Returning early from abroad to surprise my sister Nina, I found the house empty. Then I spotted a piece of her dress through the bars of a locked dog cage by the garden gate. Fumbling with the latch, I flung the door open to find Nina curled into a ball inside the cramped, one-square-meter doghouse. "Why are you sleeping here?" I asked, stunned. "Come out; I brought your favorite cream puffs." "No! Cream puffs are for the Master. Puppies aren't worthy. Puppies only eat kibble," she frantically shook her head. My stepmother Brenda's voice slithered from behind. "Nina finds school too hard. She says being a dog is more comfortable. It was her idea to live here." I turned. Brenda, heavily pregnant, wore the two halves of the Vance family crest around her neck – the symbol of our family's power, belonging to Nina and me. Noticing my gaze, she patted her belly with a smirk. "It's a boy. So I get Nina's half of the crest, and yours too." A dark smile touched my lips. She didn't know our father had married in and lost the ability to have children the year Nina was born. 1 The second daughter of the Vance family, who should have been living a life of pampered luxury, was chained in the yard like an animal. The sight of the iron chain around my sister's neck sent a blade of ice through my heart. No wonder she hadn't contacted me once in the three years I'd been away. Every time I asked my father, he'd brush me off, saying her studies were too demanding. Nina's bedroom had long been taken over. The villa had been redecorated, every trace of my mother’s presence erased. I helped Nina out of the cage, brushing the dust from her clothes. The dress she wore was one I’d given her three years ago. It was now tattered and torn, barely covering her. I took off my own jacket and draped it over her small shoulders. "Brenda, you dare treat the daughter of the Vance family like this? Do you have a death wish?" "Is that any way to talk to your mother!" My father, Mark, appeared behind Brenda, flanked by a group of men I didn't recognize. Their eyes raked over me, dripping with malice. "My mother is dead," I snapped. "That thing is nothing." "Sloane! Brenda is my wife, which makes her your mother and the lady of this house! Apologize to her this instant, or you are no longer my daughter!" "A backwoods housekeeper who slept her way into this house is worthy of being my mother? And you, Mark, have you forgotten whose name this family carries?" My mother was the 75th Matriarch of the Azure Syndicate, a woman who commanded respect in every circle, legal and illicit. She held the Azure Crest, the key to commanding eight thousand chapters across the continent. A woman born to rule, who had, for some inexplicable reason, fallen for a man like my father. She had threatened her own life to get her family’s approval for him to marry in. My sister and I both took our mother's name, Vance. My mother split her Azure Crest in two, giving one half to me and the other to Nina, warning us never to use its power unless absolutely necessary. Then, a sudden illness took her from us. My father claimed a young child needed a mother’s care and brought his childhood sweetheart from his backwater hometown to "help." "When I agreed to let Brenda in this house, it was as a nanny, not as its mistress!" Mark’s hand cracked across my face. "I'm in charge now! If you don't like it, you can get the hell out!" I clutched my stinging cheek. "Don't you forget, you're living in a villa my mother bought before she ever met you. This is Vance property. If anyone's getting out, it's you and her!" "I've been too soft on you!" He raised his hand again, but Brenda stopped him with a sickeningly sweet display of concern. "That's enough, darling. She's just a child, she doesn't know any better. I won't hold it against her." She turned her saccharine smile on me. "Sloane, dear, it's not that I've been cruel to your sister. She’s the one who finds school too tiring. She wants to live like a dog." "Of course, I didn't want her living in a kennel. She threw terrible tantrums about it." "She went on a hunger strike when I refused. I had no choice but to let her have her way. If you don't believe me, ask your father. Or ask Nina herself." Mark snorted. "Nina is a disgrace. She'd rather be a dog than go to school. A child with no ambition is no daughter of mine!" Nina tugged on my sleeve, her voice a dry rasp. "Sister, I don't like school. I like being a dog. I like the kennel." "I'm a puppy. Woof, woof." "You are not a dog! You are a human being!" My eyes swept the grounds. None of the old staff were here. The butler, the maids, the bodyguards—all replaced with these hostile strangers who watched me like vultures. "I don't care what happened before. But I'm back now, and my sister will not be your pet!" Brenda’s fake smile never wavered. "Well then, Sloane, perhaps you should be the one to discipline her from now on. We certainly can't." She picked up a rubber ball from the ground and tossed it across the lawn. Instantly, Nina dropped to all fours and scrambled after it. She snatched the ball with her teeth and trotted back, dropping it into Brenda’s outstretched hand. Brenda threw it again. As Nina started to chase it, I grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. "Nina! You are a person, not a dog! You walk on two legs! You hold things with your hands! Promise me, you won't act like a dog anymore, okay?" Nina just shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. "No, I'm a puppy. I like being a puppy." Brenda laughed, a loud, ugly sound, dangling the ball in her hand. "Want to play again?" Nina’s tongue lolled out, and she panted excitedly. "Yes! Yes!" "ENOUGH!" I rounded on Mark. "Mom told you to take care of Nina before she died. This is how you take care of her!" He just shrugged. "It's not my fault if she has no self-respect." "Get the key and take that chain off her neck!" No one moved. I glared at the staff. "Are you all deaf!" "Go get the key," Brenda said calmly, and only then did someone move. It was clear I held no authority here. The moment the chain was unlocked, Nina was overcome with panic. She hunched over, trying to crawl back into the kennel. "I don't live in the house! I'm a puppy! I have to stay in the cage!" I wrapped my arms around her. "Nina, don't be afraid. I'm taking you to a doctor right now." There was no time to even change her clothes. I rushed her to the hospital. The examination revealed a horror story. Beyond the severe psychological trauma, her body was a canvas of abuse. Clusters of old and new injuries covered her chest and back, conveniently hidden by her clothes. The doctor said she'd been whipped and beaten with rods. There were large, scarred-over burns. Several ribs had been broken and healed improperly. There was even evidence of trauma to her skull. Listening to the doctor's detached report, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. These people were monsters. I held Nina close. "It's okay, Nina. I'm here now. I'll protect you. No one will ever hurt you again." When we returned to the villa, Brenda was waiting, her pregnant belly leading the way. "Sloane, dear. Your half of the Azure Crest. It's on you, isn't it?" My luggage was in the living room, torn open and its contents strewn across the floor. "Who gave you permission to touch my things!" "Sloane," my father said, "give your mother your half of the crest. She's carrying your little brother. The family business will be his to inherit now." I laughed in his face. "The Azure Syndicate values bloodline above all else. Only the Vance line can lead it. And you think the bastard in her belly is worthy of even being considered a successor?" Mark’s face turned a sickly green. "How dare you! That is your brother, not a bastard!" "She knows the truth." Brenda leaned against Mark, her voice trembling with manufactured hurt. "Your father is the only man I've ever been with. How could you say such a vile thing?" "Apologize to your mother!" Mark roared. I ignored him, pulling Nina with me toward the stairs. He continued to shout at my back. "After your mother went to all the trouble of having your room specially prepared! She even got your favorite fruits! Is this how you repay her?" I got Nina inside my room and slammed the door, locking him out. I could hear him yelling for the guards to drag me out, but Brenda’s sickly-sweet voice eventually calmed him down. I gave Nina a bath, dressed her in fresh clothes, and sat with her until she finally drifted off to sleep. Only then did I allow myself to rest. My own team would arrive tomorrow. And then, we would settle this. I drifted into a restless sleep, waking with a jolt in the dead of night. Nina was gone. Panic seized me. I threw off the covers and ran out of the room. I found her in the dining room, kneeling on the floor, serving breakfast to Brenda's nephew. Chad saw me and sneered. "My aunt said Nina's mine to marry. She was born to serve me." "Good puppy," he said, spitting a half-chewed piece of toast onto the floor. "Here's a treat for you." Nina immediately bent down to pick it up with her mouth. Chad roared with laughter. "You'll even eat my leftovers! You really are a dog!" He stood up and climbed onto Nina’s back. "Run, puppy! Run fast and I'll give you another treat!" And so, my sister crawled on all fours, carrying him around the room. "Faster! Are you trying to starve? Any slower and you won't even get kibble!" Nina picked up her pace. Chad pulled a few pieces of dog food from his pocket and tossed them ahead of her. She scrambled to eat them. "Stupid mutt, all you think about is food!" I had seen enough. I stormed forward and sent him flying off Nina's back with a single, brutal kick. Chad hit the floor with a heavy thud. He scrambled to his feet, screaming, "You bitch! You dare hit me!" "Guards! Tie her up!" "Who dares!" I pulled Nina into my arms, shielding her. "Chad, get on your knees and apologize to my sister right now, and I might consider letting you live. Otherwise, don't say I didn't give you a chance." "Oh, listen to you! You think this is still your mother's house?" he sneered. "This family is run by my uncle now! The Azure Syndicate is his! Who the hell do you think you are?" "Grab her!" The guards swarmed us, pinning me and Nina to the floor. Brenda rushed over, playing the peacemaker. "Sloane, my nephew is just spoiled. He means no harm, he was just playing with Nina." "Here," she said, her voice dropping. "You give me the crest, and I'll make him apologize." "You want the crest? In your dreams!" Her mask of civility finally shattered. "You ungrateful bitch! Fine! Search her! The crest has to be on her!" "There you are," I said with a cold smile. "I was getting sick of your fake smile anyway." "Hmph. You little slut. If you were as obedient as your sister, I might have let you stay, be a dog by my side. But you're too wild. I can't control you. Looks like we'll have to send you off to one of our 're-education' camps in the East to learn some manners." "You wouldn't dare!" "Once I have the full crest, the entire Syndicate is mine. What wouldn't I dare?" "Ma'am, I found it!" a guard shouted. He handed my half of the crest to Brenda. Her eyes lit up with a feverish greed. She took her half from around her neck and clicked them together. "Finally! The Azure Syndicate is mine! An empire spanning the continent, endless wealth… it’s all mine!" I let out a cold laugh. "You have a trinket. Don't you think you're celebrating a little early?" "The Azure Crest can command all eight thousand chapters! With this, I am the new Matriarch!" "You aren't worthy." "Still talking tough when you're about to die! Take her and Nina away! Send them to the camps!" I glanced at my watch. They should be here by now. As if on cue, a squad of black-clad figures swarmed into the villa, surrounding it completely. In a blur of motion, they neutralized the guards holding us and formed a protective circle around me and Nina. Brenda, who had never seen anything like this, shrieked and hid behind her remaining men. "Who are you people!" "This is the Azure Syndicate's Praetorian Guard." "The Syndicate's men! Excellent!" Brenda held up the united crest. "I have the Azure Crest! I am your new leader!" "Now, on my command, seize Sloane and Nina Vance!" The black-clad guards didn't move a muscle. Brenda grew frantic. "Are you all blind? This is the genuine Azure Crest!" The lead guard stepped forward and handed me an envelope. "Miss Vance. We have what you requested." I took it and held it out to Mark. "Dad. Take a look." He took it suspiciously. Brenda immediately crowded in to look over his shoulder. He opened the envelope. The contents made their faces drain of all color.
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