She smiled like she’d already won.
“Leaving so soon?” she cooed. But I haven’t told you how that old woman died.”
My heart stopped.
“What did you just say?”
She leaned in close, her voice low enough that only I could hear.
“I told her if she wanted the money back, she’d have to film herself doing something… special. You know, the kind men pay for.” She grinned. “But she got all high and mighty. She refused and even had the nerve to insult me and my mom.”
A twisted laugh.
“So I gave her what she deserved.”
She sighed dramatically.
“Did you know? She barely made it through fifty men before she collapsed. Still had the nerve to clutch my leg and beg—beg—me to return the money to her ‘sweet daughter.’”
She made a clicking sound with her tongue.
“Pathetic, really.”
###Chapter 7
Her words struck like lightning.
For a moment, rage swallowed my entire being. No sound came from my throat—just fury, raw and blinding. Then I snapped.
I lunged at Piper.
Fists clenched. Nails digging into her skin.
I yanked her hair, dragged her down, clawed at her face, her neck.
“You monster! Give me my mother back, you bitch!”
But before I could do any real damage, pain shot through my back—then my ribs. The bodyguards were on me, kicking and punching until I curled up like a broken doll on the ground.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Colin shoved past them, face grim.
He didn’t even glance at me.
He went straight to Piper—crying, trembling, putting on the perfect damsel act—and wrapped her in his arms like she was made of glass.
His eyes, when they flicked toward me, were cold enough to freeze bone.
“You’ve gone too far. Kneel. Apologize to her. Now.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
He wasn’t done.
“Your mother was weak. She got dumped and died chasing money. Now you’re blaming Piper for it? Everyone here saw what you did. Are you proud of yourself?”
The room around us buzzed with murmurs, growing louder and uglier by the second.
“I heard her mother once stole Mrs. Marks’ jewelry,” one woman whispered, not even bothering to lower her voice. “Rumor is she died during a kidnapping–had her organs missing. Honestly, sounds like she had it coming.”
“And the daughter’s no better,” another voice added with a sneer. “Ungrateful little brat. Just like her mom. Raised to be a man-stealing whore.”