Chapter 4

Yvonne wept softly, her breath hitching as if I'd inflicted some terrible injustice on her.

"Summer, you already called me a homewrecker and attacked me at the supermarket the other day," she whimpered. "Today is Chloe's birthday party. I'm begging you, please stop humiliating me by calling me a mistress over and over. I can take the abuse, but I'm just worried that making a scene like this will embarrass Shawn and his parents."

I watched the two of them put on their act, a cold smirk playing on my lips. "A shameless woman suddenly worrying about dignity? Now that's a miracle."

"You—!"

Yvonne gasped, clutching her chest as if my words had triggered a sudden medical episode.

The sight of her distress tore at Shawn. Enraged, he reached out and brutally yanked the locket right off my neck. He pulled with so much force that tears sprang to my eyes from the sudden pain.

Yvonne took advantage of that exact moment to fan the flames. "Summer said she'd rather throw it in the trash than let me have it. Summer, what if I buy it from you? Will you please just let me pay for it?"

That was the last straw for Shawn. Blind with rage, he hurled the locket to the floor.

With a sharp, sickening crack, the locket shattered into pieces.

I froze. My breath caught in my throat. In the agonizing silence that followed, I could hear my own heart splintering into a million pieces.

"The locket! Always the damn locket!" Shawn roared, his voice booming through the room. "You've been acting like a psycho over a useless piece of junk. Let's see how much noise you can make now that it's gone!"

Something inside me snapped.

Consumed by rage, I lunged at Shawn, my fists raining down on him in a desperate frenzy. "You monster! Give me back the only thing my mom left me!"

Yvonne stepped in, playing the hypocritical peacemaker again. "Summer, Shawn is furious. You really need to drop the attitude and behave yourself so he can forgive you."

Then a malicious glint flashed in her eyes. "Oh, right, Summer. Back in my hometown, we have a tradition. When the first wife meets the child for the first time, she has to let the child pee right on her face. It proves you'll love the child unconditionally. Come on, kneel down and let Chloe do it."

She smirked. "Chloe is Shawn's flesh and blood, after all. As long as you do this, Shawn will stop being mad at you. Just take my advice, Summer. Get down on your knees."

With a look that could kill, I lunged at Yvonne and slapped her hard across the face. "You bitch! If you're that eager to die, I'll gladly help you!"

I completely lost it, raining blows down on her.

The commotion grew so loud that the surrounding guests gathered to watch the spectacle.

Fuming, Shawn ripped me away from her and backhanded me hard across the face. "If you act up like this again, I swear I'll make you regret it!"

Shawn's parents rushed over, instantly laying into me.

"You lunatic! Look at what kind of event this is! This isn't the place for your pathetic tantrums. You're a complete disgrace to the Payne family!"

"Get security to drag this woman out of here right now! What an embarrassment. A woman like her belongs locked away on that island for the rest of her life. We never should have let her back out!"

As someone helped Yvonne to her feet, she immediately put on her best saintly face and sighed, "Summer clearly came here tonight just to ruin the party. Even if we throw her out, she'll just find a way to sneak back in and cause another scene.

"She's so wild and aggressive. Honestly, she's no better than a stray dog. It's terrifying. Why not just lock her in the basement dog cage for now? Once Chloe's birthday party is over, we can let her go. What do you think?"

Without a shred of hesitation, Shawn barked a commanding order to his bodyguards. "Drag her down to the basement and lock her in the dog cage! No one lets her out without my permission!"

At his command, two burly bodyguards closed in, pinning my arms to my sides to drag me away.

I thrashed against their grip, fighting with everything I had. Just as desperation began to take hold, I finally heard a voice that instantly reassured me.

"Whoever dares lock my wife in a dog cage will pay with their life!"