“Anneliese Ward, how dare you? Apologize to Piper. Now.”
It was like she was his wife. And me? Just some lunatic who had to be dealt with.
Piper sobbed against his chest, trembling.
“I know she’s just hurt, she whimpered, clinging to him like he was her lifeline, “but I already said I’d pay for it. I’d take on every job I could, even illegal ones. But she… she still hit me. And she cursed me—said I should drop dead.”
Colin wrapped his arms tighter around her, jaw clenched, eyes dark with fury.
“Have I not compensated you enough?” he snapped at me. “Look at yourself. You’re just like your mother. Petty. Greedy. Always playing the victim. You two deserved the punishment.”
My breath caught in my throat. The room spun, but I stood rooted, too stunned to move.
“Petty and greedy?” I whispered, staring at him like I’d never seen him before. “Is that really what you think of me? That seeking justice for my mom makes me some money-hungry lunatic?”
Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall.
Something in Colin flickered when he saw me holding back my tears. But the moment Piper whimpered in his arms, his expression hardened again.
“I saw you try to hit her. I don’t care what your excuse is.”
He took a step forward. “This is the last time I’ll say it. Apologize.”
My heart clenched like it was being crushed in a vice.
“And what if I don’t?” I said coldly.
###Chapter 4
“She's not just the daughter of a mistress—She's the reason my mother’s dead. And you expect me to apologize?!" I yelled.
Piper didn’t even have time to open her mouth. Colin’s eyes went glacial.
“I warned you,” he said, his voice like steel dragged across ice. “Don’t test my patience.”
Then he turned to his men and barked, “Get her mother’s body. Drag it out of the funeral home.”
Every word was a dagger dipped in poison.
“She won’t learn until she’s broken,” he sneered. “You think someone like you deserves to be lady of the Marks Family?”
“Feed the corpse to the dogs.” He meant it.
The guards moved without hesitation, their footsteps echoing like a death march.
“No! No, please!” I lunged forward in blind panic—only to be grabbed by another bodyguard. His grip crushed my arm so hard I heard a crack.
Agony burst through me like wildfire.
Tears blurred my vision. I cried so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“Colin, please! Don’t do this to my mother. She’s—she’s gone. Isn’t that enough?!”