Chapter 04

In one moment, Simon stood here talking to me; in the next, he simply vanished. He disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as he had appeared. A bitter taste burned my throat when I realized what I had just done.

I needed to go back home. I called the house, and as soon as I heard the maid’s voice, I asked her if Warren was still there waiting for me.

“When he found out you weren’t here, he left, saying he needed to work.”

I released a sigh of relief. Walking into the house and finding Warren waiting would have been unbearable.

I didn’t know how I would behave in his presence. I still had to get used to the truth—that he was no longer the man I once admired.

Not only that, but I gathered my shopping bags, loaded them into the car, and drove home. I had renewed my entire wardrobe with Simon’s card and still walked away with the upper hand after the deal we made. I didn’t know if I could truly trust him—Simon had his doubts about me—but I had to take the risk.

Familiar voices echoed as soon as I reached the door. My heartbeat stayed calm; I refused to let myself be rattled so easily. But when I looked into the eyes of my uncle Aaron and his illegitimate daughter, Regina, what I felt wasn’t surprise—it was pure hatred.

Aaron blinked the moment he saw me. He smiled, a cold and calculated smile.

He was far too bold to show up here. The advantage of coming back to the past was knowing exactly what each person had done to cause my death, and I knew very well the part Aaron had played in destroying me.

“Well, if it isn’t my dear niece,” he spread his arms wide, his lips curling into a cruel grin.

My face remained blank, revealing how little I welcomed their presence. I knew exactly why they were here. I knew Aaron despised my father for taking the largest share of our grandfather’s inheritance, and I knew he had joined forces with Warren to steal what was ours. He had been so manipulative that he fooled us for years. I felt like a fool for forever believing him.

“Did you come here to beg for a job for your daughter at April Enterprises?”

My sharp words sliced the fake smile off his face, and Aaron’s eyes widened in shock.

“How do you know that?” he asked, stepping toward me, trying to intimidate me.

I didn’t move an inch. I wasn’t the naive, pliable girl everyone once took advantage of. Likewise, I might have been twenty-two again, but my memory was older than all of them combined.

“Amy’s always been good at guessing games,” Regina’s irritating voice clawed at my eardrums. “She knows how competent I am, and she’s going to help us get it.”

In a past life, I would have helped. But not now.

Regina constantly acted as though she were far more important than she actually was. At thirty-three, she was utterly useless. No job, no marriage, no skills to make her stand out.

Her dark curls bounced, carefully moisturized. Her perfectly manicured nails tapped incessantly on the wooden table. Everyone knew my father would eventually cave to his brother’s request, driven by guilt for having received more than him. There wasn’t much I could do to stop it.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the tray the maid carried.

“Where’s my almond milk latte? I asked for that specifically.” She always behaved that way, sharp-tongued and haughty wherever she went. The arrogance that clung to her was unbearable.

The maid hesitated and stepped back. “I’m sorry, miss. I’ll get it right away."

Regina’s lips curved into a cruel smile. She stood and moved closer to the maid. “I’d hate to have to tell Antony about your incompetence.”

Aaron watched the scene like it was entertainment. He didn’t lift a finger to stop his daughter’s tantrum. I remembered perfectly what would happen next. Immediately, I stepped forward to stop Regina from humiliating the poor woman any further.

“You’re not in your house, and she’s not your maid for you to treat her with contempt.”

“Fine,” she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “I’ll serve myself to show I’m not that cruel to your staff.”

Regina grabbed the coffee pot and tilted it just as I set my hand on the tray. She meant to spill the scalding coffee onto my hand, but this time I would be smarter.

“I’ll serve you,” I said, snatching the pot from her before she had the chance to protest. I tipped it.

The hot coffee splashed onto her delicate hands. Regina screamed, and the cup slipped from her fingers, shattering into hundreds of pieces on the floor.

“You broke Grandpa’s favorite cup,” I gasped, my words dripping with venom as the maids chuckled. “You really are useless, Regina—you can’t even hold a cup?”

“You can’t talk to my daughter like that, Amy,” Aaron jumped to his feet, slithering toward me like a snake.

“An illegitimate daughter,” I spat, “and you wouldn’t want to drag your past into this now, would you, Uncle?”

“This isn’t over, Amy.” His face turned crimson as he jabbed a rotten finger at me. “Your father will hear about this, and I’ll make sure you pay for hurting my daughter.”

Aaron grabbed Regina’s arm and dragged her out of the house. The Amy from my past—naive, guilt-ridden—would have crumbled, begged for forgiveness, and hidden in fear. But I was no longer that woman. I had learned my lesson.

I would make each one of them pay for their mistakes.