"Are you sure you want to be discharged?" Bryce asked.
Calin shot him a glare. The thought of spending even one more night alone in the hospital after what had happened sent a chill crawling down her spine.
After the discharge, Bryce drove her home.
"Why were you gone for so long earlier?" Calin asked.
Remembering Yeri's terrified yet furious expression, Bryce found himself smiling faintly. "Business affairs."
"I called you because I was scared, and you still chose business?!" Calin snapped.
Bryce shrugged. "Where do you think the money you're spending comes from? Besides, if you hadn't kept cursing the people I assigned to guard you, would you even be in this situation?"
Calin fell silent.
"How about staying at my place for the time being?" Bryce offered.
"I'm in this situation, and all you can think about is sex?" Calin shot back.
"So I'm not allowed to handle business, and I'm not allowed to sleep with you either. Great. Do I even have a fiancée?" Bryce replied dryly.
Not in the mood to argue, Calin simply curled into the corner of the passenger seat, her energy draining as sleep tugged at her.
After a while, Bryce spoke again. "Tristan and Yeri… if they're not in that kind of relationship, then what do you think they are?"
"Yeri, Yeri… it's always Yeri!" Calin burst out, irritation flaring anew. "Now that I think about it, she's probably behind all of this!"
Bryce raised an eyebrow, his instincts told him otherwise. Yeri didn't strike him as someone who would scheme in the shadows or carry around bugs and traps like that.
"She's the only one who would want revenge after what happened at the economic forum," Calin continued, her voice sharpening with certainty. "And I heard she was at the hospital earlier, visiting her cousin."
By the time they arrived at the Ricci residence, Bryce didn't linger after dropping her off.
Truthfully, aside from their shared interests and mutual benefits, and, admittedly, her looks, there wasn't much reason for him to stay.
What truly occupied his mind was something else entirely.
Tristan and Yeri. When he had used the fake bomb, there was no mistaking it. Yeri had been genuinely terrified. And yet, even then, she hadn't slipped, hadn't said a word she shouldn't have.
In a life-or-death situation, Bryce found it hard to believe anyone would stay silent for someone else, risking everything.
So what was it?
Either Calin had misunderstood, and there was nothing between Tristan and Yeri… or Yeri truly loved Shin, enough to protect that relationship at all costs.
Or perhaps Shin had given her something far too valuable… something that made betrayal unthinkable. Even if it meant staking her life on it.
----
Back at the Ricci residence, Calin had just reached her bedroom door when faint, unusual sounds drifted from the master bedroom.
She paused, head tilting slightly, then began walking toward it. With each step, the sounds sharpened into something unmistakable.
A woman's soft, coquettish laughter intertwined with a man's ragged breathing, slipping through the door like a poorly kept secret.
A passing maid caught sight of Calin and froze, her face draining of color as if she'd seen a ghost.
She hurried forward, trying to block her path.
"M-miss, when did you return? Would you like some snacks, or should I prepare your bath?" she stammered.
Calin didn't answer. Her hand moved faster than thought, striking the maid across the face with a sharp crack.
"What are you blocking me for? Who do you think you are?" she said coldly.
The maid staggered, stunned, yet still tried to stop her from reaching the door.
Inside, there was a sudden flurry of movement, as if the people within had realized they were no longer alone.
Calin let out a mocking scoff.
Without hesitation, she grabbed a nearby vase. Before the maid could react, Calin swung it. The impact sent the maid collapsing to the floor with a cry, clutching her bleeding forehead.
Then, with a violent push, Calin flung the door open.
The scene inside was her father on the bed, half-dressed, while a young woman around Calin's age scrambled to pull on her clothes at the side.
Since his stroke, Master Ricci had been confined to the house for far too long. Now, with her mother away and both Calin and Sergei rarely home, he had clearly seized the opportunity to indulge himself.
"Calin, don't misunderstand," Master Ricci said hurriedly. "She's just the nurse hired to take care of me."
Calin's lips curled. Already in a foul mood, she had no patience for such a flimsy lie.
Without a word, she lunged forward, grabbing the young woman by the hair and dragging her back before striking her again and again.
Master Ricci, unable to stand, could only shout from the bed, his voice still carrying the authority of a father. "Stop this at once! Have you lost your mind?!"
But Calin didn't stop.
The young woman's composure shattered. Unable to endure it any longer, she cried out, "Mom!"
The word cut through the chaos like a blade.
The maid from earlier, still bleeding, rushed in and shoved Calin away, throwing herself protectively in front of the girl.
Calin staggered back slightly, momentarily stunned, her gaze flicked between the two women.
"Are you related?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.
The maid hesitated, shaking her head, then nodding, as if unsure which answer would be safer. "Young miss, you're misunderstanding. She's only here to care for the master, that's all."
Calin fell silent for a beat. Then she crossed her arms, turning her gaze toward her father with undisguised disgust.
"You're already in this state, and you still can't rid yourself of your filth," she said flatly. "Even bringing them into the same bed as Mom. Honestly… how revolting."
Master Ricci's face twisted in anger. "Watch your mouth! I am still your father. Who do you think you're insulting?"
Calin let out a low, amused laugh and shifted her attention back to the two women.
"In this house, it's hardly a secret that my father is a pervert, is it?" she said lightly. "So you saw your chance. Sent your daughter in, knowing this old man wouldn't resist any temptation."
The maid shook her head frantically, but the flicker of calculation in her eyes betrayed her. Behind her, the young woman's sobs quieted into uneven sniffles.
Calin's smile sharpened, almost playful in its cruelty.
"How entertaining," she mused. "Watching people like you try to climb the ladder by clinging to a married old man. It might work elsewhere. But do you know why he's never divorced my mother, despite all the women he's kept over the years?"
The room held its breath.
"Because he can't," Calin answered for them. "The Ricci family law states that if the head divorces, his position and assets pass immediately to the second branch of the family."
Her smile widened.
"So it doesn't matter how many women he fools around with. Divorce is never an option."
Just like the Keirs and other powerful families, the Riccis had their own ironclad rules, binding them tighter than any chain.
It was also why Sergei had been quietly moving assets into his own name. With a father like this, unstable and indulgent, the future of their position was never guaranteed.
"And as for any illegitimate children…" she just smiled meaningfully.
Calin's gaze flicked briefly toward the butler standing by the door. "Call the guards. I have a present for them."
The butler stiffened but lowered his head.
"Yes, young miss." He left at once.
The maid's composure finally cracked.
"Y-young miss, I truly apologize. If you're displeased, I swear I'll never recommend any relatives to work here again."
"If things could be settled with a simple apology, what would we need the police or the mafia for?" Calin said lightly, as if discussing something trivial.
Moments later, a group of guards arrived.
Calin clapped her hands once, a spark of amusement flickering in her eyes. She looked at the young woman cowering on the floor.
"You seem perfectly willing to endure a sick, decaying old man," she said coolly. "So I'm sure you won't mind keeping a few of our guards company. They've been working hard protecting this family… and they must be terribly lonely."
"Calin Ricci! Have you lost your mind?!" Master Ricci roared, raising his hand toward the guards. "All of you, leave immediately! You know how she is, she's just acting out!"
But to his shock, not a single one of them moved.
Instead, their gazes shifted, curiosity and something darker flickering within them as they tried to determine who Calin had singled out.
The two women huddled together in the corner, trembling violently, their faces drained of all color as they begged Master Ricci for help.
"Hurry up before I change my mind," Calin said, rolling her eyes. "You can use the basement guest room."
"Thank you, Miss!" one of the guards responded quickly, stepping forward to seize the young woman.
Screams tore through the air, echoing down the hallway, tangled with curses and desperate pleas.
"How dare you ignore me! I am the master of this house!" Master Ricci shouted hoarsely, his voice cracking as he struggled to assert what little authority he had left. "End this nonsense now, or you're all fired!"
Calin's laughter rang out, bright and merciless.
"Oh, Father…" she said, almost fondly. "You sound ridiculous. You stopped being the master of this house the moment Brother Sergei became CEO. Even their salaries are paid by him now. The only reason anyone tolerated you these past few years was out of respect for the family name."
Her gaze swept over him, slow and cutting.
"But now? Disabled… powerless… what use are you?"
Master Ricci's face turned a dangerous shade of red, his body trembling as if another stroke might strike at any moment.
The butler hurried forward, pressing medicine into his hand just in time.
Nearby, the maid was restrained by other servants, struggling wildly as she screamed for her daughter, her voice breaking as she pleaded first with Master Ricci, then with Calin, then with anyone who would listen.
Calin watched the scene with detached interest.
"Take her as well," she said flatly. "A hundred lashes. Plotting against me in my own house… you must think I'm a fool."
The maid shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face as she denied everything.