That slap shattered the last pretense of civility between us.
He laughed suddenly—a sound that sent ice down my spine.
"Fine. Very fine. Since you've got so much backbone, let's see just how hard those bones really are."
Anthony's revenge came fast.
That night, he took me to a private gathering.
Unlike the formal business banquets, this crowd ran wilder. The games were dirtier.
A grand piano dominated the center of the hall, and beside it sat a violin that probably cost more than most people's cars.
Audrey perched at the piano bench, all doe eyes and dimples.
"Layla, I heard you used to be concertmaster. Since everyone's here tonight—why don't we play a duet?"
Anthony lounged in the seat of honor, swirling his wine, his gaze lazy and mocking.
"Play. If you're any good, I'll let last night's slap slide."
Not a request. An order.
I stared at that instrument, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
These hands had hauled bricks, scrubbed dishes, weathered chilblains until the skin cracked. My joints were stiff now. I couldn't coax out that weeping, aching melody anymore.
But I had no choice.
I lifted the violin and tucked it under my chin.
The moment bow met string, a raw, grating screech tore through the room.
Snickers rippled through the crowd.
Audrey's piano kicked in right after—but she sabotaged the tempo on purpose, rushing then dragging, rushing then dragging.
My sound collapsed into chaos.
Before the piece ended, Audrey froze mid-phrase, her hand flying to her throat.
"My necklace! That was the engagement necklace Anthony gave me—it's worth thirty million!"
The room exploded.
"It was just there!"
"How does something like that just vanish?"
Audrey's gaze slid to my open violin case.
"Layla, could it be…"
She didn't have to finish. Two bodyguards were already on me, ripping the case from my hands, shaking it out.
A diamond necklace tumbled from the hidden lining.
Caught red-handed.
Every face in the room wore the same look: of course.
"It wasn't me!"
I could've had a hundred mouths and it wouldn't have mattered.
"I never even touched it!"
Anthony rose and walked toward me, slow and deliberate.
He picked up the necklace, studied it, then looked at me.
That look—cold, flat, utterly done.
"Layla, when did you sink this low? If you needed money, you could've asked. Stealing?"
"I didn't!" The scream ripped out of me. "She planted it! The case was sitting there the whole time—I never moved!"