Chapter 3

My hands clenched into tight fists.

Time and time again, I had done my absolute best to swallow my pride and endure their insults solely out of respect for my uncle, Logan Thorne.

I never anticipated that they would become this utterly lawless, but I was absolutely no walkover.

I whipped my head to the side, dodging the hands lunging at me. In one swift motion, I slammed my fist squarely into the bridge of Chloe's nose, spinning on my heel to plant a vicious kick that sent Harper crashing to the floor.

Martha hovered anxiously in the background, hesitating to join the fray.

Victoria stumbled back two steps, her voice rising in a panicked screech. "Martha! Call the building security detail inside right now!"

With trembling fingers, Martha frantically pulled out her two-way radio.

Before she could even broadcast a transmission, a loud, violent crash echoed through the foyer.

The front door was forcefully slammed open from the outside.

Three uniformed building security guards stood framed in the entrance.

"Miss Vane!" The lead guard, Captain Ethan Miller, quickly strode over to Victoria, lowering his head in a respectful nod. "Our surveillance monitoring team flagged some erratic commotion up here on this floor. We came to inspect the premises immediately. Are you harmed, ma'am?"

Victoria’s voice shook with performative outrage. "Captain Miller, your timing is absolutely perfect. This woman broke into a private residence and maliciously assaulted my guests. Just look at what she did to my two close friends! Restrain her immediately and have her dragged off to the local precinct!"

I fixed a deadly glare onto Victoria, a low warning vibrating in my throat. "If you go through with this, I give you my absolute guarantee that you will never set foot inside the Thorne family's inner circle."

She let out a dismissive, mocking laugh. "Oh, and you genuinely think you're the one who calls the shots around here?"

She turned back to Captain Miller, her voice turning sharp and commanding. "Take her down!"

Two fists were simply no match for an entire security team.

My arms were forcefully wrenched behind my back, pinning my wrists in a painful lock. A sudden, heavy kick struck the back of my knee from behind, forcing my entire body to collapse hard onto the floor.

"Let go of me!" I snarled, twisting my body violently, but a sharp, blinding pain shot straight through my shoulders.

A vicious, satisfied smile played across Victoria’s lips.

"You certainly have a big mouth for someone pinned to the floor. Too bad people with big mouths generally don't end up with very pleasant endings."

She stepped forward, reaching deep into the premium boutique bag to scoop up a massive handful of the hard dog food. She lunged down, using her free hand to forcefully pry my jaw open.

"No!" I screamed, thrashing my head from side to side in sheer desperation, but the security guards clamped down on my skull, keeping my body entirely immobilized.

The dry dog food was violently rammed straight into my mouth.

A pungent, overwhelming stench of animal byproduct shot straight to my brain, causing my stomach to instantly heave in violent rejection.

She patted my cheek with sickening triumph. "I don't give a damn who you think you are. I am going to make absolutely certain you remember one simple truth—Logan belongs entirely to me, and you don't get to touch what’s mine."

Swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I kept the mouthful of dog food locked past my teeth, glaring death directly into Victoria’s eyes.

Pfft.

With one violent exhale, I spat the entire mouthful of dog food directly across her face.

The wet kibble coated her skin, sliding down her cheeks in a disgusting mess.

I let out a cold, mocking sneer. "You aren't even worthy of marrying my uncle."

Victoria’s entire body went rigid.

Her facial features twisted into a grotesque mask of pure, unadulterated fury, her eyes looking as if they were about to spray literal fire.

"You absolute piece of trash! You're still trying to play games with me!" She ground her teeth together, raising her arm high as her hand cut through the air, poised to deliver a vicious blow across my face.

Right then, the smartphone nestled inside her pocket began to blare.

Victoria’s hand froze entirely mid-air.

She instantly raised her index finger to her lips, flashing a sharp, universal command for absolute silence to every single person in the living room.

"Logan, darling~" She answered the call, her voice instantly morphing into an incredibly sweet, delicate purr that was night and day compared to the monster from a second ago. "What’s going on? Do you miss me already?"

Logan’s voice filtered faintly through the phone's speaker. Even through the heavy physical distance, I could vaguely map out a few muffled words: Tonight... surprise for you... get ready...

My heart leaped violently inside my chest.

It was Uncle Logan!

I opened my mouth, desperate to scream his name into the receiver.

But Chloe’s heavy hand instantly lunged down, clamping over my mouth in a suffocating grip that muffled every ounce of sound before it could leave my throat.

"Perfect, I'll be waiting for you! I actually have a little surprise mapped out for you tonight too, darling. Smooches."

The exact second Victoria ended the call, the delicate warmth completely drained from her face.

She ground her teeth, her voice dripping with pure venom. "Logan wouldn't seriously be planning to introduce this piece of trash to me tonight, would he?"

Harper immediately chimed in to soothe her. "Victoria, don't worry about a thing! Mr. Thorne obviously loves you above anyone else."

"Exactly. If we just completely ruin this girl's pretty little face, let's see how much sleeping around she can do after that!"

"Perfect," Victoria smiled, a terrifyingly cold laugh echoing through the room.

She picked up a sleek paring knife resting on the breakfast bar, twirling the blade expertly between her fingers.

She stepped closer, pressing the sharp metallic tip firmly against my cheek, dragging it down just enough to leave a shallow, stinging indentation. "Why don't I just carve a few choice words right into your skin? Let's see if he can even recognize your face after I'm done with you."

My body began to shake with involuntary, biological terror.

"Victoria Vane," I spat through my teeth, fighting the panic. "If you dare to lay a mark on me, you are completely dead."

"What exactly should I carve?" She tilted her head, tapping the flat of the blade against her chin thoughtfully. "‘Mistress’? No, that's entirely too cliché. ‘Home-wrecker’? No, that's way too long.

"Oh, wow. Yes. I'm going to carve exactly this."