Chapter 1 The secretary , Tessa Monro , thought it was funny to give my daughter - Lily Carter a strip of jerky slathered in industrial - grade chili extract . Lily ended up with a stomach perforation and had to be rushed to the ICU . I was so furious that I locked Tessa in the walk - in freezer and told her to cool off . When my husband , Nathan Carter , found out , the first thing he did was slap me across the face . " Tessa's pregnant ! What if she gets frostbite ? " he shouted . " Lily's still in the ICU fighting for her life , and you're siding with some outsider instead of standing up for your own flesh and blood ? " I snapped back . He didn't say another word . Maybe because deep down , he knew I was right . He just followed me quietly to the hospital to check on Lily . The next morning , I opened my eyes and immediately realized something was wrong . I was inside a sauna . The temperature had already climbed past 176 ° F , and it was still rising . I banged on the glass and screamed for help , my voice echoing back in the suffocating heat . " You locked Tessa in the freezer , " Nathan's voice came from outside , calm and cruel . " Now it's your turn . Let's see how it feels . " Tessa , curled up smugly in Nathan's arms , covered her mouth with a laugh . " Oh , don't be so mad , Vivian . Nathan insisted on standing up for me . " LT I stared at them coldly and reached under my collar , clicking on the emergency signal embedded in my necklace . They didn't know who they were messing with . My father , Richard Sterling , once ruled the entire Eastpoint underworld . I'm his only daughter - and no one touches me without consequence . " You've got three seconds to open this door , " I warned , my voice sharp as ice . " Otherwise , you're all leaving here in body bags . " Laughter erupted outside . " Did I hear that right ? Vivian Sterling's threatening us now ? " " She's just an orphan nobody wanted . Mr. Carter was being generous marrying her . Hell , she's not even good enough to shine our shoes . " My words made Nathan's expression darken as he furrowed his brows . " Vivian , I locked you in that sauna to teach you a lesson , to break your pride , " he said coldly . " Tessa almost lost the baby because of you . " I coldly stared at him , clearly aware that Tessa had deliberately fed Lily Industrial - grade chili . Lily was already weak , and after eating the chili , she was sent straight to the ICU and still hadn't woken up . I only locked her in the freezer for ten minutes - there's no way anything serious would have happened ! What a classic case of the villain crying first ! But now , as I looked at the thermometer reading 176 ° F , I knew that every second I spent here only increased the suffocating danger , Ifrantically pounded on the glass wall , screaming hoarsolute " Nathan , whatever you want to blame me for , let me out first . The temperature is 176 ° F , I'm about to die from heat ! " At that moment , Tessa coldly scoffed and slowly walked over to me . " Vivian , Nathan's just giving you a little lesson . You can't deceive him like this . " " I set the temperature of this sauna myself , there's no way it's 176 ° F . Don't scare me like that . " Nathan pulled Tessa into his arms , his hand resting on her stomach . " This is the heir to the Carter family's legacy . Everything I've built is for him . You almost killed him , and the fact that I haven't finished you off is already me showing mercy . " " The heat's fine - it's all your fault . You brought this upon yourself ! " Hearing that , my heart sank . Tessa's child was Nathan's . Lily was still fighting for her life in the ICU , and here he was , already preparing for another child . At that thought , I couldn't hold back anymore . I cried out in despair , banging on the glass door helplessly . As the temperature continued to rise , sweat poured down my face and body . My strength was fading , and my heart was filled with endless hopelessness . Then , a phone call rang through the air . Nathan answered it and turned to me with a cold smile . " Guess what ? Your useless daughter woke up . " Chapter 1