CHAPTER 005: Anger and Revenge

[DAPHNE'S POINT OF VIEW]

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't cash this check. You should leave before I call security.”

The words resound in my head. They are taunting and heckling; they prickle through my skin as I burst through the doors of the acrid apartment and bangs the door behind me, hoping it falls off its hinges. 

I amble into the living room and almost rip my hair off my skull as I throw the bland check on the table. I stare at it with animosity. That bastard! 

I should have known that he couldn't be trusted. How could I be so naive to think I could trust any word that plummets the mouths of any members of that cursed family? They are all the same. Lying, manipulative fucks!

I can still remember the distrusting look the bitch at the bank gave me before she spat the heckling words at my face like I was some thief. She thinks I can't have that much money, legally! Huh! “I am going to make you pay for this humiliation, bastard!” I bark at the piece of paper, hoping it can feel my wrath, but it’s just a stupid piece. 

I huff in aggravation, just as the door opens. Raelynn enters with a paper bag of lunch.

“Speaking to yourself again, Daphne,” she jokingly says with a grin; she heads towards me. I watch her gaze drop anchor on the check lying on the table; her brow furrows. “What’s this?” she polls, but before I can react, she snatches it and reads the content. Shit!

“Reign Montgomery,” she reads in perplexity, and then, as if realization strikes, her amber eyes go vast. She looks at me like I have stabbed her in the back with a dagger. “What’s the meaning of this, Daphne?”

I poke my inner cheek in annoyance. I reach out and snatch the check from her grasp. “What do you think? Our little guest isn't some criminal, but the wealthiest man in the city. He paid us for the hospitality," I say dismissively, hoping she will drop the conversation, but knowing Raelynn, she will make a big deal of this.

“So you went to the bank to cash it, and let me guess, they didn't give you the money?”

Maybe I am imagining it, but her voice sounds exactly like the bitch banker. Annoying and mocking. I loathe it.

“Yes, I did. Is there a problem with that? I was going to get the money for both of us, but it turns out he’s a bloody and manipulative liar. He knew the check didn't hold the Montgomery seal, yet he still gave it to me.”

“For both of us,” she repeats the words with a scoff. “I bet you wouldn't have told me about this if I hadn't walked up on you. Do you take me for a fool, Daphne?”

"Do you really need to act as though I betrayed you? We need the money, Rae. I found out he was bloody rich and decided to ask for money for saving his sorry ass from dying. I didn't tell you this because, knowing you, the last thing you would do was ask for money from him. I am not like you, Rae. I am not that kind, and we are way too broke to be that good to strangers. I was going to get the money and inform you, but it turns out the plan failed, and now we are back to square one.” I throw my hands in the air at the last sentence.

Her amber gaze lingers on me, almost as if trying to connect invisible dots. I have always detested that glassy look in her eyes, almost as if she could see something that I am not able to.

“You know what, never mind. I don't care what you do,” she finalizes in a cold tone, and with a swift turn, she walks to the kitchen area.

“Hey, what the hell does that mean? I was only doing this because I wanted us to get out of this shithole and get a better and much-deserved life. I didn't betray you or something.” I shout.

“I don't care, Daphne,” she shouts back.

I hiss in annoyance, and at the same time, I hear the beeping sound of my phone. I take it out of my pocket and see an email with a bold message. “The Montgomerys are hiring; your chance is here.”

A smile breaks across my face as I read the message over and over again. I look at the phone and the piece of check in my grasp. Well, well, turns out our paths are going to cross sooner than expected, Reign Montgomery. 

Finally, I can get in, and the closer I get, the closer I get to revealing the truth. The truth about my parents, who murdered them in cold blood. Since then, all I have with me is the name; Montgomery.

I shove the phone back into my pocket and look at Rae; she works with her back turned to me. The smile on my face turns sinister. I’m sorry, Rae. You can be mad all you want; I can bear your anger, but I am dragging you with me.

Swiftly, I turn and walk to my room. I need to prepare because stepping into the Montgomery mansion is like stepping into a den of wild tigers; everyone will want to get a piece of you. I have studied them long enough to know what they are: monsters. I have spent most of my life gathering very big and little information I can get on them.

Those bloody bastards better prepare for me, and once I get my hands on the truth, they’d pray they never existed. I will take everything from them slowly until there’s nothing left for them. I will make them feel as bad as I feel. Every single one of them, especially the one who caused me the most pain.