Chapter 2
The gentle smile on Dash's face froze momentarily before quickly returning to normal.
He clapped his hands, and Diana's third brother, Wade York, burst into the room. Always Leila's shadow, he now wore an expression of impatience and malice.
"Why waste words on her? Diana, you've already drunk the drugged water. This marriage is happening whether you like it or not. Marry or die!"
Seeing this, Dash dropped his pretense entirely. He pushed his glasses up methodically, revealing eyes devoid of any warmth—only calculation and cruelty remained.
"Don't blame me, Diana. That's a new drug Wade picked up from his casino connections. When it kicks in, the symptoms mimic acute heart failure, but the pain is ten times worse."
He pulled two documents from his pocket and slapped them onto Diana's small vanity. "Choose one. The first: you obediently take Leila's place in this marriage. We keep the bride price, you remain a York daughter, and we remain your brothers. If the Russells ever mistreat you, we will be your safety net."
"The second," he pointed to the other document with the glaring title "Severance of Family Relations Agreement," "sign this, and you'll have no further connection to the York family. Though I doubt you'd be that foolish."
Wade chimed in, "Diana, don't push your luck! Just one drop of that drug will slowly destroy your body. Without an antidote, you'll die in excruciating pain."
They were certain she wouldn't risk severing family ties for mere dowry money. They were confident her fear of abandonment would make her comply.
However, Diana merely glanced at both documents, picked up a pen, and without hesitation signed the family severance agreement. Her signature was steady, without a trace of trembling.
"What... you!" Dash's composure finally shattered.
Wade stood dumbfounded.
Diana pushed the signed agreement toward them, her voice cold as ice. "Now, switch the parties in the bride price agreement. It belongs to me. Otherwise, you can prepare to send the Russells a corpse."
She closed her suitcase, clearly prepared to sit there and wait for death if necessary. "Think carefully. Will you send my drug-poisoned, dying body, or your precious Leila with her failing heart?"
Outside the door, Leila, hearing the commotion, seemed frightened that the fire might actually reach her.
"Idris, my—my chest hurts so much..." Her weak crying voice drifted in.
Idris's anxious voice followed, "Leila! What's wrong? Quick! Call the doctor!"
Chaos erupted outside. Amid the confusion, Leila leaned against the doorframe, shooting another smug, challenging look at Diana in the attic. But Diana only watched their sibling devotion with cold eyes, her heart unmoved.
Dash and Wade exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting both struggle and viciousness.
Outside, Leila was "adding fuel to the fire": "The Russell family hasn't even delivered the bride price yet. Who knows how much they'll give for a good-luck bride for a vegetative man..."
Her words finally pushed the brothers over the edge. After all, Diana would only be married to a living corpse—she'd eventually come crawling back to them.
Besides, how substantial could a bride price be for marrying a vegetative man? Let Diana take Leila's place first, then they could reclaim everything later!
Dash gritted his teeth, picked up the pen, and quickly modified the gift agreement, transferring all bride price rights to Diana. "Fine! Take it all! Don't regret this, Diana!"
Diana secured her copies of both the family severance agreement and the bride price agreement, her lips curving into a mocking smile.
Just then, the butler's respectful voice carried from downstairs. "Sir, Madam, the Russell family's bride price procession has arrived!"
In the living room, the Russell family's head butler led a group carrying luxurious boxes into the house with impressive grandeur.
He unfolded a gold-embossed list and announced loudly, "Cash: thirty-eight million, eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand. Ten riverfront properties in prime locations. Twenty commercial storefronts in the city center—property deeds included. One 'Eternal Heart' pink diamond necklace. Two cases of haute couture jewelry. Ten cases of gold ornaments..."
Bodhi and Bella listened with widening eyes, breathing heavily, their faces etched with naked greed.
Under their gaze, Diana descended the stairs step by step. She took the list directly from the butler's hand and handed him a black credit card. "Please convert all of these items to cash, including the money already here, and deposit everything into this card."
The Russell family's butler hesitated momentarily but accepted it respectfully. "Yes, Mrs. Russell."
Bodhi sighed deeply. Bella, watching the cases of jewelry and gold about to be carried away, immediately shrieked, "Stop! What are you doing? Don't move those!"
Diana coldly tossed the bride price gift agreement in front of them. "It's in black and white. Read it carefully."
All three brothers' faces turned ghastly. They never imagined the Russell family would be so generous, and now they were sick with regret.
Leila broke free from her oldest brother's support and, clutching her heart, deliberately approached Diana with tears welling in her eyes, looking increasingly pitiful.
She leaned close to Diana and whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Diana, just be obedient! After you outlive Rupert Russell, I'll make sure Mom and Dad bring you back home. We'll find you a good husband then!"
"Really? Then you'd better protect that heart of yours. Don't die too soon. The road to the underworld would be so lonely without a companion."
Leila steeled herself and made as if to kneel, but Idris quickly caught her and pulled her protectively into his arms.
She feigned innocence, "Diana, rest assured, everything in the York family is yours. I would never compete with you for anything."
Seeing Diana unmoved, she continued crying pitifully, "Mom and Dad raised you for so many years, and the company is struggling now. This money should stay with the family! If I were the one getting married, I would definitely..."
Diana stared at that face full of hypocrisy and suddenly felt that even saying one more word would be wasting her life. So she merely tugged at the corner of her mouth and interrupted, her tone even. "Then you marry him."
Leila's crying stopped abruptly. Feeling her parents' and brothers' greedy, wavering gazes falling on her, afraid they might actually push her forward, she rolled her eyes back and "fainted" dramatically.
Bella hissed at Diana in a whisper, "You ungrateful wretch! Without the York family, you wouldn't even qualify to be a substitute bride for the Russell family!"
"What did you say? Speak up, I can't hear you."
"You—!" Bella trembled with rage. "I truly regret giving birth to you!"
Diana shrugged indifferently. "The severance agreement is signed. My life and death have nothing to do with you Yorks anymore."
She turned away, no longer looking at their twisted faces, and climbed into the wedding car sent by the Russell family, leaving them in a cloud of dust.