentine estate.

"Dad!" She clung to the iron gates, sobbing. "Even a dog gets treated with affection after years together!"

Theodore finally appeared.

"Did you ever do a paternity test with Sophia?" Isabella demanded urgently.

"Unnecessary." Theodore smirked. "Evelyn isn't like Victoria."

"But my blood type matches yours!"

"Get out!"

Theodore turned back toward the house but immediately called his assistant.

A week later, Sophia received a call from an unknown number.

"I'm Vincent's old neighbor, Raymond Stone. I have a Kangxi Mallet Vase that needs restoration."

After verifying his identity, Sophia went to meet him with Iris Evans.

In the teahouse private room, Raymond carefully produced the porcelain vase.

"First, tell me if it's genuine."

Sophia examined the vase closely.

Suddenly, her fingertip stung.

A hidden spike at the base had pricked her skin.

Blood welled up.

"Fake." Sophia frowned. "An eight-hundred-thousand-dollar piece wouldn't have such shoddy craftsmanship."

Raymond apologized profusely, offering tissues.

As they left, no one noticed the old man retrieving the bloodied tissue from the trash.

"Got it," Raymond reported over the phone.

Ten minutes later, Theodore's assistant raced toward the testing center.

The black car streaked through the sunset like a bolt of dark lightning.