I'm Done Playing Along 🎞️ Binge Watch All Episodes | Dailymotion #ReelShort─影片 Dailymotion

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😊Click to download the app to watch all episodes for free: https://reelslink.com/marketing/fWkQ3v 🌎For FULL HD Episodes on ReelShort site:🔗 https://www.reelshort.com/movie/i-m-done-playing-along-6aa25a957520bcf44103332b  🍁Notice: ReelShort Unlocked is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.  💬 "I am done playing along."  THE PLOT ⸻ A ruined wedding. A devastating diagnosis. Orton realizes her family and fiancé will always prioritize her stepsister. So, she stops trying. She moves away to teach and heal her soul. 🌻 When the apologies finally arrive, they mean absolutely nothing. 🚫  THE VIBE ⸻ Female / Romance / Toxic Romance / Self-growth / All-Too-Late

Transcript

00:00:04At my wedding, my fiancée, Cole, slapped me hard in front of half of New York's underworld.

00:00:12Lucy almost put a gun in her mouth and killed herself.

00:00:14And all you care about is your wedding?

00:00:17Orton, do you even possess a shred of decency?

00:00:19The blow sent me stumbling, and I crashed into the five-tier wedding cake.

00:00:23Cream, strawberry curry, and champagne mixed together,

00:00:26clinging to my expensive white wedding dress like dignity crushed under someone's heel.

00:00:30On our wedding day, my fiancée missed the merger ceremony between two major families

00:00:33because of a cry for help from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:00:36While everyone was frozen in a standoff, I called Ryan Black, the boy I had grown up with, and told

00:00:40him,

00:00:41If you come, I'll marry you.

00:00:44Orton, you really think too highly of yourself?

00:00:47Ryan, are you going to leave me too?

00:00:49Half an hour later, both men arrived at the church.

00:00:52One was the heir of the Harrington family, my fiancée named Cole.

00:00:55The other was my childhood friends in the staff building at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:00:58They stepped out of black bulletproof cars.

00:01:00Behind them stood a line of black suit bodyguards with gun holsters concealed beneath their jackets,

00:01:04like a belated judgment.

00:01:05I had been struck to the floor.

00:01:07Covering my face, I instinctively looked toward Ryan.

00:01:10He stood coldly to the side with both hands in his pockets,

00:01:13a flicker of disgust crossing his eyes.

00:01:18Even my biological parents, Richard, head of the Whitfield family,

00:01:22and his wife, Diana, came over from the main table.

00:01:25The alliance ceremony can be rescheduled any time.

00:01:28But if something happens to you, you cannot afford to lose a single second.

00:01:33At that moment, I finally understood.

00:01:36Within this family, I was their long-lost biological daughter,

00:01:39restored to them by blood, yet also the perfect bargaining chip.

00:01:43The people here tonight were not ordinary relatives and friends,

00:01:45but representatives from families in New York, Chicago, and Boston.

00:01:50Some held wine glasses.

00:01:51Some had their fingers pressed against the inside of their jacket,

00:01:54close enough to touch a gun at any moment.

00:01:56A sharp ping burned across my face,

00:01:58and a drop of blood fell onto my snow-white wedding dress.

00:02:01I touched my nose.

00:02:03It was warm.

00:02:05Cole, are you insane?

00:02:10If Lucy hadn't begged me through tears to come finish this ceremony,

00:02:14do you really think I would be here?

00:02:15After saying that, he pulled a glass from the bottom tier of the champagne tower.

00:02:19The bodyguards at the door tensed instantly.

00:02:21The banquet hall manager went deathly pale, but did not dare step forward.

00:02:24Cole grabbed a bottle of champagne,

00:02:26twisted off the cork,

00:02:27aimed it over my head,

00:02:28and let the cold golden liquid pour down.

00:02:31Didn't you want to marry into the Harrington family?

00:02:37Here.

00:02:38This is our champagne ceremony.

00:02:40The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:02:41down the bridge of my nose,

00:02:42and off my chin, drop by drop.

00:02:43I could no longer tell whether what fell onto my wedding dress was wine or blood.

00:02:47Satisfied now, my legal wife?

00:02:51In the banquet hall,

00:02:52my bridesmaid Grace stood frozen in place.

00:02:55At an ordinary wedding,

00:02:56someone would call the police,

00:02:58but on Whitfield territory,

00:02:59no one dared to call 911.

00:03:01People here believed more in silence,

00:03:03hush money,

00:03:04and bodies increased in Fort Conquer.

00:03:06My childhood friend, Ryan Black,

00:03:08stood in the shadows as if watching a play

00:03:10whose ending had never been in doubt.

00:03:12There was a commotion at the back door of the banquet hall.

00:03:14My biological parents came through the crowd.

00:03:17I thought they would finally ask if it hurt.

00:03:19But Diana did not even scare me a glance.

00:03:22Her voice shook.

00:03:23Where is my Lucy?

00:03:25She's emotionally unstable.

00:03:26How could you leave her alone in the place?

00:03:29If anything happens to her,

00:03:30I won't be able to live either.

00:03:34Richard took the microphone.

00:03:35He was the godfather of the Whitfield family.

00:03:38Always composed.

00:03:39Always respectable.

00:03:41Even at a moment like this,

00:03:43he could announce to the room

00:03:44in an almost cruelly steady voice.

00:03:47My apologies, everyone.

00:03:49An emergency has come up within the family.

00:03:52Tonight's alliance ceremony

00:03:53is temporarily canceled.

00:03:55All gifts and cooperation deposits

00:03:57will be returned in full

00:03:58through the original channel.

00:03:59Richard Whitfield owes you all an explanation.

00:04:03After putting down the microphone,

00:04:04he looked at Cole.

00:04:06Lead the way.

00:04:06We're going to find Lucy.

00:04:08He did not look at me.

00:04:10I sat beside the collapsed cake,

00:04:12filthy and humiliated,

00:04:14like an old prop

00:04:15whose purpose had already been served.

00:04:23Dad.

00:04:24Mom.

00:04:26Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway

00:04:28in an ivory dress.

00:04:29Her face streaked with tears,

00:04:30her steps unsteady.

00:04:32She had once been the little princess

00:04:33the Whitfield family had carefully raised

00:04:35for more than 20 years.

00:04:37Dad.

00:04:38Mom.

00:04:39Please don't leave me.

00:04:40Even when she cried,

00:04:41she looked like a fragile work of art.

00:04:43Everyone's eyes were pulled towards her.

00:04:46Lucy.

00:04:47Don't be scared.

00:04:48Mom is right here.

00:04:51The man who could swallow three docks

00:04:53at a negotiation table without blinking

00:04:55opened his arms

00:04:56and held mother and daughter together.

00:04:58The scene was warm enough

00:04:59to look like a carefully staged movie,

00:05:02and I was the unnecessary person

00:05:04outside the frame.

00:05:05Cole seemed to finally breathe in relief.

00:05:08When he looked at Lucy,

00:05:09the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowed.

00:05:11Ryan looked back at me

00:05:13and slowly shook his head.

00:05:14I ignored him.

00:05:16I held on to the overturned table corner

00:05:19and got to my feet,

00:05:20pain stabbing through my ankle.

00:05:22My wedding dress dragged across the floor,

00:05:25covered in cream,

00:05:26liquor,

00:05:27and shattered glass.

00:05:29Miss Reed,

00:05:30do you need me to call a doctor?

00:05:33He did not say call the police.

00:05:35Everyone here knew the Whitfield family's affairs

00:05:37could not be handed to the police.

00:05:41No.

00:05:43I limped toward the side door.

00:05:46I had barely taken two steps

00:05:48when someone yanked my wrist.

00:05:53Orton,

00:05:54you really disappointed me tonight.

00:05:56I thought you were tough.

00:05:57I thought you could take the hits,

00:05:59claw your way out of the muck.

00:06:00Never imagined you'd resort to cheap stunts

00:06:02just to drag everyone's eyes onto yourself.

00:06:04Lucy has already given back

00:06:05everything she once had to you.

00:06:06She lost her parents,

00:06:08her identity,

00:06:08even her place's heir.

00:06:09Why still refuse to let her go?

00:06:12Orton,

00:06:12how did you become like this?

00:06:16Blood and champagne had dried on my dress

00:06:18like a brand of humiliation burnt into my skin.

00:06:22Suddenly,

00:06:22I wanted to laugh.

00:06:24This wedding dress was the most expensive thing

00:06:26I had ever worn in my life.

00:06:28Before the wedding,

00:06:29I had touched it again and again

00:06:30with careful hands.

00:06:31It came from Milan.

00:06:32More than a thousand hand-sewn crystals

00:06:34covered the train,

00:06:35each one like the future

00:06:37I had naively believed was coming.

00:06:39I had looked forward to this day

00:06:41more than anything.

00:06:42To marrying Cole Harrington beautifully.

00:06:47Because I had secretly loved him

00:06:49for many years.

00:06:51Half a year ago,

00:06:52Lucy was diagnosed

00:06:53with severe aplastic anemia.

00:06:55Richard and Diana

00:06:56immediately underwent HLA matching,

00:06:59but the results were a complete mismatch.

00:07:01An urgent DNA test

00:07:03exposed the secret.

00:07:04Twenty-two years ago,

00:07:06the Whitfield family housekeeper,

00:07:07Maggie Reed,

00:07:08switched Lucy and me.

00:07:09She sent her own biological doll

00:07:11into the Godfather's house

00:07:12and took the true Whitfield bloodline

00:07:14back to a cramped staff apartment.

00:07:15After the truth came out,

00:07:17Maggie put a gun in her mouth

00:07:18in the underground wine cellar,

00:07:20leaving behind only a letter.

00:07:23I had read that letter.

00:07:24Across two full pages,

00:07:26she did not mention my name once.

00:07:28Lucy could not handle the shock

00:07:30and was diagnosed with severe depression.

00:07:32To preserve the port alliance

00:07:34between the Whitfield

00:07:35and Harrington families,

00:07:37Richard made a swift decision

00:07:38and transferred Lucy's

00:07:40original engagement to me.

00:07:41The reason sounded grand and proper.

00:07:43The old Harrington family pact

00:07:45required both sides to be bound

00:07:47by legal marriage

00:07:48and legitimate direct heirs.

00:07:50Otherwise,

00:07:51the merger of the East River docks,

00:07:53arms roots,

00:07:54and money-laughtering network

00:07:55would all be void.

00:07:57Lucy was too fragile

00:07:59to withstand that kind of pressure,

00:08:00and I was healthy,

00:08:02mentally tougher,

00:08:03and more suited

00:08:04to bear this family responsibility.

00:08:06I did not hesitate.

00:08:07I agreed.

00:08:09Because Cole Harrington

00:08:10was the boy I had loved in secret

00:08:12since childhood.

00:08:14When I was little,

00:08:15I followed my foster mother Maggie

00:08:17to work at Harrington Manor.

00:08:19Lucy sat in the sunroom

00:08:20eating pastries.

00:08:22I was so hungry

00:08:23I could only stare,

00:08:24but I didn't dare come closer.

00:08:27Cole was the one

00:08:28who walked over

00:08:29and beckoned me to him.

00:08:31Lucy wrinkled her brows

00:08:33and said I was dirty,

00:08:34that I didn't deserve

00:08:35to touch her silver fork,

00:08:37but Cole placed a honey muffin

00:08:38in my palm.

00:08:39This country says

00:08:40everyone is equal on the surface,

00:08:42though we all know that's a lie.

00:08:43But at least at my table,

00:08:44you don't have to lower your head.

00:08:50From that day on,

00:08:52he became the light

00:08:53I hid in the deepest part

00:08:54of my heart.

00:08:55Every time I saw him,

00:08:57he would smile faintly at me,

00:08:58like a lamp suddenly lit

00:08:59in a dark warehouse.

00:09:00I was poor and timid,

00:09:02so I only dared watch him

00:09:03from afar,

00:09:04from age 12 to 22.

00:09:09On the day of the engagement banquet,

00:09:11he sat at the end

00:09:12of the long table

00:09:12while the elders

00:09:13raised glasses

00:09:14and discussed docks,

00:09:15containers,

00:09:16roots,

00:09:17and loyalty.

00:09:18He stayed silent

00:09:19for a long time

00:09:19and then asked only one question.

00:09:21Is Lucy doing any better?

00:09:23At the mention of Lucy,

00:09:25everyone's expressions softened.

00:09:28I shrank into a corner

00:09:29and said nothing.

00:09:31Cole gave me a cold glance.

00:09:35She's not suited for occasions

00:09:36like this.

00:09:37I heard it,

00:09:38and I remembered it.

00:09:40From that day on,

00:09:42I threw myself

00:09:43into upper-class etiquette,

00:09:45learned to take apart

00:09:46and assemble guns,

00:09:48studied family accounts,

00:09:51and learned how not to show fear

00:09:53in front of wolves

00:09:54dressed in evening wear.

00:09:56I wanted to be a good wife to him.

00:09:58I didn't want to disappoint him.

00:10:00But how did it end?

00:10:02It took me far too long

00:10:04to understand.

00:10:05This engagement

00:10:06had never been love

00:10:07from the start.

00:10:08It was a blood-stained agreement.

00:10:11The Harrington family

00:10:12needed the Whitfield docks,

00:10:14and the Whitfield family

00:10:15needed the Harrington arms lines,

00:10:16and they needed a woman

00:10:17to sit on the altar

00:10:18and complete the final piece.

00:10:21Lucy was too precious

00:10:22to sacrifice.

00:10:25And I had conveniently returned.

00:10:28Suddenly,

00:10:29there was a perfect solution

00:10:30for both sides.

00:10:32Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip

00:10:34outside that perfect solution.

00:10:37Even Ryan Black

00:10:38quickly took Lucy's side,

00:10:39even though,

00:10:40like me,

00:10:41he had grown up

00:10:42in the staff building

00:10:43at Whitfield Manor.

00:10:45Both of our mothers

00:10:46were employees of this family.

00:10:47Both of us had been bullied by Lucy,

00:10:49and both of us had sworn vows

00:10:51in the drafty winter staff quarters.

00:10:53When we were little,

00:10:54Ryan held my hand.

00:10:56One day,

00:10:57I'll climb above them.

00:10:59By then,

00:11:00Lucy Whitfield

00:11:00will never dare bully you again.

00:11:08Why did it become like this?

00:11:09I stumbled out of the church.

00:11:30At my wedding,

00:11:31my fiancée, Cole,

00:11:32slapped me hard

00:11:33in front of half

00:11:33of New York's underworld.

00:11:38Lucy almost put a gun

00:11:39in her mouth

00:11:39and killed herself.

00:11:40And all you care about

00:11:41is your wedding?

00:11:42Orton,

00:11:43do you even possess

00:11:43a shred of decency?

00:11:45The blow sent me stumbling,

00:11:46and I crashed into

00:11:47the five-tier wedding cake.

00:11:48Cream,

00:11:49strawberry coulis,

00:11:50and champagne

00:11:50mixed together,

00:11:51clinging to my expensive

00:11:52white wedding dress

00:11:53like dignity

00:11:54crushed under someone's heel.

00:11:55On our wedding day,

00:11:56my fiancée missed

00:11:57the merger ceremony

00:11:58between two major families

00:11:59because of a cry for help

00:12:00from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:12:01While everyone was frozen

00:12:02in a standoff,

00:12:03I called Ryan Black,

00:12:04the boy I had grown up with,

00:12:05and told him,

00:12:06if you come,

00:12:07I'll marry you.

00:12:09Orton,

00:12:10you really think

00:12:10too highly of yourself.

00:12:12Ryan,

00:12:12are you gonna leave me too?

00:12:15Half an hour later,

00:12:16both men arrived

00:12:16at the church.

00:12:17One was the heir

00:12:18of the Harrington family,

00:12:19my fiancée named Cole.

00:12:20The other was my childhood friend

00:12:21from the staff building

00:12:22at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:12:23They stepped out

00:12:24of black bulletproof cars.

00:12:25Behind them stood a line

00:12:26of black suit bodyguards

00:12:27with gun holsters

00:12:28concealed beneath their jackets

00:12:29like a belated judgment.

00:12:30I had been struck

00:12:31to the floor.

00:12:32Covering my face,

00:12:33I instinctively looked

00:12:34toward Ryan.

00:12:36He stood coldly to the side

00:12:37with both hands

00:12:38in his pockets,

00:12:38a flicker of disgust

00:12:40crossing his eyes.

00:12:43Even my biological parents,

00:12:45Richard,

00:12:46head of the Whitfield family

00:12:47and his wife Diana,

00:12:48came over

00:12:49from the main table.

00:12:50The alliance ceremony

00:12:51can be rescheduled

00:12:52any time,

00:12:53but if something

00:12:54happens to you,

00:12:55we cannot afford

00:12:56to lose a single second.

00:12:58At that moment,

00:12:59I finally understood.

00:13:01Within this family,

00:13:02I was their long-lost

00:13:03biological daughter

00:13:04restored to them

00:13:05by blood,

00:13:06yet also the perfect

00:13:07bargaining chip.

00:13:08The people here tonight

00:13:09were not ordinary

00:13:10relatives and friends,

00:13:11but representatives

00:13:12from families

00:13:12in New York,

00:13:13Chicago,

00:13:14and Boston.

00:13:15Some held wine glasses,

00:13:17some had their fingers

00:13:18pressed against

00:13:18the inside of their jacket,

00:13:20close enough to touch

00:13:20a gun at any moment.

00:13:22A sharp chain

00:13:23burned across my face,

00:13:24and a drop of blood

00:13:25fell onto my snow-white

00:13:26wedding dress.

00:13:27I touched my nose.

00:13:28It was warm.

00:13:30Cole,

00:13:31are you insane?

00:13:36If Lucy hadn't

00:13:37begged me through tears

00:13:38to come finish this ceremony,

00:13:39do you really think

00:13:40I would be here?

00:13:41After saying that,

00:13:42he pulled a glass

00:13:42from the bottom tier

00:13:43of the champagne tower.

00:13:44The bodyguards at the door

00:13:45tensed instantly.

00:13:46The banquet hall manager

00:13:47went deathly pale,

00:13:48but did not dare step forward.

00:13:50Cole grabbed a bottle

00:13:50of champagne,

00:13:51twisted off the cork,

00:13:53aimed it over my head,

00:13:53and let the cold golden

00:13:55liquid pour down.

00:13:56Didn't you want to marry

00:13:57into the Harrington family?

00:14:02Here.

00:14:03This is our champagne ceremony.

00:14:05The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:14:06down the bridge of my nose,

00:14:07and off my chin,

00:14:08drop by drop.

00:14:09I could no longer tell

00:14:09whether what fell onto

00:14:10my wedding dress

00:14:11was wine or blood.

00:14:12Satisfied now,

00:14:13my legal wife?

00:14:17In the banquet hall,

00:14:18my bridesmaid Grace

00:14:19stood frozen in place.

00:14:20At an ordinary wedding,

00:14:22someone would call the police,

00:14:23but on Whitfield territory,

00:14:25no one dared call 911.

00:14:27People here believed

00:14:27more in silence,

00:14:28hush money,

00:14:29and bodies increased

00:14:30in Fort Conquer.

00:14:31My childhood friend,

00:14:33Ryan Black,

00:14:33stood in the shadows

00:14:34as if watching a play

00:14:35whose ending

00:14:36had never been in doubt.

00:14:37There was a commotion

00:14:38at the back door

00:14:39of the banquet hall.

00:14:40My biological parents

00:14:41came through the crowd.

00:14:42I thought they would

00:14:43finally ask if it hurt,

00:14:45but Diana did not even

00:14:46scare me a glance.

00:14:47Her voice shook.

00:14:48Where is my Lucy?

00:14:50She's emotionally unstable.

00:14:52How could you leave her

00:14:53alone in the place?

00:14:54If anything happens to her,

00:14:56I won't be able

00:14:56to live either.

00:14:59Richard took the microphone.

00:15:01He was the godfather

00:15:02of the Whitfield family,

00:15:04always composed,

00:15:05always respectable.

00:15:06Even at a moment like this,

00:15:08he could announce to the room

00:15:10in an almost cruelly steady voice.

00:15:12My apologies, everyone.

00:15:14An emergency has come up

00:15:16within the family.

00:15:17Tonight's alliance ceremony

00:15:18is temporarily cancelled.

00:15:21All gifts and cooperation

00:15:22deposits will be returned

00:15:23in full to the original channel.

00:15:25Richard Whitfield

00:15:25owes you all an explanation.

00:15:28After putting down

00:15:29the microphone,

00:15:30he looked at Cole.

00:15:31Lead the way.

00:15:32We're going to find Lucy.

00:15:34He did not look at me.

00:15:35I sat beside

00:15:37the collapsed cake,

00:15:38filthy and humiliated,

00:15:39like an old prop

00:15:40whose purpose

00:15:41had already been served.

00:15:49Dad, Mom.

00:15:51Lucy Whitfield stood

00:15:52in the doorway

00:15:53in an ivory dress.

00:15:54Her face streaked

00:15:55with tears,

00:15:56her steps unsteady.

00:15:57She had once been

00:15:58the little princess

00:15:59the Whitfield family

00:16:00had carefully raised

00:16:01for more than 20 years.

00:16:02Dad, Mom,

00:16:04please don't leave me.

00:16:06Even when she cried,

00:16:07she looked like

00:16:07a fragile work of art.

00:16:08Everyone's eyes

00:16:09were pulled towards her.

00:16:11Lucy, Lucy,

00:16:13don't be scared.

00:16:14Mom is right here.

00:16:16The man who could

00:16:17swallow three docks

00:16:18at a negotiation table

00:16:19without blinking

00:16:20opened his arms

00:16:21and held mother

00:16:22and daughter together.

00:16:23The scene was warm enough

00:16:25to look like

00:16:25a carefully staged movie,

00:16:27and I was the unnecessary

00:16:29person outside the frame.

00:16:30Cole seemed to

00:16:31finally breathe in relief.

00:16:33When he looked at Lucy,

00:16:34the tenderness in his eyes

00:16:36nearly overflowed.

00:16:37Ryan looked back at me

00:16:38and slowly shook his head.

00:16:40I ignored him.

00:16:42I held onto

00:16:43the overturned table corner

00:16:44and got to my feet,

00:16:45pain stabbing

00:16:46through my ankle.

00:16:47My wedding dress

00:16:49dragged across the floor,

00:16:50covered in cream,

00:16:51liquor,

00:16:52and shattered glass.

00:16:54Hey, Miss Reed,

00:16:56do you need me

00:16:57to call a doctor?

00:16:58He did not say

00:16:59call the police.

00:17:00Everyone here knew

00:17:01the Whitfield family's

00:17:02affairs could not

00:17:03be handed to the police.

00:17:06No.

00:17:08I limped toward

00:17:09the side door.

00:17:12I had barely taken

00:17:13two steps

00:17:14when someone

00:17:14yanked my wrist.

00:17:18Orton,

00:17:19you really disappointed

00:17:20me tonight.

00:17:21I thought you were tough.

00:17:23I thought you could

00:17:23take the hits,

00:17:24claw your way out

00:17:25of the muck.

00:17:26Never imagined you'd

00:17:26resort to cheap stunts

00:17:27just to drag everyone's

00:17:28eyes onto yourself.

00:17:29Lucy has already

00:17:30given back everything

00:17:31she once had to you.

00:17:32She lost her parents,

00:17:33her identity,

00:17:34even her place's heir.

00:17:35Why still refuse

00:17:35to let her go?

00:17:37Orton,

00:17:37how did you become

00:17:38like this?

00:17:42Blood and champagne

00:17:43had dried on my dress

00:17:44like a brand of humiliation

00:17:45burnt into my skin.

00:17:47Suddenly,

00:17:48I wanted to laugh.

00:17:49This wedding dress

00:17:50was the most expensive

00:17:51thing I had ever worn

00:17:52in my life.

00:17:53Before the wedding,

00:17:54I had touched it

00:17:55again and again

00:17:55with careful hands.

00:17:56It came from Milan.

00:17:58More than a thousand

00:17:59hand-sewn crystals

00:18:00covered the train,

00:18:01each one like the future

00:18:02I had naively believed

00:18:03was coming.

00:18:04I had looked forward

00:18:06to this day

00:18:06more than anything,

00:18:08to marrying

00:18:09Cole Harrington beautifully,

00:18:12because I had secretly

00:18:14loved him

00:18:14for many years.

00:18:16Half a year ago,

00:18:18Lucy was diagnosed

00:18:19with severe

00:18:19aplastic anemia.

00:18:21Richard and Diana

00:18:22immediately underwent

00:18:23HLA matching,

00:18:24but the results

00:18:25were a complete mismatch.

00:18:27An urgent DNA test

00:18:28exposed the secret.

00:18:3022 years ago,

00:18:31the Whitfield family

00:18:32housekeeper,

00:18:33Maggie Reed,

00:18:33switched Lucy and me.

00:18:35She sent her own

00:18:36biological doll

00:18:36into the Godfather's house

00:18:37and took the true

00:18:38Whitfield bloodline

00:18:39back to a cramped

00:18:40staff apartment.

00:18:41After the truth came out,

00:18:42Maggie put a gun

00:18:43in her mouth

00:18:43in the underground

00:18:44wine cellar,

00:18:45leaving behind

00:18:46only a letter.

00:18:48I had read that letter.

00:18:50Across two full pages,

00:18:51she did not mention

00:18:52my name once.

00:18:53Lucy could not

00:18:54handle the shock

00:18:55and was diagnosed

00:18:56with severe depression.

00:18:58To preserve the port

00:18:59alliance between

00:19:00the Whitfield and

00:19:01Harrington families,

00:19:02Richard made a swift

00:19:03decision and transferred

00:19:04Lucy's original

00:19:05engagement to me.

00:19:06The reason sounded

00:19:08grand and proper.

00:19:09The old Harrington

00:19:10family pact required

00:19:11both sides to be bound

00:19:12by legal marriage

00:19:13and legitimate direct

00:19:14heirs.

00:19:15Otherwise,

00:19:16the merger of

00:19:17the East River docks,

00:19:19arms routes,

00:19:19and money-laughtering

00:19:20network would all be void.

00:19:22Lucy was too fragile

00:19:24to withstand that

00:19:25kind of pressure,

00:19:26and I was healthy,

00:19:27mentally tougher,

00:19:28and more suited

00:19:29to bear this family

00:19:30responsibility.

00:19:31I did not hesitate.

00:19:33I agreed.

00:19:34Because Cole Harrington

00:19:36was the boy I had loved

00:19:37in secret since childhood.

00:19:39When I was little,

00:19:40I followed my foster

00:19:42mother Maggie

00:19:42to work at Harrington Manor.

00:19:44Lucy sat in the sunroom

00:19:46eating pastries.

00:19:47I was so hungry

00:19:49I could only stare,

00:19:50but I didn't dare

00:19:51come closer.

00:19:52Cole was the one

00:19:53who walked over

00:19:54and beckoned me to him.

00:19:57Lucy wrinkled her brows

00:19:58and said I was dirty,

00:19:59that I didn't deserve

00:20:01to touch her silver fork.

00:20:02But Cole placed

00:20:03a honey muffin

00:20:04in my palm.

00:20:05This country says

00:20:05everyone is equal

00:20:06on the surface,

00:20:07though we all know

00:20:08that's a lie.

00:20:08But at least at my table,

00:20:09you don't have to

00:20:10lower your head.

00:20:16From that day on,

00:20:17he became the light

00:20:18I hid in the deepest

00:20:19part of my heart.

00:20:21Every time I saw him,

00:20:22he would smile faintly

00:20:23at me,

00:20:23like a lamp suddenly

00:20:24lit in a dark warehouse.

00:20:26I was poor and timid,

00:20:27so I only dared

00:20:28watch him from afar.

00:20:30From age 12 to 22.

00:20:34On the day

00:20:35of the engagement banquet,

00:20:36he sat at the end

00:20:37of the long table

00:20:38while the elders

00:20:39raised glasses

00:20:39and discussed docks,

00:20:41containers,

00:20:41roots,

00:20:42and loyalty.

00:20:43He stayed silent

00:20:44for a long time

00:20:45and then asked

00:20:46only one question.

00:20:47Is Lucy doing

00:20:47any better?

00:20:48At the mention of Lucy,

00:20:51everyone's expressions

00:20:52softened.

00:20:53I shrank into a corner

00:20:55and said nothing.

00:20:57Cole gave me

00:20:58a cold glance.

00:21:00She's not suited

00:21:01for occasions like this.

00:21:03I heard it

00:21:04and I remembered it.

00:21:06From that day on,

00:21:07I threw myself

00:21:08into upper-class etiquette

00:21:10and learned

00:21:10to take apart

00:21:11and assemble guns,

00:21:13studied family accounts

00:21:16and learned how

00:21:17not to show fear

00:21:18in front of wolves

00:21:19dressed in evening wear.

00:21:21I wanted to be

00:21:22a good wife to him.

00:21:23I didn't want

00:21:24to disappoint him.

00:21:25But how did it end?

00:21:28It took me far too long

00:21:29to understand.

00:21:31This engagement

00:21:31had never been love

00:21:32from the start.

00:21:33It was a blood-stained agreement.

00:21:36The Harrington family

00:21:37needed the Whitfield docks

00:21:39and the Whitfield family

00:21:40needed the Harrington arms lines

00:21:42and they needed a woman

00:21:43to sit on the altar

00:21:44and complete the final piece.

00:21:46Lucy was too precious

00:21:47to sacrifice.

00:21:51And I had conveniently returned.

00:21:54Suddenly,

00:21:54there was a perfect solution

00:21:56for both sides.

00:21:57Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip

00:22:00outside that perfect solution.

00:22:02Even Ryan Black

00:22:03quickly took Lucy's side.

00:22:05Even though,

00:22:05like me,

00:22:06he had grown up

00:22:07in the staff building

00:22:08at Whitfield Manor.

00:22:10Both of our mothers

00:22:11were employees

00:22:12of this family.

00:22:13Both of us

00:22:13had been bullied by Lucy

00:22:15and both of us

00:22:15had sworn vows

00:22:16in the drafty winter staff quarters.

00:22:18When we were little,

00:22:19Ryan held my hand.

00:22:21One day,

00:22:22I'll climb above them.

00:22:24By then,

00:22:25Lucy Whitfield

00:22:26will never dare

00:22:27bully you again.

00:22:33Why did it become like this?

00:22:35I stumbled out of the church.

00:22:55At my wedding,

00:22:56my fiancée, Cole,

00:22:57slapped me hard

00:22:58in front of half

00:22:59of New York's underworld.

00:23:03Lucy almost put a gun

00:23:04in her mouth

00:23:04and killed herself.

00:23:05And all you care about

00:23:06is your wedding?

00:23:08Orton,

00:23:08do you even possess

00:23:08a shred of decency?

00:23:10The blow sent me stumbling

00:23:11and I crashed

00:23:12into the five-tier wedding cake.

00:23:14Cream,

00:23:14strawberry curry

00:23:15and champagne

00:23:16mixed together,

00:23:17clinging to my expensive

00:23:18white wedding dress

00:23:18like dignity

00:23:19crushed under someone's heel.

00:23:21On our wedding day,

00:23:22my fiancée missed

00:23:22the merger ceremony

00:23:23between two major families

00:23:24because of a cry for help

00:23:25from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:23:27While everyone was frozen

00:23:28in a standoff,

00:23:29I called Ryan Black,

00:23:30the boy I had grown up with,

00:23:31and told him,

00:23:31if you come,

00:23:32I'll marry you.

00:23:35Orton,

00:23:35you really think

00:23:36too highly of yourself?

00:23:37Ryan,

00:23:38are you gonna leave me too?

00:23:40Half an hour later,

00:23:41both men arrived at the church.

00:23:43One was the heir

00:23:43of the Harrington family,

00:23:44my fiancée named Cole.

00:23:46The other was my childhood friends

00:23:47in the staff building

00:23:48at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:23:49They stepped out

00:23:49of black bulletproof cars.

00:23:50Behind them stood a line

00:23:51of black suit bodyguards

00:23:52with gun holsters

00:23:53concealed beneath their jackets

00:23:54like a belated judgment.

00:23:56I had been struck to the floor.

00:23:58Covering my face,

00:23:59I instinctively looked toward Ryan.

00:24:01He stood coldly to the side

00:24:02with both hands in his pockets,

00:24:04a flicker of disgust

00:24:05crossing his eyes.

00:24:08Even my biological parents,

00:24:11Richard,

00:24:11head of the Whitfield family,

00:24:13and his wife Diana,

00:24:14came over from the main table.

00:24:16The alliance ceremony

00:24:17can be rescheduled anytime,

00:24:18but if something happens

00:24:19to lose you,

00:24:20you cannot afford

00:24:21to lose a single second.

00:24:23At that moment,

00:24:24I finally understood.

00:24:27Within this family,

00:24:28I was their long-lost

00:24:29biological daughter

00:24:30restored to them by blood,

00:24:31yet also the perfect

00:24:32bargaining chip.

00:24:33The people here tonight

00:24:34were not ordinary relatives

00:24:36and friends,

00:24:36but representatives

00:24:37from families in New York,

00:24:38Chicago, and Boston.

00:24:40Some held wine glasses,

00:24:42some had their fingers

00:24:43pressed against the inside

00:24:44of their jacket,

00:24:45close enough to touch a gun

00:24:46at any moment.

00:24:47A sharp clang burned

00:24:48across my face,

00:24:49and a drop of blood

00:24:50fell onto my snow-white

00:24:51wedding dress.

00:24:52I touched my nose.

00:24:54It was warm.

00:24:55Cole, are you insane?

00:25:01If Lucy hadn't begged me

00:25:02through tears

00:25:03to come finish this ceremony,

00:25:04do you really think

00:25:05I would be here?

00:25:06After saying that,

00:25:07he pulled a glass

00:25:08from the bottom tier

00:25:08of the champagne tower.

00:25:10The bodyguards at the door

00:25:11tensed instantly.

00:25:12The banquet hall manager

00:25:13went deathly pale,

00:25:14but did not dare step forward.

00:25:15Cole grabbed a bottle

00:25:16of champagne,

00:25:17twisted off the cork,

00:25:18aimed it over my head,

00:25:19and let the cold,

00:25:20golden liquid pour down.

00:25:22Didn't you want to marry

00:25:22into the Harrington family?

00:25:28Here.

00:25:29This is our champagne ceremony.

00:25:30The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:25:31down the bridge of my nose,

00:25:33and off my chain,

00:25:33drop by drop.

00:25:34I could no longer tell

00:25:35whether what fell onto

00:25:36my wedding dress

00:25:36was wine or blood.

00:25:37Satisfied now,

00:25:38my legal wife.

00:25:42In the banquet hall,

00:25:43my bridesmaid Grace

00:25:44stood frozen in place.

00:25:46At an ordinary wedding,

00:25:47someone would call the police,

00:25:49but on Whitfield territory,

00:25:50no one dared call 911.

00:25:52People here believed more

00:25:53in silence,

00:25:54hush money,

00:25:55and bodies in case

00:25:55in Fort Concrete.

00:25:57My childhood friend,

00:25:58Ryan Black,

00:25:59stood in the shadows

00:26:00as if watching a play

00:26:01whose ending

00:26:01had never been in doubt.

00:26:02There was a commotion

00:26:03at the back door

00:26:04of the banquet hall.

00:26:05My biological parents

00:26:06came through the crowd.

00:26:08I thought they would

00:26:09finally ask if it hurts,

00:26:10but Diana did not even

00:26:11scare me a glance.

00:26:13Her voice shook.

00:26:14Where is my Lucy?

00:26:16She's emotionally unstable.

00:26:17How could you leave her alone

00:26:18in the face of it?

00:26:20If anything happens to her,

00:26:21I won't be able to live either.

00:26:24Richard took the microphone.

00:26:26He was the godfather

00:26:27of the Whitfield family,

00:26:29always composed,

00:26:30always respectable.

00:26:32Even at a moment like this,

00:26:34he could announce to the room

00:26:35in an almost cruelly steady voice.

00:26:37My apologies, everyone.

00:26:40An emergency has come up

00:26:41within the family.

00:26:43Tonight's alliance ceremony

00:26:44is temporarily canceled.

00:26:46All gifts and cooperation deposits

00:26:48will be returned in full

00:26:49through the original channel.

00:26:50Richard Whitfield owes you all

00:26:51an explanation.

00:26:53After putting down the microphone,

00:26:55he looked at Cole.

00:26:56Lead the way.

00:26:57We're going to find Lucy.

00:26:59He did not look at me.

00:27:01I sat beside the collapsed cake,

00:27:03filthy and humiliated,

00:27:05like an old prop

00:27:05whose purpose had already

00:27:07been served.

00:27:14Dad, Mom.

00:27:17Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway

00:27:18in an ivory dress.

00:27:20Her face streaked with tears,

00:27:21her steps unsteady.

00:27:22She had once been

00:27:23the little princess

00:27:24the Whitfield family

00:27:25had carefully raised

00:27:26for more than 20 years.

00:27:28Dad, Mom,

00:27:30please don't leave me.

00:27:31Even when she cried,

00:27:32she looked like

00:27:32a fragile work of art.

00:27:34Everyone's eyes

00:27:34were pulled towards her.

00:27:36Lucy, Lucy,

00:27:38don't be scared.

00:27:39Mom is right here.

00:27:41The man who could swallow

00:27:43three docks

00:27:44at a negotiation table

00:27:45without blinking

00:27:46opened his arms

00:27:47and held mother

00:27:47and daughter together.

00:27:49The scene was warm enough

00:27:50to look like

00:27:51a carefully staged movie

00:27:53and I was the unnecessary person

00:27:54outside the frame.

00:27:56Cole seemed to finally

00:27:57breathe in relief.

00:27:58When he looked at Lucy,

00:28:00the tenderness in his eyes

00:28:01nearly overflowed.

00:28:02Ryan looked back at me

00:28:03and slowly shook his head.

00:28:05I ignored him.

00:28:07I held on to the

00:28:08overturned table corner

00:28:10and got to my feet,

00:28:11pain stabbing

00:28:12through my ankle.

00:28:13My wedding dress

00:28:14dragged across the floor,

00:28:15covered in cream,

00:28:17liquor,

00:28:17and shattered glass.

00:28:20Hey, Miss Reed,

00:28:21do you need me

00:28:22to call a doctor?

00:28:23He did not say

00:28:24call the police.

00:28:26Everyone here knew

00:28:27the Whitfield family's affairs

00:28:28could not be handed

00:28:29to the police.

00:28:31No.

00:28:34I limped toward

00:28:35the side door.

00:28:37I had barely taken

00:28:38two steps

00:28:39when someone

00:28:40yanked my wrist.

00:28:44Orton,

00:28:44you really disappointed

00:28:45me tonight.

00:28:47I thought you were tough.

00:28:48I thought you could

00:28:49take the hits,

00:28:50claw your way

00:28:50out of the muck.

00:28:51Never imagined you'd

00:28:52resort to cheap stunts

00:28:53just to drag everyone's

00:28:54eyes onto yourself.

00:28:55Lucy has already

00:28:55given back everything

00:28:56she once had to you.

00:28:57She lost her parents,

00:28:58her identity,

00:28:59even her place's heir.

00:29:00Why still refuse

00:29:01to let her go?

00:29:02Orton,

00:29:03how did you

00:29:03become like this?

00:29:07Blood and champagne

00:29:08had dried on my dress,

00:29:09like a brand of

00:29:10humiliation

00:29:11burnt into my skin.

00:29:12Suddenly,

00:29:13I wanted to laugh.

00:29:14This wedding dress

00:29:15was the most expensive

00:29:16thing I had ever

00:29:17worn in my life.

00:29:18Before the wedding,

00:29:19I had touched it

00:29:20again and again

00:29:21with careful hands.

00:29:22It came from Milan.

00:29:23More than a thousand

00:29:24hand-sewn crystals

00:29:25covered the train,

00:29:26each one like the future

00:29:28I had naively believed

00:29:29was coming.

00:29:30I had looked forward

00:29:31to this day

00:29:32more than anything

00:29:32to marrying

00:29:34Cole Harrington

00:29:35beautifully

00:29:38because I had

00:29:39secretly loved him

00:29:40for many years.

00:29:41Half a year ago,

00:29:43Lucy was diagnosed

00:29:44with severe

00:29:45aplastic anemia.

00:29:46Richard and Diana

00:29:47immediately underwent

00:29:48HLA matching,

00:29:50but the results

00:29:50were a complete

00:29:51mismatch.

00:29:52An urgent DNA test

00:29:53exposed the secret.

00:29:5522 years ago,

00:29:57the Whitfield family

00:29:57housekeeper,

00:29:58Maggie Reed,

00:29:59switched Lucy and me.

00:30:00She sent her own

00:30:01biological doll

00:30:02into the Godfather's

00:30:03house and took

00:30:03the true Whitfield

00:30:04bloodline back

00:30:05to a cramped

00:30:05staff apartment.

00:30:06After the truth

00:30:07came out,

00:30:08Maggie put a gun

00:30:08in her mouth

00:30:09in the underground

00:30:09wine cellar,

00:30:11leaving behind

00:30:11only a letter.

00:30:13I had read that letter.

00:30:15Across two full pages,

00:30:17she did not mention

00:30:18my name once.

00:30:19Lucy could not

00:30:20handle the shock

00:30:20and was diagnosed

00:30:21with severe depression.

00:30:23To preserve

00:30:24the port alliance

00:30:25between the Whitfield

00:30:26and Harrington families,

00:30:28Richard made a swift

00:30:28decision and transferred

00:30:30Lucy's original

00:30:31engagement to me.

00:30:32The reason sounded

00:30:33grand and proper.

00:30:34The old Harrington

00:30:35family pact

00:30:36required both sides

00:30:37to be bound

00:30:38by legal marriage

00:30:39and legitimate

00:30:39direct heirs.

00:30:41Otherwise,

00:30:42the merger

00:30:42of the East River docks,

00:30:44arms routes,

00:30:45and money-laughtering

00:30:46network would all

00:30:47be void.

00:30:48Lucy was too fragile

00:30:49to withstand that

00:30:50kind of pressure,

00:30:51and I was healthy

00:30:52mentally tougher

00:30:53and more suited

00:30:55to bear this

00:30:55family responsibility.

00:30:57I did not hesitate.

00:30:58I agreed.

00:31:00Because Cole Harrington

00:31:01was the boy

00:31:02I had loved in secret

00:31:03since childhood.

00:31:04When I was little,

00:31:06I followed my foster

00:31:07mother Maggie

00:31:07to work at Harrington Manor.

00:31:10Lucy sat in the sunroom

00:31:11eating pastries.

00:31:13I was so hungry

00:31:14I could only stare,

00:31:15but I didn't dare

00:31:16come closer.

00:31:18Cole was the one

00:31:19who walked over

00:31:19and beckoned me to him.

00:31:22Lucy wrinkled her brows

00:31:23and said I was dirty,

00:31:25that I didn't deserve

00:31:26to touch her silver fork.

00:31:28But Cole placed

00:31:29a honey muffin

00:31:29in my palm.

00:31:30This country says

00:31:31everyone is equal

00:31:32on the surface,

00:31:32though we all know

00:31:33that's a lie.

00:31:34But at least at my table,

00:31:35you don't have to

00:31:35lower your head.

00:31:41From that day on,

00:31:43he became the light

00:31:44I hid in the deepest

00:31:45part of my heart.

00:31:46Every time I saw him,

00:31:47he would smile faintly at me,

00:31:49like a lamp suddenly lit

00:31:50in a dark warehouse.

00:31:51I was poor and timid,

00:31:53so I only dared

00:31:54watch him from afar,

00:31:55from age 12 to 22.

00:32:00On the day of the

00:32:00engagement banquet,

00:32:01he sat at the end

00:32:02of the long table

00:32:03while the elders

00:32:04raised glasses

00:32:05and discussed docks,

00:32:06containers,

00:32:07roots,

00:32:07and loyalty.

00:32:08He stayed silent

00:32:09for a long time

00:32:10and then asked

00:32:11only one question.

00:32:12Is Lucy doing

00:32:13any better?

00:32:14At the mention of Lucy,

00:32:16everyone's expressions

00:32:17softened.

00:32:18I shrank into a corner

00:32:20and said nothing.

00:32:22Cole gave me

00:32:23a cold glance.

00:32:25She's not suited

00:32:26for occasions like this.

00:32:28I heard it,

00:32:29and I remembered it.

00:32:31From that day on,

00:32:32I threw myself

00:32:33into upper-class etiquette,

00:32:35learned to take apart

00:32:36and assemble guns,

00:32:39studied family accounts,

00:32:42and learned how not

00:32:43to show fear

00:32:44in front of wolves

00:32:44dressed in evening wear.

00:32:47I wanted to be

00:32:48a good wife to him.

00:32:49I didn't want

00:32:50to disappoint him.

00:32:51But how did it end?

00:32:53It took me far too long

00:32:54to understand.

00:32:56This engagement

00:32:57had never been love

00:32:58from the start.

00:32:59It was a blood-stained agreement.

00:33:02The Harrington family

00:33:03needed the Whitfield docks,

00:33:04and the Whitfield family

00:33:06needed the Harrington arms lines,

00:33:07and they needed a woman

00:33:08to sit on the altar

00:33:09and complete the final piece.

00:33:12Lucy was too precious

00:33:13to sacrifice.

00:33:16And I had conveniently returned.

00:33:19Suddenly,

00:33:20there was a perfect solution

00:33:21for both sides.

00:33:23Too bad I was

00:33:24the extra bargaining chip

00:33:25outside that perfect solution.

00:33:27Even Ryan Black

00:33:28quickly took Lucy's side,

00:33:30even though,

00:33:31like me,

00:33:32he had grown up

00:33:33in the staff building

00:33:34at Whitfield Manor.

00:33:35Both of our mothers

00:33:36were employees

00:33:37of this family.

00:33:38Both of us

00:33:39had been bullied by Lucy,

00:33:40and both of us

00:33:41had sworn vows

00:33:42in the drafty winter

00:33:42staff quarters.

00:33:43When we were little,

00:33:45Ryan held my hand.

00:33:47One day,

00:33:48I'll climb above them.

00:33:49By then,

00:33:51Lucy Whitfield

00:33:51will never dare

00:33:52bully you again.

00:33:59Why did it become like this?

00:34:00I stumbled out of the church.

00:34:21At my wedding,

00:34:22my fiancée, Cole,

00:34:23slapped me hard

00:34:23in front of half

00:34:24of New York's underworld.

00:34:28Lucy almost put a gun

00:34:29in her mouth

00:34:30and killed herself.

00:34:31And all you care about

00:34:32is your wedding?

00:34:33Orton,

00:34:33do you even possess

00:34:34a shred of decency?

00:34:36The blow sent me stumbling,

00:34:37and I crashed

00:34:38into the five-tier wedding cake.

00:34:39Cream,

00:34:40strawberry coulis,

00:34:41and champagne

00:34:41mixed together,

00:34:42clinging to my expensive

00:34:43white wedding dress

00:34:44like dignity

00:34:44crushed under someone's heel.

00:34:46On our wedding day,

00:34:47my fiancée missed

00:34:48the merger ceremony

00:34:49between two major families

00:34:50because of a cry for help

00:34:51from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:34:52While everyone was frozen

00:34:53in a standoff,

00:34:54I called Ryan Black,

00:34:55the boy I had grown up with,

00:34:56and told him,

00:34:57if you come,

00:34:58I'll marry you.

00:35:00Orton,

00:35:01you really think

00:35:01too highly of yourself?

00:35:03Ryan,

00:35:03are you gonna leave me too?

00:35:05Half an hour later,

00:35:06both men arrived

00:35:07at the church.

00:35:08One was the heir

00:35:09of the Harrington family,

00:35:10my fiancée named Cole.

00:35:11The other was

00:35:12my childhood friend

00:35:12from the staff building

00:35:13at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:35:14They stepped out

00:35:14of black bulletproof cars.

00:35:16Behind them stood

00:35:16a line of black suit bodyguards

00:35:18with gun holsters

00:35:18concealed beneath their jackets

00:35:20like a belated judgment.

00:35:21I had been struck

00:35:22to the floor.

00:35:23Covering my face,

00:35:24I instinctively

00:35:25looked toward Ryan.

00:35:26He stood coldly

00:35:27to the side

00:35:28with both hands

00:35:28in his pockets,

00:35:29a flicker of disgust

00:35:30crossing his eyes.

00:35:34Even my biological parents,

00:35:36Richard,

00:35:37head of the Whitfield family,

00:35:38and his wife Diana,

00:35:39came over

00:35:40from the Navy table.

00:35:41The alliance ceremony

00:35:42can be rescheduled

00:35:43any time,

00:35:44but if something happens

00:35:45to you,

00:35:46you cannot afford

00:35:47to lose a single second.

00:35:49At that moment,

00:35:50I finally understood.

00:35:52Within this family,

00:35:53I was their long-lost

00:35:54biological daughter

00:35:55restored to them

00:35:56by blood,

00:35:57yet also the perfect

00:35:58bargaining chip.

00:35:59The people here tonight

00:36:00were not ordinary

00:36:01relatives and friends,

00:36:02but representatives

00:36:02from families in New York,

00:36:04Chicago,

00:36:04and Boston.

00:36:06Some held wine glasses,

00:36:07some had their fingers

00:36:08pressed against the inside

00:36:09of their jacket,

00:36:10close enough to touch

00:36:11a gun at any moment.

00:36:12A sharp ping

00:36:13burned across my face,

00:36:15and a drop of blood

00:36:16fell onto my snow-white

00:36:17wedding dress.

00:36:17I touched my nose.

00:36:19It was warm.

00:36:21Cole,

00:36:22are you insane?

00:36:26If Lucy hadn't

00:36:27begged me through tears

00:36:28to come finish this ceremony,

00:36:30do you really think

00:36:31I would be here?

00:36:32After saying that,

00:36:32he pulled a glass

00:36:33from the bottom tier

00:36:34of the champagne tower.

00:36:35The bodyguards at the door

00:36:36tensed instantly.

00:36:37The banquet hall manager

00:36:38went deathly pale,

00:36:39but did not dare step forward.

00:36:41Cole grabbed a bottle

00:36:41of champagne,

00:36:42twisted off the cork,

00:36:43aimed it over my head,

00:36:44and let the cold

00:36:45golden liquid pour down.

00:36:47Didn't you want to marry

00:36:48into the Harrington family?

00:36:53Here.

00:36:54This was our champagne ceremony.

00:36:56The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:36:57down the bridge of my nose,

00:36:58and off my chin,

00:36:59drop by drop.

00:36:59I could no longer tell

00:37:00whether what fell onto

00:37:01my wedding dress

00:37:02was wine or blood.

00:37:03Satisfied now,

00:37:03my legal wife?

00:37:07In the banquet hall,

00:37:09my bridesmaid grace

00:37:10stood frozen in place.

00:37:11At an ordinary wedding,

00:37:13someone would call the police,

00:37:14but on Whitfield territory,

00:37:15no one dared

00:37:16call 911.

00:37:17People here believed

00:37:18more in silence,

00:37:19hush money,

00:37:20and bodies encased

00:37:21in Fort Conqueros.

00:37:22My childhood friend,

00:37:23Ryan Black,

00:37:24stood in the shadows

00:37:25as if watching a play

00:37:26whose ending

00:37:26had never been in doubt.

00:37:28There was a commotion

00:37:29at the back door

00:37:29of the banquet hall.

00:37:31My biological parents

00:37:32came through the crowd.

00:37:33I thought they would

00:37:34finally ask if it hurt.

00:37:35But Diana did not even

00:37:37scare me a glance.

00:37:38Her voice shook.

00:37:39Where is my Lucy?

00:37:41She's emotionally unstable.

00:37:43How could you leave

00:37:43her alone in the case?

00:37:45If anything happens to her,

00:37:47I won't be able

00:37:47to live either.

00:37:50Richard took the microphone.

00:37:52He was the godfather

00:37:53of the Whitfield family.

00:37:54Always composed,

00:37:56always respectable.

00:37:57Even at a moment like this,

00:37:59he could announce to the room

00:38:00in an almost cruelly

00:38:02steady voice.

00:38:03My apologies, everyone.

00:38:05An emergency has come up

00:38:07within the family.

00:38:08Tonight's alliance ceremony

00:38:09is temporarily cancelled.

00:38:11All gifts and cooperation

00:38:13deposits will be returned

00:38:14in full through

00:38:14the original channel.

00:38:16Richard Whitfield

00:38:16owes you all an explanation.

00:38:19After putting down

00:38:20the microphone,

00:38:21he looked at Cole.

00:38:22Lead the way.

00:38:23We're going to find Lucy.

00:38:25He did not look at me.

00:38:27I sat beside

00:38:27the collapsed cake,

00:38:28filthy and humiliated,

00:38:30like an old prop

00:38:31whose purpose

00:38:31had already been served.

00:38:40Dad, Mom.

00:38:42Lucy Whitfield stood

00:38:43in the doorway

00:38:44in an ivory dress.

00:38:45Her face streaked with tears,

00:38:47her steps unsteady.

00:38:48She had once been

00:38:49the little princess

00:38:50the Whitfield family

00:38:51had carefully raised

00:38:52for more than 20 years.

00:38:53Dad, Mom,

00:38:55please don't leave me.

00:38:56Even when she cried,

00:38:57she looked like

00:38:58a fragile work of art.

00:38:59Everyone's eyes

00:39:00were pulled towards her.

00:39:02Lucy.

00:39:03Lucy, don't be scared.

00:39:05Mom is right here.

00:39:07The man who could

00:39:08swallow three docks

00:39:09at a negotiation table

00:39:10without blinking

00:39:11opened his arms

00:39:12and held mother

00:39:13and daughter together.

00:39:14The scene was warm enough

00:39:16to look like

00:39:16a carefully staged movie,

00:39:18and I was the

00:39:19unnecessary person

00:39:20outside the frame.

00:39:22Cole seemed to

00:39:22finally breathe in relief.

00:39:23When he looked at Lucy,

00:39:25the tenderness in his eyes

00:39:26nearly overflowed.

00:39:28Ryan looked back at me

00:39:29and slowly shook his head.

00:39:30I ignored him.

00:39:33I held on to the

00:39:34overturned table corner

00:39:35and got to my feet,

00:39:36pain stabbing

00:39:37through my ankle.

00:39:38My wedding dress

00:39:39dragged across the floor,

00:39:41covered in cream,

00:39:42liquor,

00:39:43and shattered glass.

00:39:45Miss Reed,

00:39:47do you need me

00:39:47to call a doctor?

00:39:49He did not say

00:39:50call the police.

00:39:51Everyone here knew

00:39:52the Whitfield family's affairs

00:39:53could not be handed

00:39:54to the police.

00:39:57No.

00:39:59I limped toward

00:40:00the side door.

00:40:03I had barely taken

00:40:04two steps

00:40:04when someone

00:40:05yanked my wrist.

00:40:09Orton,

00:40:10you really disappointed

00:40:11me tonight.

00:40:12I thought you were tough.

00:40:13I thought you could

00:40:14take the hits,

00:40:15claw your way

00:40:16out of the muck.

00:40:16Never imagined you'd

00:40:17resort to cheap stunts

00:40:18just to drag everyone's

00:40:19eyes onto yourself.

00:40:20Lucy has already

00:40:21given back everything

00:40:21she once had to you.

00:40:22She lost her parents,

00:40:24her identity,

00:40:24even her place's heir.

00:40:25Why still refuse

00:40:26to let her go?

00:40:28Orton,

00:40:28how did you become

00:40:29like this?

00:40:33Blood and champagne

00:40:34had dried on my dress

00:40:35like a brand of humiliation

00:40:36burnt into my skin.

00:40:38Suddenly,

00:40:38I wanted to laugh.

00:40:40This wedding dress

00:40:41was the most expensive

00:40:42thing I had ever

00:40:42worn in my life.

00:40:44Before the wedding,

00:40:45I had touched it

00:40:45again and again

00:40:46with careful hands.

00:40:47It came from Milan.

00:40:49More than a thousand

00:40:50hand-sewn crystals

00:40:51covered the train,

00:40:52each one like the future

00:40:53I had naively believed

00:40:54was coming.

00:40:55I had looked forward

00:40:56to this day

00:40:57more than anything,

00:40:58to marrying

00:40:59Cole Harrington beautifully,

00:41:03because I had secretly

00:41:04loved him

00:41:05for many years.

00:41:07Half a year ago,

00:41:09Lucy was diagnosed

00:41:09with severe

00:41:10aplastic anemia.

00:41:12Richard and Diana

00:41:12immediately underwent

00:41:14HLA matching,

00:41:15but the results

00:41:16were a complete mismatch.

00:41:17An urgent DNA test

00:41:19exposed the secret.

00:41:2122 years ago,

00:41:22the Whitfield family

00:41:23housekeeper,

00:41:23Maggie Reed,

00:41:24switched Lucy and me.

00:41:25She sent her own

00:41:26biological doll

00:41:27into the Godfather's house

00:41:28and took the true

00:41:29Whitfield bloodline

00:41:30back to a cramped

00:41:31staff apartment.

00:41:32After the truth came out,

00:41:33Maggie put a gun in her mouth

00:41:34in the underground wine cellar,

00:41:36leaving behind

00:41:37only a letter.

00:41:39I had read that letter.

00:41:41Across two full pages,

00:41:42she did not mention

00:41:43my name once.

00:41:44Lucy could not handle

00:41:45the shock and was diagnosed

00:41:47with severe depression.

00:41:48To preserve the port alliance

00:41:50between the Whitfield

00:41:51and Harrington families,

00:41:53Richard made a swift decision

00:41:54and transferred Lucy's

00:41:56original engagement to me.

00:41:57The reason sounded

00:41:58grand and proper.

00:42:00The old Harrington family pact

00:42:01required both sides

00:42:03to be bound by legal marriage

00:42:04and legitimate direct heirs.

00:42:06Otherwise,

00:42:07the merger of the East River docks,

00:42:09arms routes,

00:42:10and money-laughtering network

00:42:12would all be void.

00:42:14Lucy was too fragile

00:42:15to withstand

00:42:15that kind of pressure

00:42:16and I was healthy,

00:42:18mentally tougher,

00:42:19and more suited

00:42:20to bear this family responsibility.

00:42:22I did not hesitate.

00:42:24I agreed.

00:42:25Because Cole Harrington

00:42:26was the boy I had loved

00:42:28in secret since childhood.

00:42:30When I was little,

00:42:31I followed my foster mother Maggie

00:42:33to work at Harrington Manor.

00:42:35Lucy sat in the sunroom

00:42:37eating pastries.

00:42:38I was so hungry

00:42:39I could only stare,

00:42:41but I didn't dare come closer.

00:42:43Cole was the one

00:42:44who walked over

00:42:45and beckoned me to him.

00:42:47Lucy wrinkled her brows

00:42:49and said I was dirty,

00:42:50that I didn't deserve

00:42:51to touch her silver fork,

00:42:53but Cole placed

00:42:54a honey muffin in my palm.

00:42:55This country says

00:42:56everyone is equal on the surface,

00:42:58though we all know

00:42:58that's a lie,

00:42:59but at least at my table,

00:43:00you don't have to lower your head.

00:43:07From that day on,

00:43:08he became the light

00:43:09I hid in the deepest part

00:43:10of my heart.

00:43:11Every time I saw him,

00:43:13he would smile faintly at me,

00:43:14like a lamp suddenly lit

00:43:15in a dark warehouse.

00:43:17I was poor and timid,

00:43:18so I only dared watch him

00:43:20from afar,

00:43:21from age 12 to 22.

00:43:25On the day

00:43:26of the engagement banquet,

00:43:27he sat at the end

00:43:28of the long table

00:43:29while the elders

00:43:29raised glasses

00:43:30and discussed docks,

00:43:32containers,

00:43:32roots,

00:43:33and loyalty.

00:43:34He stayed silent

00:43:35for a long time

00:43:36and then asked

00:43:37only one question.

00:43:38Is Lucy doing any better?

00:43:39At the mention of Lucy,

00:43:42everyone's expressions

00:43:43softened.

00:43:44I shrank into a corner

00:43:46and said nothing.

00:43:48Cole gave me

00:43:49a cold glance.

00:43:51She's not suited

00:43:52for occasions like this.

00:43:53I heard it

00:43:54and I remembered it.

00:43:56From that day on,

00:43:58I threw myself

00:43:59into upper-class etiquette,

00:44:01learned to take apart

00:44:02and assemble guns,

00:44:04studied family accounts,

00:44:07and learned how not

00:44:08to show fear

00:44:09in front of wolves

00:44:10dressed in evening wear.

00:44:12I wanted to be

00:44:13a good wife to him.

00:44:14I didn't want

00:44:15to disappoint him.

00:44:16But how did it end?

00:44:18It took me far too long

00:44:20to understand.

00:44:21This engagement

00:44:22had never been love

00:44:23from the start.

00:44:24It was a blood-stained agreement.

00:44:27The Harrington family

00:44:28needed the Whitfield docks

00:44:30and the Whitfield family

00:44:31needed the Harrington arms lines

00:44:32and they needed a woman

00:44:34to sit on the altar

00:44:35and complete the final piece.

00:44:37Lucy was too precious

00:44:38to sacrifice.

00:44:41And I had conveniently returned.

00:44:44Suddenly,

00:44:45there was a perfect solution

00:44:47for both sides.

00:44:48Too bad I was the extra

00:44:50bargaining chip

00:44:51outside that perfect solution.

00:44:53Even Ryan Black

00:44:54quickly took Lucy's side,

00:44:55even though,

00:44:56like me,

00:44:57he had grown up

00:44:58in the staff building

00:44:59at Whitfield Manor.

00:45:01Both of our mothers

00:45:02were employees

00:45:03of this family.

00:45:04Both of us

00:45:04had been bullied by Lucy

00:45:05and both of us

00:45:06had sworn vows

00:45:07in the drafty winter

00:45:08staff quarters.

00:45:09When we were little,

00:45:10Ryan held my hand.

00:45:12One day,

00:45:13I'll climb above them.

00:45:15By then,

00:45:16Lucy Whitfield

00:45:17will never dare

00:45:17bully you again.

00:45:24Why did it become like this?

00:45:26I stumbled out of the church.

00:45:46At my wedding,

00:45:47my fiancée, Cole,

00:45:48slapped me hard

00:45:49in front of half

00:45:49of New York's underworld.

00:45:54Lucy almost put a gun

00:45:55in her mouth

00:45:55and killed herself.

00:45:56And all you care about

00:45:57is your wedding?

00:45:58Orton,

00:45:59do you even possess

00:45:59a shred of decency?

00:46:01The blow sent me stumbling

00:46:02and I crashed

00:46:03into the five-tier wedding cake.

00:46:04Cream,

00:46:05strawberry curry,

00:46:06and champagne

00:46:07mixed together,

00:46:08clinging to my expensive

00:46:08white wedding dress

00:46:09like dignity

00:46:10crushed under someone's heel.

00:46:11On our wedding day,

00:46:12my fiancée missed

00:46:13the merger ceremony

00:46:14between two major families

00:46:15because of a cry for help

00:46:16from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:46:18While everyone was frozen

00:46:19in a standoff,

00:46:19I called Ryan Black,

00:46:20the boy I had grown up with,

00:46:21and told him,

00:46:22if you come,

00:46:23I'll marry you.

00:46:25Orton,

00:46:26you really think

00:46:27too highly of yourself.

00:46:28Ryan,

00:46:29are you gonna leave me too?

00:46:31Half an hour later,

00:46:32both men arrived

00:46:33at the church.

00:46:33One was the heir

00:46:34of the Harrington family,

00:46:35my fiancée named Cole.

00:46:37The other was my childhood

00:46:37friend from the staff building

00:46:38at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:46:39They stepped out

00:46:40of black bulletproof cars.

00:46:41Behind them stood

00:46:42a line of black suit bodyguards

00:46:43with gun holsters

00:46:44concealed beneath their jackets

00:46:45like a belated judgment.

00:46:46I had been struck

00:46:47to the floor.

00:46:48Covering my face,

00:46:49I instinctively

00:46:50looked toward Ryan.

00:46:52He stood coldly to the side

00:46:53with both hands in his pockets,

00:46:55a flicker of disgust

00:46:56crossing his eyes.

00:46:59Even my biological parents,

00:47:01Richard,

00:47:02head of the Whitfield family,

00:47:03and his wife Diana,

00:47:05came over from the main table.

00:47:06The alliance ceremony

00:47:08can be rescheduled anytime,

00:47:09but if something happens to you,

00:47:11you cannot afford

00:47:12to lose a single second.

00:47:14At that moment,

00:47:15I finally understood.

00:47:17Within this family,

00:47:18I was their long-lost

00:47:20biological daughter

00:47:21restored to them by blood,

00:47:22yet also the perfect

00:47:23bargaining chip.

00:47:24The people here tonight

00:47:25were not ordinary relatives

00:47:26and friends,

00:47:27but representatives

00:47:28from families in New York,

00:47:29Chicago, and Boston.

00:47:31Some held wine glasses,

00:47:33some had their fingers

00:47:34pressed against the inside

00:47:35of their jacket,

00:47:36close enough to touch a gun

00:47:37at any moment.

00:47:38A sharp cling burned

00:47:39across my face,

00:47:40and a drop of blood

00:47:41fell onto my snow-white

00:47:42wedding dress.

00:47:43I touched my nose.

00:47:45It was warm.

00:47:46Cole, are you insane?

00:47:52If Lucy hadn't begged me

00:47:53through tears

00:47:54to come finish this ceremony,

00:47:55do you really think

00:47:56I would be here?

00:47:57After saying that,

00:47:58he pulled a glass

00:47:58from the bottom tier

00:47:59of the champagne tower.

00:48:00The bodyguards at the door

00:48:01tensed instantly.

00:48:03The banquet hall manager

00:48:03went deathly pale,

00:48:04but did not dare step forward.

00:48:06Cole grabbed a bottle

00:48:07of champagne,

00:48:08twisted off the cork,

00:48:09aimed it over my head,

00:48:10and let the cold,

00:48:11golden liquid pour down.

00:48:12Didn't you want to marry

00:48:13into the Harrington family?

00:48:18Here,

00:48:19this is our champagne ceremony.

00:48:21The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:48:22down the bridge of my nose,

00:48:23and off my chain,

00:48:24drop by drop.

00:48:25I could no longer tell

00:48:26whether what fell onto my wedding dress

00:48:27was wine or blood.

00:48:28Satisfied now,

00:48:29my legal wife?

00:48:33In the banquet hall,

00:48:34my bridesmaid Grace

00:48:35stood frozen in place.

00:48:37At an ordinary wedding,

00:48:38someone would call the police,

00:48:39but on Whitfield territory,

00:48:41no one dared call 911.

00:48:43People here believed more

00:48:44in silence,

00:48:45hush money,

00:48:45and bodies increased

00:48:46in Fort Conquer.

00:48:48My childhood friend,

00:48:49Ryan Black,

00:48:50stood in the shadows

00:48:50as if watching a play

00:48:51whose ending

00:48:52had never been in doubt.

00:48:53There was a commotion

00:48:54at the back door

00:48:55of the banquet hall.

00:48:56My biological parents

00:48:57came through the crowd.

00:48:58I thought they would

00:48:59finally ask if it occurred,

00:49:01but Diana did not even

00:49:02scare me a glance.

00:49:03Her voice shook.

00:49:04Where is my Lucy?

00:49:06She's emotionally unstable.

00:49:08How could you leave her alone

00:49:09in the case?

00:49:10If anything happens to her,

00:49:12I won't be able to live either.

00:49:15Richard took the microphone.

00:49:17He was the godfather

00:49:18of the Whitfield family,

00:49:20always composed,

00:49:21always respectable.

00:49:23Even at a moment like this,

00:49:24he could announce to the room

00:49:26in a most cruelly steady voice,

00:49:28My apologies, everyone.

00:49:31An emergency has come up

00:49:32within the family.

00:49:33Tonight's alliance ceremony

00:49:35is temporarily canceled.

00:49:37All gifts and cooperation deposits

00:49:39will be returned in full

00:49:40through the original channel.

00:49:41Richard Whitfield owes you

00:49:42all an explanation.

00:49:44After putting down the microphone,

00:49:46he looked at Cole.

00:49:47Lead the way.

00:49:48We're going to find Lucy.

00:49:50He did not look at me.

00:49:52I sat beside the collapsed cake,

00:49:54filthy and humiliated,

00:49:55like an old prop

00:49:56whose purpose had already

00:49:57been served.

00:50:05Dad, Mom.

00:50:07Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway

00:50:09in an ivory dress,

00:50:11her face streaked with tears,

00:50:12her steps unsteady.

00:50:13She had once been

00:50:14the little princess

00:50:15the Whitfield family

00:50:16had carefully raised

00:50:17for more than 20 years.

00:50:19Dad, Mom,

00:50:20please don't leave me.

00:50:22Even when she cried,

00:50:23she looked like a fragile

00:50:24work of art.

00:50:24Everyone's eyes

00:50:25were pulled towards her.

00:50:27Lucy!

00:50:28Lucy, don't be scared.

00:50:30Mom is right here.

00:50:32The man who could swallow

00:50:34three docks

00:50:34at a negotiation table

00:50:36without blinking

00:50:36opened his arms

00:50:37and held mother and daughter together.

00:50:40The scene was warm enough

00:50:41to look like

00:50:42a carefully staged movie,

00:50:43and I was the unnecessary person

00:50:45outside the frame.

00:50:47Cole seemed to finally breathe

00:50:48in relief.

00:50:49When he looked at Lucy,

00:50:50the tenderness in his eyes

00:50:52nearly overflowed.

00:50:53Ryan looked back at me

00:50:54and slowly shook his head.

00:50:56I ignored him.

00:50:58I held on to the overturned table corner

00:51:00and got to my feet,

00:51:02pain stabbing through my ankle.

00:51:04My wedding dress

00:51:05dragged across the floor,

00:51:06covered in cream,

00:51:08liquor,

00:51:08and shattered glass.

00:51:11Hey, Miss Reed,

00:51:12do you need me to call a doctor?

00:51:14He did not say,

00:51:15call the police.

00:51:17Everyone here knew

00:51:18the Whitfield family's affairs

00:51:19could not be handed to the police.

00:51:22No.

00:51:24I limped toward the side door.

00:51:28I had barely taken two steps

00:51:30when someone yanked my wrist.

00:51:34Orton,

00:51:35you really disappointed me tonight.

00:51:37I thought you were tough.

00:51:39I thought you could take the hits,

00:51:40claw your way out of the muck.

00:51:42Never imagined you'd resort

00:51:43to cheap stunts

00:51:43just to drag everyone's eyes

00:51:45onto yourself.

00:51:45Lucy has already given back

00:51:46everything she once had to you.

00:51:48She lost her parents,

00:51:49her identity,

00:51:50even her place's heir.

00:51:51Why still refuse to let her go?

00:51:53Orton,

00:51:53how did you become like this?

00:51:58Blood and champagne

00:51:59had dried on my dress

00:52:00like a brand of humiliation

00:52:02burnt into my skin.

00:52:03Suddenly,

00:52:04I wanted to laugh.

00:52:05This wedding dress

00:52:06was the most expensive thing

00:52:07I had ever worn in my life.

00:52:09Before the wedding,

00:52:10I had touched it again and again

00:52:12with careful hands.

00:52:12It came from Milan.

00:52:14More than a thousand

00:52:15hand-sewn crystals

00:52:16covered the train,

00:52:17each one like the future

00:52:18I had naively believed

00:52:20was coming.

00:52:21I had looked forward

00:52:22to this day

00:52:22more than anything

00:52:24to marrying

00:52:25Cole Harrington beautifully

00:52:28because I had secretly

00:52:30loved him for many years.

00:52:32Half a year ago,

00:52:34Lucy was diagnosed

00:52:35with severe

00:52:36aplastic anemia.

00:52:37Richard and Diana

00:52:38immediately underwent

00:52:39HLA matching,

00:52:40but the results

00:52:41were a complete mismatch.

00:52:43An urgent DNA test

00:52:44exposed the secret.

00:52:4622 years ago,

00:52:47the Whitfield family

00:52:48housekeeper,

00:52:49Maggie Reed,

00:52:50switched Lucy and me.

00:52:51She sent her own

00:52:52biological doll

00:52:53into the Godfather's house

00:52:54and took the true

00:52:54Whitfield bloodline

00:52:55back to a cramped

00:52:56staff apartment.

00:52:57After the truth came out,

00:52:58Maggie put a gun

00:52:59in her mouth

00:52:59in the underground

00:53:00wine cellar,

00:53:01leaving behind

00:53:02only a letter.

00:53:04I had read that letter.

00:53:06Across two full pages,

00:53:07she did not mention

00:53:08my name once.

00:53:10Lucy could not

00:53:10handle the shock

00:53:11and was diagnosed

00:53:12with severe depression.

00:53:14To preserve

00:53:15the port alliance

00:53:16between the Whitfield

00:53:17and Harrington families,

00:53:18Richard made a swift decision

00:53:20and transferred Lucy's

00:53:21original engagement to me.

00:53:23The reason sounded

00:53:24grand and proper.

00:53:25The old Harrington family pact

00:53:27required both sides

00:53:28to be bound

00:53:29by legal marriage

00:53:30and legitimate direct heirs.

00:53:32Otherwise,

00:53:33the merger of the

00:53:33East River docks,

00:53:35arms routes,

00:53:36and money-laughtering network

00:53:37would all be void.

00:53:39Lucy was too fragile

00:53:40to withstand

00:53:41that kind of pressure,

00:53:42and I was healthy,

00:53:43mentally tougher,

00:53:45and more suited

00:53:46to bear this

00:53:46family responsibility.

00:53:48I did not hesitate.

00:53:49I agreed,

00:53:51because Cole Harrington

00:53:52was the boy

00:53:53I had loved in secret

00:53:54since childhood.

00:53:55When I was little,

00:53:57I followed my foster mother,

00:53:58Maggie,

00:53:58to work at Harrington Manor.

00:54:01Lucy sat in the sunroom

00:54:02eating pastries.

00:54:04I was so hungry

00:54:05I could only stare,

00:54:06but I didn't dare

00:54:07come closer.

00:54:09Cole was the one

00:54:10who walked over

00:54:10and beckoned me to him.

00:54:13Lucy wrinkled her brows

00:54:14and said I was dirty,

00:54:16that I didn't deserve

00:54:17to touch her silver fork.

00:54:19But Cole placed

00:54:19a honey muffin

00:54:20in my palm.

00:54:21This country says

00:54:22everyone is equal

00:54:22on the surface,

00:54:23though we all know

00:54:24that's a lie.

00:54:24But at least at my table,

00:54:26you don't have

00:54:26to lower your head.

00:54:32From that day on,

00:54:33he became the light

00:54:34I hid in the deepest

00:54:35part of my heart.

00:54:37Every time I saw him,

00:54:38he would smile faintly

00:54:39at me,

00:54:39like a lamp suddenly lit

00:54:41in a dark warehouse.

00:54:42I was poor and timid,

00:54:44so I only dared

00:54:44watch him from afar.

00:54:46From age 12 to 22.

00:54:50On the day

00:54:51of the engagement banquet,

00:54:52he sat at the end

00:54:53of the long table

00:54:54while the elders

00:54:55raised glasses

00:54:56and discussed docks,

00:54:57containers,

00:54:58roots,

00:54:58and loyalty.

00:54:59He stayed silent

00:55:00for a long time

00:55:01and then asked

00:55:02only one question.

00:55:03Is Lucy doing

00:55:04any better?

00:55:05At the mention of Lucy,

00:55:07everyone's expressions

00:55:08softened.

00:55:09I shrank into a corner

00:55:11and said nothing.

00:55:13Cole gave me

00:55:14a cold glance.

00:55:16She's not suited

00:55:17for occasions like this.

00:55:19I heard it

00:55:20and I remembered it.

00:55:22From that day on,

00:55:23I threw myself

00:55:24into upper-class etiquette,

00:55:26learned to take apart

00:55:27and assemble guns,

00:55:30studied family accounts,

00:55:33and learned how not

00:55:34to show fear

00:55:34in front of wolves

00:55:35dressed in evening wear.

00:55:37I wanted to be

00:55:38a good wife to him.

00:55:39I didn't want

00:55:40to disappoint him.

00:55:41But how did it end?

00:55:44It took me far too long

00:55:45to understand.

00:55:47This engagement

00:55:48had never been love

00:55:49from the start.

00:55:50It was a blood-stained agreement.

00:55:52The Harrington family

00:55:54needed the Whitfield docks

00:55:55and the Whitfield family

00:55:56needed the Harrington arms lines

00:55:58and they needed a woman

00:55:59to sit on the altar

00:56:00and complete the final piece.

00:56:02Lucy was too precious

00:56:04to sacrifice.

00:56:07And I had conveniently returned.

00:56:10Suddenly,

00:56:11there was a perfect solution

00:56:12for both sides.

00:56:14Too bad I was the extra

00:56:15bargaining chip

00:56:16outside that perfect solution.

00:56:18Even Ryan Black

00:56:19quickly took Lucy's side,

00:56:21even though,

00:56:21like me,

00:56:23he had grown up

00:56:24in the staff building

00:56:25at Whitfield Manor.

00:56:26Both of our mothers

00:56:27were employees

00:56:28of this family.

00:56:29Both of us

00:56:30had been bullied by Lucy

00:56:31and both of us

00:56:32had sworn vows

00:56:32in the drafty winter staff quarters.

00:56:34When we were little,

00:56:36Ryan held my hand.

00:56:37One day,

00:56:39I'll climb above them.

00:56:40By then,

00:56:41Lucy Whitfield

00:56:42will never dare

00:56:43bully you again.

00:56:49Why did it become like this?

00:56:51I stumbled out of the church.

00:57:11At my wedding,

00:57:13my fiancée, Cole,

00:57:14slapped me hard

00:57:14in front of half

00:57:15of New York's underworld.

00:57:19Lucy almost put a gun

00:57:20in her mouth

00:57:20and killed herself.

00:57:21And all you care about

00:57:22is your wedding?

00:57:24Orton,

00:57:24do you even possess

00:57:25a shred of decency?

00:57:26The blow sent me stumbling

00:57:28and I crashed

00:57:28into the five-tier wedding cake.

00:57:30Cream,

00:57:31strawberry coulis,

00:57:32and champagne

00:57:32mixed together,

00:57:33clinging to my expensive

00:57:34white wedding dress

00:57:35like dignity

00:57:35crushed under someone's heel.

00:57:37On our wedding day,

00:57:38my fiancée missed

00:57:38the merger ceremony

00:57:39between two major families

00:57:40because of a cry for help

00:57:41from my stepsister, Lucy.

00:57:43While everyone was frozen

00:57:44in a standoff,

00:57:45I called Ryan Black,

00:57:46the boy I had grown up with,

00:57:47and told him,

00:57:48If you come,

00:57:49I'll marry you.

00:57:51Orton,

00:57:52you really think

00:57:52too highly of yourself.

00:57:54Ryan,

00:57:54are you gonna leave me too?

00:57:56Half an hour later,

00:57:57both men arrived

00:57:58at the church.

00:57:59One was the heir

00:57:59of the Harrington family,

00:58:00my fiancée named Cole.

00:58:02The other was my childhood friend

00:58:03from the staff building

00:58:04at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

00:58:05They stepped out

00:58:05of black bulletproof cars.

00:58:07Behind them stood

00:58:07a line of black suit bodyguards

00:58:09with gun holsters

00:58:09concealed beneath their jackets

00:58:10like a belated judgment.

00:58:12I had been struck

00:58:13to the floor.

00:58:14Covering my face,

00:58:15I instinctively

00:58:16looked toward Ryan.

00:58:17He stood coldly

00:58:18to the side

00:58:19with both hands

00:58:19in his pockets,

00:58:20a flicker of disgust

00:58:21crossing his eyes.

00:58:25Even my biological parents,

00:58:27Richard,

00:58:27head of the Whitfield family,

00:58:29and his wife Diana,

00:58:30came over

00:58:31from the main table.

00:58:32The alliance ceremony

00:58:33can be rescheduled

00:58:34anytime,

00:58:34but if something

00:58:35happens to you,

00:58:36you cannot afford

00:58:37to lose a single second.

00:58:40At that moment,

00:58:41I finally understood.

00:58:43Within this family,

00:58:44I was their long-lost

00:58:45biological daughter

00:58:46restored to them

00:58:47by blood,

00:58:48yet also the perfect

00:58:49bargaining chip.

00:58:50The people here tonight

00:58:51were not ordinary

00:58:51relatives and friends,

00:58:52but representatives

00:58:53from families in New York,

00:58:55Chicago,

00:58:55and Boston.

00:58:56Some held wine glasses,

00:58:58some had their fingers

00:58:59pressed against the inside

00:59:00of their jacket,

00:59:01close enough to touch a gun

00:59:02at any moment.

00:59:03A sharp ting

00:59:04burned across my face,

00:59:06and a drop of blood

00:59:07fell onto my

00:59:07snow-white wedding dress.

00:59:09I touched my nose.

00:59:10It was warm.

00:59:12Cole,

00:59:12are you insane?

00:59:17If Lucy hadn't begged me

00:59:19through tears

00:59:19to come finish this ceremony,

00:59:21do you really think

00:59:22I would be here?

00:59:22After saying that,

00:59:23he pulled a glass

00:59:24from the bottom tier

00:59:25of the champagne tower.

00:59:26The bodyguards at the door

00:59:27tensed instantly.

00:59:28The banquet hall manager

00:59:29went deathly pale,

00:59:30but did not dare step forward.

00:59:31Cole grabbed a bottle

00:59:32of champagne,

00:59:33twisted off the cork,

00:59:34aimed it over my head,

00:59:35and let the cold,

00:59:36golden liquid pour down.

00:59:38Didn't you want to marry

00:59:39into the Harrington family?

00:59:44Here.

00:59:45This is our champagne ceremony.

00:59:47The liquor ran from my lashes,

00:59:48down the bridge of my nose,

00:59:49and off my chain,

00:59:50drop by drop.

00:59:50I could no longer tell

00:59:51whether what fell onto

00:59:52my wedding dress

00:59:52was wine or blood.

00:59:54Satisfied now,

00:59:54my legal wife?

00:59:58In the banquet hall,

00:59:59my bridesmaid Grace

01:00:00stood frozen in place.

01:00:02At an ordinary wedding,

01:00:03someone would call the police,

01:00:05but on Whitfield territory,

01:00:06no one dared call 911.

01:00:08People here believed

01:00:09more in silence,

01:00:10hush money,

01:00:11and bodies increased

01:00:12in Fort Concrete.

01:00:13My childhood friend,

01:00:14Ryan Black,

01:00:15stood in the shadows

01:00:16as if watching a play

01:00:17whose ending

01:00:17had never been in doubt.

01:00:19There was a commotion

01:00:20at the back door

01:00:20of the banquet hall.

01:00:21My biological parents

01:00:23came through the crowd.

01:00:24I thought they would

01:00:25finally ask if it hurts,

01:00:26but Diana did not

01:00:27even scare me a glance.

01:00:29Her voice shook.

01:00:30Where is my Lucy?

01:00:32She's emotionally unstable.

01:00:33How could you leave her

01:00:34alone in the case?

01:00:36If anything happens to her,

01:00:37I won't be able

01:00:38to live either.

01:00:41Richard picked the microphone.

01:00:42He was the godfather

01:00:44of the Whitfield family,

01:00:45always composed,

01:00:47always respectable.

01:00:48Even at a moment like this,

01:00:50he could announce to the room

01:00:51in an almost cruelly

01:00:52steady voice.

01:00:54My apologies, everyone.

01:00:56An emergency has come up

01:00:57within the family.

01:00:59Tonight's alliance ceremony

01:01:00is temporarily canceled.

01:01:02All gifts and cooperation

01:01:03deposits will be returned

01:01:05in full through

01:01:05the original channel.

01:01:06Richard Whitfield

01:01:07owes you all an explanation.

01:01:10After putting down

01:01:10the microphone,

01:01:11he looked at Cole.

01:01:13Lead the way.

01:01:13We're going to find Lucy.

01:01:15He did not look at me.

01:01:17I sat beside

01:01:18the collapsed cake,

01:01:19filthy and humiliated,

01:01:21like an old prop

01:01:22whose purpose

01:01:22had already been served.

01:01:30Dad, Mom.

01:01:33Lucy Whitfield stood

01:01:34in the doorway

01:01:35in an ivory dress,

01:01:36her face streaked

01:01:37with tears,

01:01:37her steps unsteady.

01:01:39She had once been

01:01:40the little princess

01:01:40the Whitfield family

01:01:41had carefully raised

01:01:42for more than 20 years.

01:01:44Dad, Mom,

01:01:46please don't leave me.

01:01:47Even when she cried,

01:01:48she looked like

01:01:49a fragile work of art.

01:01:50Everyone's eyes

01:01:50were pulled towards her.

01:01:53Lucy.

01:01:53Lucy, don't be scared.

01:01:55Mom is right here.

01:01:58The man who could

01:01:59swallow three docks

01:02:00at a negotiation table

01:02:01without blinking

01:02:02opened his arms

01:02:03and held mother

01:02:03and daughter together.

01:02:05The scene was warm enough

01:02:06to look like

01:02:07a carefully staged movie,

01:02:08and I was the

01:02:10unnecessary person

01:02:11outside the frame.

01:02:12Cole seemed to

01:02:13finally breathe in relief.

01:02:14When he looked at Lucy,

01:02:16the tenderness in his eyes

01:02:17nearly overflowed.

01:02:18Ryan looked back at me

01:02:20and slowly shook his head.

01:02:21I ignored him.

01:02:23I held on to the

01:02:25overturned table corner

01:02:26and got to my feet,

01:02:27pain stabbing

01:02:28through my ankle.

01:02:29My wedding dress

01:02:30dragged across the floor,

01:02:32covered in cream,

01:02:33liquor,

01:02:34and shattered glass.

01:02:36Hey, Miss Reed,

01:02:37do you need me

01:02:38to call a doctor?

01:02:40He did not say

01:02:41call the police.

01:02:42Everyone here knew

01:02:43the Whitfield family's affairs

01:02:44could not be handed

01:02:45to the police.

01:02:48No.

01:02:50I limped toward

01:02:51the side door.

01:02:53I had barely taken

01:02:55two steps

01:02:55when someone

01:02:56yanked my wrist.

01:03:00Orton,

01:03:01you really disappointed

01:03:02me tonight.

01:03:03I thought you were tough.

01:03:04I thought you could

01:03:05take the hits,

01:03:06claw your way

01:03:06out of the muck.

01:03:07Never imagined you'd

01:03:08resort to cheap stunts

01:03:09just to drag

01:03:09everyone's eyes

01:03:10onto yourself.

01:03:11Lucy has already

01:03:11given back everything

01:03:12she once had to you.

01:03:13She lost her parents,

01:03:15her identity,

01:03:15even her place's heir.

01:03:16Why still refuse

01:03:17to let her go?

01:03:19Orton,

01:03:19how did you become

01:03:19like this?

01:03:23Blood and champagne

01:03:24had dried on my dress

01:03:25like a brand of humiliation

01:03:27burnt into my skin.

01:03:29Suddenly,

01:03:29I wanted to laugh.

01:03:31This wedding dress

01:03:31was the most expensive

01:03:32thing I had ever worn

01:03:34in my life.

01:03:35Before the wedding,

01:03:36I had touched it

01:03:36again and again

01:03:37with careful hands.

01:03:38It came from Milan.

01:03:39More than a thousand

01:03:40hand-sewn crystals

01:03:41covered the train,

01:03:43each one like the future

01:03:44I had naively believed

01:03:45was coming.

01:03:46I had looked forward

01:03:47to this day

01:03:48more than anything,

01:03:49to marrying

01:03:50Cole Harrington beautifully,

01:03:54because I had

01:03:55secretly loved him

01:03:56for many years.

01:03:58Half a year ago,

01:03:59Lucy was diagnosed

01:04:00with severe

01:04:01aplastic anemia.

01:04:02Richard and Diana

01:04:03immediately underwent

01:04:05HLA matching,

01:04:06but the results

01:04:07were a complete mismatch.

01:04:08An urgent DNA test

01:04:10exposed the secret.

01:04:1122 years ago,

01:04:13the Whitfield family

01:04:13housekeeper,

01:04:14Maggie Reed,

01:04:15switched Lucy and me.

01:04:16She sent her own

01:04:17biological doll

01:04:18into the Godfather's house

01:04:19and took the true

01:04:20Whitfield bloodline

01:04:21back to a cramped

01:04:21staff apartment.

01:04:22After the truth came out,

01:04:24Maggie put a gun

01:04:24in her mouth

01:04:25in the underground wine cellar,

01:04:27leaving behind

01:04:28only a letter.

01:04:30I had read that letter.

01:04:31Across two full pages,

01:04:33she did not mention

01:04:34my name once.

01:04:35Lucy could not

01:04:36handle the shock

01:04:37and was diagnosed

01:04:37with severe depression.

01:04:39To preserve

01:04:40the port alliance

01:04:41between the Whitfield

01:04:42and Harrington families,

01:04:44Richard made a swift decision

01:04:45and transferred

01:04:46Lucy's original

01:04:47engagement to me.

01:04:48The reason sounded

01:04:49grand and proper.

01:04:50The old Harrington

01:04:51family pact

01:04:52required both sides

01:04:53to be bound

01:04:54by legal marriage

01:04:55and legitimate

01:04:56direct heirs.

01:04:57Otherwise,

01:04:58the merger

01:04:59of the East River docks,

01:05:00arms routes,

01:05:01and money-laughtering network

01:05:02would all be void.

01:05:04Lucy was too fragile

01:05:06to withstand

01:05:06that kind of pressure

01:05:07and I was healthy,

01:05:09mentally tougher,

01:05:10and more suited

01:05:11to bear this

01:05:12family responsibility.

01:05:13I did not hesitate.

01:05:15I agreed.

01:05:16Because Cole Harrington

01:05:17was the boy

01:05:18I had loved in secret

01:05:19since childhood.

01:05:21When I was little,

01:05:22I followed my foster mother,

01:05:23Maggie,

01:05:24to work at Harrington Manor.

01:05:26Lucy sat in the sunroom

01:05:27eating pastries.

01:05:29I was so hungry

01:05:30I could only stare,

01:05:31but I didn't dare

01:05:32come closer.

01:05:34Cole was the one

01:05:35who walked over

01:05:36and beckoned me to him.

01:05:38Lucy wrinkled her brows

01:05:40and said I was dirty,

01:05:41that I didn't deserve

01:05:42to touch her silver fork,

01:05:44but Cole placed

01:05:45a honey muffin

01:05:45in my palm.

01:05:46This country says

01:05:47everyone is equal

01:05:48on the surface,

01:05:49though we all know

01:05:49that's a lie,

01:05:50but at least at my table,

01:05:51you don't have

01:05:51to lower your head.

01:05:57From that day on,

01:05:59he became the light

01:06:00I hid in the deepest

01:06:01part of my heart.

01:06:02Every time I saw him,

01:06:04he would smile faintly

01:06:04at me,

01:06:05like a lamp suddenly lit

01:06:06in a dark warehouse.

01:06:07I was poor and timid,

01:06:09so I only dared

01:06:10watch him from afar,

01:06:11from age 12 to 22.

01:06:16On the day

01:06:16of the engagement banquet,

01:06:18he sat at the end

01:06:19of the long table

01:06:19while the elders

01:06:20raised glasses

01:06:21and discussed docks,

01:06:22containers,

01:06:23roots,

01:06:24and loyalty.

01:06:25He stayed silent

01:06:26for a long time

01:06:26and then asked

01:06:27only one question.

01:06:28Is Lucy doing

01:06:29any better?

01:06:30At the mention

01:06:31of Lucy,

01:06:32everyone's expressions

01:06:33softened.

01:06:35I shrank into a corner

01:06:36and said nothing.

01:06:38Cole gave me

01:06:39a cold glance.

01:06:42She's not suited

01:06:43for occasions like this.

01:06:44I heard it

01:06:45and I remembered it.

01:06:47From that day on,

01:06:48I threw myself

01:06:49into upper-class etiquette,

01:06:52learned to take apart

01:06:53and assemble guns,

01:06:55studied family accounts,

01:06:58and learned how not

01:06:59to show fear

01:07:00in front of wolves

01:07:01dressed in evening wear.

01:07:03I wanted to be

01:07:04a good wife to him.

01:07:05I didn't want

01:07:06to disappoint him.

01:07:07But how did it end?

01:07:09It took me far too long

01:07:11to understand.

01:07:12This engagement

01:07:13had never been love

01:07:14from the start.

01:07:15It was a blood-stained agreement.

01:07:18The Harrington family

01:07:19needed the Whitfield docks

01:07:20and the Whitfield family

01:07:22needed the Harrington arms lines

01:07:23and they needed a woman

01:07:24to sit on the altar

01:07:25and complete the final piece.

01:07:28Lucy was too precious

01:07:29to sacrifice.

01:07:32And I had conveniently returned.

01:07:35Suddenly,

01:07:36there was a perfect solution

01:07:37for both sides.

01:07:39Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip

01:07:41outside that perfect solution.

01:07:44Even Ryan Black

01:07:45quickly took Lucy's side.

01:07:46Even though,

01:07:47like me,

01:07:48he had grown up

01:07:49in the staff building

01:07:50at Whitfield Manor.

01:07:52Both of our mothers

01:07:53were employees

01:07:53of this family.

01:07:54Both of us

01:07:55had been bullied by Lucy

01:07:56and both of us

01:07:57had sworn vows

01:07:58in the drafty winter staff quarters.

01:08:00When we were little,

01:08:01Ryan held my hand.

01:08:03One day,

01:08:04I'll climb above them.

01:08:06By then,

01:08:07Lucy Whitfield

01:08:07will never dare

01:08:08bully you again.

01:08:15Why did it become like this?

01:08:16I stumbled out of the church.

01:08:37At my wedding,

01:08:38my fiancée, Cole,

01:08:39slapped me hard

01:08:40in front of half

01:08:40of New York's underworld.

01:08:44Lucy almost put a gun

01:08:46in her mouth

01:08:46and killed herself.

01:08:47And all you care about

01:08:48is your wedding?

01:08:49Orton,

01:08:50do you even possess

01:08:50a shred of decency?

01:08:52The blow sent me stumbling

01:08:53and I crashed

01:08:54into the five-tier wedding cake.

01:08:55Cream,

01:08:56strawberry curry

01:08:57and champagne

01:08:57mixed together,

01:08:58clinging to my expensive

01:08:59white wedding dress

01:09:00like dignity

01:09:01crushed under someone's heel.

01:09:02On our wedding day,

01:09:03my fiancée missed

01:09:04the merger ceremony

01:09:05between two major families

01:09:06because of a cry for help

01:09:07from my stepsister, Lucy.

01:09:08While everyone was frozen

01:09:09in a standoff,

01:09:10I called Ryan Black,

01:09:11the boy I had grown up with,

01:09:12and told him,

01:09:13if you come,

01:09:14I'll marry you.

01:09:16Orton,

01:09:17you really think

01:09:17too highly of yourself?

01:09:19Ryan,

01:09:19are you gonna leave me too?

01:09:22Half an hour later,

01:09:23both men arrived at the church.

01:09:24One was the heir

01:09:25of the Harrington family,

01:09:26my fiancée named Cole.

01:09:27The other was my childhood friends

01:09:28in the staff building

01:09:29at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.

01:09:30They stepped out

01:09:31of black bulletproof cars.

01:09:32Behind them stood a line

01:09:33of black suit bodyguards

01:09:34with gun holsters

01:09:35concealed beneath their jackets

01:09:36like a belated judgment.

01:09:37I had been struck

01:09:38to the floor.

01:09:39Covering my face,

01:09:40I instinctively looked

01:09:41toward Ryan.

01:09:42He stood coldly to the side

01:09:44with both hands

01:09:45in his pockets,

01:09:46a flicker of disgust

01:09:47crossing his eyes.

01:09:50Even my biological parents,

01:09:52Richard,

01:09:53head of the Whitfield family

01:09:54and his wife Diana,

01:09:55came over from the main table.

01:09:57The alliance ceremony

01:09:58can be rescheduled anytime,

01:10:00but if something happens

01:10:01to you,

01:10:02you cannot afford

01:10:03to lose a single second.

01:10:05At that moment,

01:10:06I finally understood.

01:10:08Within this family,

01:10:09I was their long-lost

01:10:10biological daughter

01:10:11restored to them by blood,

01:10:13yet also the perfect

01:10:14bargaining chip.

01:10:15The people here tonight

01:10:16were not ordinary relatives

01:10:17and friends,

01:10:18but representatives

01:10:19from families in New York,

01:10:20Chicago, and Boston.

01:10:22Some held wine glasses,

01:10:24some had their fingers

01:10:25pressed against the inside

01:10:26of their jacket,

01:10:26close enough to touch

01:10:27a gun at any moment.

01:10:29A sharp ping burned

01:10:30across my face,

01:10:31and a drop of blood

01:10:32fell onto my snow-white

01:10:33wedding dress.

01:10:34I touched my nose.

01:10:35It was warm.

01:10:37Cole, are you insane?

01:10:43If Lucy hadn't begged me

01:10:44through tears

01:10:45to come finish this ceremony,

01:10:46do you really think

01:10:47I would be here?

01:10:48After saying that,

01:10:49he pulled a glass

01:10:49from the bottom tier

01:10:50of the champagne tower.

01:10:51The bodyguards at the door

01:10:52tensed instantly.

01:10:53The banquet hall manager

01:10:54went deathly pale,

01:10:55but did not dare step forward.

01:10:57Cole grabbed a bottle

01:10:57of champagne,

01:10:58twisted off the cork,

01:11:00aimed it over my head,

01:11:01and let the cold,

01:11:01golden liquid pour down.

01:11:03Didn't you want to marry

01:11:04into the Harrington family?

01:11:09Here.

01:11:10This is our champagne ceremony.

01:11:12The liquor ran from my lashes,

01:11:13down the bridge of my nose,

01:11:14and off my chin,

01:11:15drop by drop.

01:11:16I could no longer tell

01:11:16whether what fell onto

01:11:17my wedding dress

01:11:18was wine or blood.

01:11:19Satisfied now,

01:11:20my legal wife?

01:11:24In the banquet hall,

01:11:25my bridesmaid Grace

01:11:26stood frozen in place.

01:11:27At an ordinary wedding,

01:11:29someone would call the police,

01:11:30but on Whitfield territory,

01:11:32no one dared

01:11:32call 911.

01:11:33People here believed

01:11:34more in silence,

01:11:35hush money,

01:11:36and bodies increased

01:11:37in Fort Conquer.

01:11:38My childhood friend,

01:11:40Ryan Black,

01:11:40stood in the shadows

01:11:41as if watching a play

01:11:42whose ending

01:11:43had never been in doubt.

01:11:44There was a commotion

01:11:45at the back door

01:11:46of the banquet hall.

01:11:47My biological parents

01:11:48came through the crowd.

01:11:49I thought they would

01:11:50finally ask for the curse,

01:11:52but Diana did not even

01:11:53scare me a glance.

01:11:54Her voice shook.

01:11:55Where is my Lucy?

01:11:57She's emotionally unstable.

01:11:59How could you leave her

01:12:00alone in your face?

01:12:01If anything happens to her,

01:12:03I won't be able to live either.

01:12:06Richard took the microphone.

01:12:08He was the godfather

01:12:09of the Whitfield family,

01:12:11always composed,

01:12:12always respectable.

01:12:14Even at a moment like this,

01:12:15he could announce to the room

01:12:17in an almost cruelly

01:12:18steady voice,

01:12:19My apologies, everyone.

01:12:21An emergency has come up

01:12:23within the family.

01:12:24Tonight's Alliance ceremony

01:12:25is temporarily canceled.

01:12:27All gifts and cooperation

01:12:29deposits will be returned in full

01:12:30through the original channels.

01:12:32Richard Whitfield owes you

01:12:33all an explanation.

01:12:35After putting down

01:12:36the microphone,

01:12:37he looked at Cole.

01:12:38Lead the way.

01:12:39We're going to find Lucy.

01:12:41He did not look at me.

01:12:42I sat beside the collapsed cake,

01:12:45filthy and humiliated,

01:12:46like an old prop

01:12:47whose purpose

01:12:48had already been served.

01:12:56Dad, Mom.

01:12:58Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway

01:13:00in an ivory dress.

01:13:01Her face streaked with tears,

01:13:03her steps unsteady.

01:13:04She had once been

01:13:05the little princess

01:13:06the Whitfield family

01:13:07had carefully raised

01:13:08for more than 20 years.

01:13:09Dad, Mom,

01:13:11please don't leave me.

01:13:13Even when she cried,

01:13:14she looked like a fragile

01:13:14work of art.

01:13:15Everyone's eyes

01:13:16were pulled towards her.

01:13:18Lucy, Lucy,

01:13:20don't be scared.

01:13:21Mom is right here.

01:13:23The man who could swallow

01:13:24three docks

01:13:25at a negotiation table

01:13:26without blinking

01:13:27opened his arms

01:13:28and held mother and daughter

01:13:29together.

01:13:30The scene was warm enough

01:13:32to look like a carefully

01:13:33staged movie,

01:13:34and I was the unnecessary

01:13:36person outside the frame.

01:13:38Cole seemed to finally

01:13:39breathe in relief.

01:13:40When he looked at Lucy,

01:13:41the tenderness in his eyes

01:13:43nearly overflowed.

01:13:44Ryan looked back at me

01:13:45and slowly shook his head.

01:13:47I ignored him.

01:13:49I held on to the

01:13:50overturned table corner

01:13:51and got to my feet,

01:13:52pain stabbing

01:13:53through my ankle.

01:13:54My wedding dress

01:13:56dragged across the floor,

01:13:57covered in cream,

01:13:58liquor,

01:13:59and shattered glass.

01:14:01Hey, Miss Reed,

01:14:03do you need me

01:14:04to call a doctor?

01:14:05He did not say

01:14:06call the police.

01:14:07Everyone here knew

01:14:08the Whitfield family's affairs

01:14:10could not be handed

01:14:10to the police.

01:14:13No.

01:14:15I limped toward

01:14:16the side door.

01:14:19I had barely taken

01:14:20two steps

01:14:21when someone

01:14:21yanked my wrist.

01:14:25Orton,

01:14:26you really disappointed

01:14:27me tonight.

01:14:28I thought you were tough.

01:14:30I thought you could

01:14:30take the hits,

01:14:31claw your way

01:14:32out of the muck.

01:14:33Never imagined you'd

01:14:33resort to cheap stunts

01:14:34just to drag everyone's

01:14:35eyes onto yourself.

01:14:36Lucy has already

01:14:37given back everything

01:14:38she once had to you.

01:14:39She lost her parents,

01:14:40her identity,

01:14:41even her place's

01:14:41air.

01:14:42Why still refuse

01:14:42to let her go?

01:14:44Orton,

01:14:44how did you become

01:14:45like this?

01:14:49Blood and champagne

01:14:50had dried on my dress,

01:14:51like a brand of humiliation

01:14:52burnt into my skin.

01:14:54Suddenly,

01:14:55I wanted to laugh.

01:14:56This wedding dress

01:14:57was the most expensive

01:14:58thing I had ever

01:14:59worn in my life.

01:15:00Before the wedding,

01:15:01I had touched it

01:15:02again and again

01:15:02with careful hands.

01:15:03It came from Milan.

01:15:05More than a thousand

01:15:06hand-sewn crystals

01:15:07covered the train,

01:15:08each one like the future

01:15:09I had naively believed

01:15:10was coming.

01:15:11I had looked forward

01:15:13to this day

01:15:13more than anything,

01:15:15to marrying Cole

01:15:16Harrington beautifully,

01:15:19because I had secretly

01:15:21loved him for many years.

01:15:23Half a year ago,

01:15:25Lucy was diagnosed

01:15:26with severe

01:15:26aplastic anemia.

01:15:28Richard and Diana

01:15:29immediately underwent

01:15:30HLA matching,

01:15:31but the results

01:15:32were a complete

01:15:33mismatch.

01:15:33An urgent DNA test

01:15:35exposed the secret.

01:15:37Twenty-two years ago,

01:15:38the Whitfield family

01:15:39housekeeper,

01:15:40Maggie Reed,

01:15:40switched Lucy and me.

01:15:42She sent her own

01:15:43biological doll

01:15:43into the godfather's house

01:15:44and took the true

01:15:45Whitfield bloodline

01:15:46back to a cramped

01:15:47staff apartment.

01:15:48After the truth came out,

01:15:49Maggie put a gun in her mouth

01:15:50in the underground

01:15:51wine cellar,

01:15:52leaving behind

01:15:53only a letter.

01:15:55I had read that letter.

01:15:57Across two full pages,

01:15:58she did not mention

01:15:59my name once.

01:16:01Lucy could not

01:16:01handle the shock

01:16:02and was diagnosed

01:16:03with severe depression.

01:16:05To preserve the port

01:16:06alliance between

01:16:07the Whitfield

01:16:07and Harrington families,

01:16:09Richard made a swift

01:16:10decision and transferred

01:16:11Lucy's original

01:16:12engagement to me.

01:16:13The reason sounded

01:16:14grand and proper.

01:16:16The old Harrington

01:16:17family pact

01:16:18required both sides

01:16:19to be bound by

01:16:20legal marriage

01:16:20and legitimate

01:16:21direct heirs.

01:16:22Otherwise,

01:16:23the merger of

01:16:24the East River docks,

01:16:26arms routes,

01:16:26and money-laughtering

01:16:27network

01:16:28would all be void.

01:16:30Lucy was too fragile

01:16:31to withstand

01:16:32that kind of pressure

01:16:33and I was healthy,

01:16:34mentally tougher,

01:16:35and more suited

01:16:36to bear this

01:16:37family responsibility.

01:16:39I did not hesitate.

01:16:40I agreed.

01:16:41Because Cole Harrington

01:16:43was the boy

01:16:43I had loved in secret

01:16:44since childhood.

01:16:46When I was little,

01:16:47I followed my

01:16:48foster mother Maggie

01:16:49to work at

01:16:50Harrington Manor.

01:16:51Lucy sat in the

01:16:52sunroom eating

01:16:53pastries.

01:16:54I was so hungry

01:16:56I could only stare,

01:16:57but I didn't dare

01:16:58come closer.

01:17:00Cole was the one

01:17:00who walked over

01:17:01and beckoned me

01:17:02to him.

01:17:04Lucy wrinkled

01:17:04her brows

01:17:05and said I was

01:17:06dirty,

01:17:06that I didn't

01:17:07deserve to touch

01:17:08her silver fork,

01:17:09but Cole placed

01:17:10a honey muffin

01:17:11in my palm.

01:17:12This country says

01:17:12everyone is equal

01:17:13on the surface,

01:17:14though we all

01:17:14know that's a lie,

01:17:15but at least

01:17:16at my table,

01:17:16you don't have

01:17:17to lower your head.

01:17:23From that day on,

01:17:24he became the light

01:17:25I hid in the deepest

01:17:26part of my heart.

01:17:28Every time I saw him,

01:17:29he would smile

01:17:29faintly at me,

01:17:30like a lamp

01:17:31suddenly lit

01:17:32in a dark warehouse.

01:17:33I was poor

01:17:34and timid,

01:17:34so I only dared

01:17:35watch him from afar,

01:17:37from age 12

01:17:38to 22.

01:17:41On the day

01:17:42of the engagement banquet,

01:17:43he sat at the end

01:17:44of the long table

01:17:45while the elders

01:17:46raised glasses

01:17:46and discussed docks,

01:17:48containers,

01:17:49roots,

01:17:49and loyalty.

01:17:50He stayed silent

01:17:51for a long time

01:17:52and then asked

01:17:53only one question.

01:17:54Is Lucy doing

01:17:54any better?

01:17:55At the mention

01:17:56of Lucy,

01:17:58everyone's expressions

01:17:59softened.

01:18:00I shrank into a corner

01:18:02and said nothing.

01:18:04Cole gave me

01:18:05a cold glance.

01:18:07She's not suited

01:18:08for occasions like this.

01:18:10I heard it

01:18:11and I remembered it.

01:18:13From that day on,

01:18:14I threw myself

01:18:15into upper-class etiquette

01:18:17and learned

01:18:17to take apart

01:18:18and assemble guns.

01:18:21Studied family accounts

01:18:23and learned

01:18:24how not to show fear

01:18:25in front of wolves

01:18:26dressed in evening wear.

01:18:28I wanted to be

01:18:29a good wife to him.

01:18:30I didn't want

01:18:31to disappoint him.

01:18:32But how did it end?

01:18:35It took me far too long

01:18:36to understand.

01:18:38This engagement

01:18:38had never been love

01:18:39from the start.

01:18:40It was a blood-stained agreement.

01:18:43The Harrington family

01:18:44needed the Whitfield docks

01:18:46and the Whitfield family

01:18:47needed the Harrington arms lines

01:18:49and they needed a woman

01:18:50to sit on the altar

01:18:51and complete the final piece.

01:18:53Lucy was too precious

01:18:54to sacrifice.

01:18:58And I had conveniently returned.

01:19:01Suddenly,

01:19:01there was a perfect solution

01:19:03for both sides.

01:19:04Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip

01:19:07outside that perfect solution.

01:19:09Even Ryan Black

01:19:10quickly took Lucy's side.

01:19:12Even though,

01:19:12like me,

01:19:13he had grown up

01:19:14in the staff building

01:19:15at Whitfield Manor.

01:19:17Both of our mothers

01:19:18were employees

01:19:19of this family.

01:19:20Both of us

01:19:20had been bullied by Lucy

01:19:22and both of us

01:19:22had sworn vows

01:19:23in the drafty winter staff quarters.

01:19:25When we were little,

01:19:26Ryan held my hand.

01:19:28One day,

01:19:29I'll climb above them.

01:19:31By then,

01:19:32Lucy Whitfield

01:19:33will never dare bully you again.

01:19:40Why did it become like this?

01:19:42I stumbled out of the church.

01:19:53where I will ebery?

01:19:55What?

01:19:56What?

01:19:57I wouldn't care the answer

I'm Done Playing Along 🎞️ Binge Watch All Episodes | Dailymotion #ReelShort

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