Revenge Bride of the Disabled Don

My parents' eyes lit up.

"However... I have a condition..."

"I want you to hold a family meeting and restore my status as the true heir to the Kovalenko family."

Hesitation crossed their faces.

"Well..."

Before they could respond, Viktor rushed in front of me and seized me by the collar.

"I knew you weren't that kind-hearted! After all these years, you're still holding a grudge against Sophia for taking your place!"

I twisted my wrist, forcing his hand away.

"You misunderstand, brother. This isn't out of selfishness..."

"Only when my status as the Kovalenko family heir is made public can I marry into the Torrino family with proper standing!"

My mother looked conflicted. After a long pause, she reluctantly conceded, "Fine. I'll make the arrangements now to hold a family meeting for you, restore your status, and I will personally tell them that Sophia is the one we adopted."

Sophia, leaning on her mother for support, had just reached the doorway when she heard those words. Tears immediately welled in her eyes as she whimpered pathetically.

"Mom... don't you want Sophia anymore?" After she spoke, she shot me a resentful glare and turned to run, but after only a few steps, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in a dead faint.

Quick as a flash, Viktor strode forward and swept her up in his arms. My parents, their hearts aching for her, rushed after them.

A bitter taste flooded my mouth.

In this family, I had always been the only outsider.

Word was that Sophia threw a massive fit when she woke up, but the family meeting went ahead as scheduled regardless.

I stood perfectly still, allowing the elderly housekeeper, Elena, to place a diamond necklace around my smooth neck, a bitter sense of irony washing over me.

I was their biological daughter, yet I didn’t own a single piece of decent jewelry.

Even this necklace was one of Sophia's cast-offs from last year.

If not for this special occasion, I doubt it would have ever been given to me.

For the first time in my life, my mother took my arm as we entered, and we took our seats. Sophia was seated on the other side.

In the audience were invited members of our family, as well as representatives from several other prominent families in Chicago.

"Thank you all for joining us. Today, I have a joyous announcement to share with everyone..."

"We are honored by the favor Don Torrino has shown us; he wishes to take a daughter of the House of Kovalenko as his bride. I have not yet had the opportunity to properly introduce her to you all... Katya, our adopted daughter. In a few days, she will be married and move to Chicago..."

An adopted daughter?

My surprise quickly morphed into a sneer as I turned to the woman beside me—my mother. So this was the extent of her adoration for Sophia; she was unwilling to let her suffer even the slightest inconvenience.

Not even sacrificing my entire life's happiness could reclaim the identity that was rightfully mine.

The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of whispers rippled through the crowd as people put their heads together.

“The Kovalenkos have another daughter? How come we've never heard of her? I thought they always told everyone Sophia was the adopted one…”

“Are you blind? It's obvious the Kovalenkos can't bear to marry their precious treasure to that crippled Don. So they're trying to push an adopted daughter forward to take her place! After all, Don Torrino only asked for a daughter from the Kovalenko family. He never specified which one!”

“Besides, I heard this Katya is the daughter of a Moldovan maid. For trash like that to marry Don Torrino... she's the one getting the better end of the deal, really!”

My face darkened as I watched them point and whisper. From across the room, Sophia shot me a look of pure provocation.

A cold sneer glinted in her eyes, as if to say, if we're going to put on a show, let's make it a good one.

I returned her a contemptuous smile of my own, slowly withdrawing my hand. “There is something you all do not know...” I retorted, my voice low and steady.

"Actually, the Kovalenko family has only ever had one daughter from the very beginning—me. Sophia is the one born to that Moldovan maid you all speak of!"

My mother never expected that I would expose her lies right then and there; she reached out frantically, trying to cover my mouth.

"Shut up! Don't you dare spout such nonsense!"

But everyone in attendance today was sharp and ruthless, people who had lived life on a knife's edge. Their minds were already racing, their gazes shifting between Sophia and me, scrutinizing us.

"A matter of bloodlines... no one would dare make such a public accusation without concrete proof. And from the look on Mrs. Kovalenko's face, what Katya said is most likely true..."

"I always thought Katya had more of the air and bearing of a true matriarch. No wonder I've always felt there was a certain low-class air about Sophia that I could never quite put my finger on."

"Still, who in this world would ignore their own flesh and blood, only to dote on a maid's daughter and treat her like a precious treasure?"