EMBER’S POVThe crack of her palm against my cheek echoes through the silent room, and for a moment, everyone freezes.Then I slap her back.Harder than she hit me. Hard enough to snap her head to the side, hard enough to leave a red mark blooming across her cheek.She gasps, hand flying to her face, eyes wide with shock.“That’s for every lie you told in that courtroom about me,” I say.And I slap her again.This one catches her off balance and she stumbles, grabbing the edge of the table to keep from falling.“That’s for selling me to a monster and expecting my gratitude.”I hit her a third time, and this one sends her to the floor.She lands hard on her hands and knees, her expensive dress pooling around her, her carefully styled hair falling into her face.She looks up at me with an expression I’ve never seen before — not anger, not contempt, but genuine fear.“And that,” I say, my voice steady even though my hand is shaking, “is for being the worst mother a daughter could ever hav
Last Updated : 2026-02-10 Read more