As if what mattered most was being destroyed before her eyes, Hannah sobbed. Seeing her sister's tears, Heather's anger peaked. "When has she ever cried like this? I beat her and locked her up for half a year, and she never cried or made a scene. As a mere substitute, a shadow of me, she shouldn't have her own thoughts, and yet she's begging me for that stupid ring!"

"With her shoulder injured, she can't even lift her arm. What kind of power compels her to grab my hand for the ring?" Heather realized she'd underestimated Ralph Russell's influence over Hannah. She never imagined a man like him could undo years of her influence and make Hannah rebel. "I must never let her keep the ring!"

Her gaze hardened. She jerked her hand back and kicked Hannah. "Get out!" The impact sent Hannah crashing onto a chair. She fell to the floor, coughing up blood. The pain was excruciating; she felt as if her insides had shifted. But seeing the diamond ring, her treasured ring, twisted and broken in Heather's hand, made her even more distraught.

The ring was a mangled lump; the diamond was gone. Heather tossed it to Hannah. "I thought you wanted it? I'm giving it back."

Hannah glared. It was the first time she'd looked at her sister with such anger and hatred. Heather was unnerved. "This is the first time this useless bitch gave me such a look. She looks a bit like me now, doesn't she?" But her unease was fleeting. She was used to dismissing Hannah, believing her a worthless loser.

"So what if she hates me? She should blame herself and the Riggs family for their rules. It's her fault she's nothing more than my cover." Sternly, she ordered, "Lock her up. Don't let her leave without my permission. And bandage her wound." She wouldn't kill Hannah, not yet. She would have her injury treated, but nothing more.

Hannah, ignoring everything, clutched the deformed ring, treating it like a treasure. Yet she looked utterly miserable, as if all joy was gone. A servant carried her away. Heather watched, a sigh of relief—mixed with an oppressive pain—escaping her lips. She hadn't fully recovered. Still without the secret handbook, she knew she was no match for Alexander, and Hannah's defiance only added to her frustration. "This is all that man's fault!"