Chapter 2

The air went still for a beat.

Then, the woman erupted into a piercing, grating cackle.

"Hahaha! Oh, that's rich! You're his daughter? Yeah, and if you're his daughter, then I'm the Queen of Eldura!"

She doubled over, then pointed a finger right at my face. "Listen here, kid. You're too young to be showing off like this.

"I've never met Professor Bennett's daughter, but he talks about her all the time. She's practically royalty, and she's studying abroad. There's no way she'd be caught dead in cheap bargain-bin clothes like that!

"I've seen this act before. You couldn't stand that I've got more going for me, so you decided to puff yourself up to feel better."

Her smile vanished, replaced by a malicious glare.

"I was trying to cut you some slack since you're young and making an honest living is tough. If you just shut up and do your chores, I'll pretend I never heard any of that.

"But if you keep this up, not only do you walk out of here without a dime, you're paying me for emotional damages."

I took a deep breath, feeling my patience running thin.

"I'm going to say this one last time. This is my home. I'm Claire Bennett. If you don't believe me, call Professor Bennett yourself."

"Why would I do that? Professor Bennett is a busy man. He doesn't have time to deal with a little fraud like you!"

The woman seemed utterly convinced that I was a scammer. Or maybe, deep down, she just didn't want to believe me.

"Give me back my phone."

I stepped forward and reached for it.

"Don't push your luck!"

Without any warning, she hurled my phone at the floor with everything she had.

The crack of it hitting the floor echoed through the living room.

The top-of-the-line phone that I'd bought less than a month ago was shattered into pieces, the screen splintered into a web of cracks.

I froze.

I honestly hadn't expected her to have the nerve to destroy my property.

"You—"

Before I could speak, she grabbed the plastic bucket sitting near her feet. It had apparently been prepared for me and was filled to the brim with ice-cold water.

She lifted it and flung it straight at me.

A biting chill instantly soaked through my tracksuit, feeling like a ton of icy needles piercing into my skin.

It was absolutely freezing.

It was the dead of winter outside, the snow coming down heavily. Even though the house had underfloor heating, the water had come straight from the tap and was bone-chillingly cold.

I was completely stunned, my body shivering uncontrollably.

My hair was plastered to my face, and water dripped from my chin onto the expensive marble floor below.

"Feeling a little more clear-headed now?"

The woman stood over me, swinging the empty bucket by her side, a twisted satisfaction flickering across her face.

"Weren't you supposed to be Ms. Bennett? Wasn't this your home? Looked to me like you needed to be taken down a peg. If you want to act up under my roof, you'd better think twice about who you're dealing with!"

"Y-You're insane…"

I tried to speak, but my teeth were chattering so hard that my voice shook.

"I'm insane? Maybe you ought to look in the mirror!"

She threw the bucket aside and came at me, seizing a fistful of my soaking wet hair.

A sharp pain tore across my scalp. She wrenched my head back, and I found myself staring up into her vicious eyes.

"The houses around here are spread far apart. You could scream your lungs out, and no one would come to help you," she snarled. "Want to call the police? Your phone's in pieces. Good luck with that!"

It was true.

This neighborhood was built for privacy. Every house sat behind its own garden and a stretch of trees. Unless I made it outside, whatever happened in here would never reach another living soul.

And right now, I was freezing and exhausted.

My legs were sore from standing for six hours straight, and the shock of the icy water had drained me.

I couldn't fight back against a woman who'd spent years doing hard physical labor.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? I'm teaching you a lesson you won't forget!"

The woman dragged me by the hair, hauling me kicking and screaming toward the downstairs bathroom.

"Let go of me! Let go!"

I struggled with everything I had, clawing at her wrists and leaving bloody scratches down her arms.

"Ouch! You little bitch! How dare you scratch me?"

She sucked in a sharp breath, then backhanded me hard across the face.

The sheer impact made my head spin. My left ear rang instantly, and my vision went white for a second.

Before I could recover, I was shoved against the bathroom sink. She turned the faucet on full blast, letting the freezing water pour out.

"Let's see if this cools you down!"

She pressed her hand to the back of my head and forced me into the sink that was now filled with ice-cold water.