CHELLEY MORETTI Before anyone could react, she had pulled out a small, silver derringer pistol, pointing it at me. “You treacherous witch!” Claudia shrieked, her voice high and ragged, bouncing off the antique plasterwork. Wine glasses toppled; chairs scraped back as the compliant residents dove for cover.Alec froze, his eyes widening not just at the gun, but at the sheer insanity of the act. Cierra let out a whimpering sob.“The essence of this Family, this Estate,” Claudia raged, gripping the gun with both shaking hands, “is to uplift everyone, to provide informed decisions, to protect our own interests! You came in here, an outsider, and you weaponized your position to hurt us! To destroy our capital!”My heart hammered so violently I felt dizzy, what if she truly pulls the trigger and I’d be dead without making peace with my son, the reason I’m in this world to start with. I struggled to brace myself, a lifetime of surviving Cassian’s contained violence kicked in, forcing a
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