Ivy''s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint settling in them. "Well, I don''t want Ruby in this family anymore. You''re going to have to choose, Mother. It''s either her… or me."

    Regina stared at her, stunned. "What?"

    "I''m serious. I''m not going to stand by and watch you protect her. Either she''s out of this family for good—permanently—or I am."

    Regina''s voice rose. "Have you lost your mind? You''re asking me to choose between my daughters? Do you know what that even means?"

    "Why are you acting like you care now?" Ivy snapped. "Have you ever supported Ruby in anything? It''s always been me! You''ve always been on my side!"

    "Yes, I have," Regina said tightly. "But that doesn''t mean I want one of my children dead."

    "Well maybe you don''t have a choice anymore," Ivy said darkly.

    Regina''s voice dropped, her words sharp with disbelief. "You really are out of your mind."

    Without another word, Ivy spun on her heel and stormed into the kitchen.

    Regina, rmed, followed quickly, calling after her. "Ivy—what are you doing?"

    Ivy didn''t answer. She reached for the knife block by the marble counter and pulled out a long, glinting de. Her hand trembled—not from fear, but fury. Her chest heaved, eyes wild.

    "I won''t let her ruin us," she hissed, turning to face her mother.

    Regina''s face went pale. "Put that down. Ivy—enough of this madness. Don''t do something you''ll regret."

    "You''re the one who''s going to regret it if you keep defending her!" Ivy shouted. "Why can''t we kill her?"

    Regina stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Give me the knife," she said, ignoring Ivy''s outburst.

    "No. I''m not. You have to choose between watching me die or letting me kill her. She''s nothing to you so why not just let me finish her off and repay Stefan and his stupid mother for all the humiliation they caused me?"

    "Ivy," Regina called, closing the gap between them.

    No matter what Ivy said, she wouldn''t let I y kill Ruby and she definitely wouldn''t stand here and watch Ivy kill herself.

    "I''ll take care of Ruby and make sure you don''t see her ever again but I can''t let you kill her, Ivy. She''s your only sister... your twin—"

    "I DON''T CARE!" Ivy barked.

    Seeing that Ivy wasn''t buying it, Regina decided to snatch the knife from her so they could talk calmly.

    As Regina lunged forward to grab her hand, a sudden struggle erupted. The knife ttered between their hands, slipping—and in one swift, horrifying moment, the de shed across Regina''s abdomen with a sickening sound.

    Regina gasped, staggering back, a hand clutching her stomach. Blood soaked through her blouse in seconds, her legs wobbling beneath her.

    Ivy froze, knife still in hand, her breath ragged. "No… no, no, no—"

    Regina crumpled to the floor with a moan, her hand now smeared with dark red.

    "Oh my god…" Ivy whispered, trembling. What have I done?

    This wasn''t what she wanted. She had not nned to hurt either herself or her mom. She''d only wanted to threaten her and get her to change her mind.

    What had just happened? She nced at Regina on the ground, her hand covering her mouth. Was she dead? Why was there so much blood? What should she do?

    Ivy almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a sudden gasp came from behind her. The maid, Abeni, who had been tending the garden outside and had overheard their noises stood frozen in the doorway, eyes wide with horror at the sight before her.

    "Madam!"

    Ivy didn''t wait. Panic surged through her, and before Abeni could reach for a phone or shout again, Ivy bolted—tearing out of the kitchen, her coat flying behind her, the blood-slick knife still in her hand.

    She didn''t look back. Her mother was dead and it was all Ruby''s fault. If she was going to get arrested for murdering her mother even though it was a mistake, she would rathermit it well this time.

    Her mother had been the one stopping her from killing Ruby but now she was gone. Gone while trying to protect Ruby. Ruby would have to pay with her life now.

    Ivy thought as she drove off immediately.

    Momentster, the gates of the Quinn''s estate opened swiftly to admit the ring ambnce, its red and blue lights slicing through the otherwise peaceful morning.

    Curious neighbors peered from behind their blinds, startled by the sudden noise in their normally quiet environment.

    Abeni, the housemaid, was pacing in panic just outside the kitchen door, clutching her apron and murmuring rapid prayers under her breath.

    Two paramedics burst through the front door, guided by Abeni''s frantic gestures and her trembling voice. "She''s inside the kitchen—she''s bleeding—please hurry!"

    Reginay sprawled on the cold marble floor, her once pristine blouse soaked in deep crimson. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted slightly, and her chest barely moved. One of the medics knelt beside her, checking for a pulse. The other started prepping the stretcher and radioed in the critical status.

    "We''ve got a deep abdominalceration," the first medic muttered to his partner. "Rapid blood loss. We need to move now."

    Within seconds, they had her loaded onto the stretcher, an oxygen mask strapped over her mouth. Abeni followed helplessly behind them, her sobs muffled against her sleeve.

    By the time the ambnce doors mmed shut and sped toward the hospital, there was a crowd gathering outside—neighbors, security men, even passersby who had caught a glimpse of Ivy''s frenzied escape.

    The hospital emergency team was waiting. But despite all efforts—despite the fluids, the paddles, the desperate, shoutedmands from doctors—Regina was dered dead on arrival. The de had cut too deep. She had bled out before they even reached the hospital gates.

    Within minutes, the hospital''s security cameras caught wind of what had happened. A senior nurse, unable to hold back her shock, whispered the news to a friend. That friend told a reporter. That reporter ran it as breaking news.

    The police arrived within twenty minutes of the ambnce reaching the hospital, sirens off, their cars pulling up silently but with unmistakable urgency. Uniformed officers stepped out, greeted by a growing crowd of reporters who kept asking questions to confirm what they''d seen in the news earlier.

    Inside, Abeni was seated on a chair in the hospital''s waiting area still in shock of everything that had happened in just a few minutes. She was still wearing her apron which was stained with Regina''s blood, her eyes red and swollen.

    Detective Dn Walter, tall andposed, entered the hospital first, shing his badge to the hospital''s receptionist and the security guards standing by before approaching Abeni.

    "Abeni Peterson?" he asked gently.

    Abeni nodded, lips quivering. "Yes, sir."

    "I know this is difficult," Detective Walter said as he sat across from her, flipping open his notepad. "But we need to know exactly what happened. Please take your time."

    Abeni swallowed hard and began, her voice low and broken. "They were arguing. Miss Ivy and Madam Regina. I couldn''t hear all the words… but I knew something was wrong. I came in through the garden and I heard shouting. Then… then I heard something crash."

    She paused, trying to steady herself. "I came in and saw them struggling. Miss Ivy had a knife. Madam tried to take it, and then… and then…"

    Her words trailed into sobs. Detective Walter let the silence sit for a moment before gently pressing on. "Did you see Ivy stab her?"

    "No," Abeni whispered, "it happened so fast. It looked like an ident. But Miss Ivy didn''t help her—she just ran. She ran out like something possessed. Still holding the knife."

    Walter nodded grimly and stood. "Thank you. You''ve been brave, Abeni."

    He turned to one of the uniformed officers and murmured, "Put out an APB on Ivy Quinn. Wanted in connection with the death of Regina Quinn. She''s armed and unstable."

    Another officer approached momentster, holding a phone. "Detective, the hospital''s management is trying to reach next of kin. They can''t reach Ivy since she''s the one responsible for this and had ran off. So they''re asking if there''s a way we can reach out to the other daughter—Ruby Quinn."

    Walter nodded. "Do it. And get her an escort to the hospital. She needs to identify the body," he said, knowing that his friend''s partner at the station was working on a case that involved Stefan Winters and his new girlfriend who happened to be Ruby Quinn.

    Meanwhile at Stefan''s apartment, Ruby had just returned from the hospital with Rayna. The sunlight filtered gently through therge windows. It was the kind of calm thates before a storm.

    Before they could take their seats, Ruby''s phone buzzed.

    "Unknown number," she murmured, frowning. She answered anyway. "Hello?"

    "Is this Miss Ruby Quinn?" a firm voice asked.

    "Yes. Who is this?"

    "This is Detective Dn Walter, Zeden Police. I''m afraid I need to ask you toe to Zeden General Hospital immediately. It concerns your mother, Regina Quinn."

    Ruby''s chest constricted. "What? What happened? Is she… is she hurt?"

    Why hadn''t they seen her at the hospital? Besides, how could she be sick all of a sudden when she''d ordered some else''s death just the day before?

    There was a pause as the detective contemted telling her over the phone. "It''s best if we speak in person. We''ll send a car for you."

    The call ended. Ruby stared at the screen in disbelief.

    "Ruby?" Rayna asked, stepping closer. "What is it?"

    Ruby looked up, her face suddenly pale. "It''s… it''s my mom. The police called. Something happened."