Chapter 691

"I want to rip that lying mouth of yours apart. Steven Rivers is my first cousin once removed. He told me himself it was you. Still want to deny it?"Clara's ear was seized, and her face was jerked sharply to the side.She knew that name. He was her team leader.'Meghan's first cousin once removed?' Her mind went blank for a moment. She had never been good at lying, and she was even less prepared to be caught.Another woman grabbed her hair from the opposite side, yanking it in the other direction. "You stupid little rat. Because of you, we each got 40 bucks docked from our pay. So what are you going to do about it?"Pain shot across Clara's face. "I'm sorry. I'll pay it. I'll pay it back."The moment she saw them closing in, she caved. The apology escaped before she could stop it."That's more like it." Meghan stepped back, and the other woman released her. "Transfer or cash?"Meghan held up her phone.Clara raised hers, then froze.What money? Five women, 40 dollars each. T

Chapter 692

With one sharp tug, Meghan yanked the cord from Clara's neck. The ring came with it.Meghan turned it over in her fingers. She had no idea what it was worth, but she could tell it was valuable.The color was a deep, even green, smooth and cool to the touch, with a quality that no market stall could match.She slipped it onto her finger and held her hand up to the sunlight. Something seemed to move within the stone, a faint current shifting like water."Not bad." She lowered her hand. "This covers it. We're square.""No." Clara grabbed her arm. "That belonged to my father. Give it back!"Everything Arthur had owned had been left behind at the villa.After the sisters were driven out, whatever remained had been sold off piece by piece.Clara had come into the ring by chance. It was the only thing she had left of him."How generous of you." Meghan shoved her backward. "You can find ten rings like this on any street corner for four bucks. I'm doing you a favor by taking it."She

Chapter 693

Clara said it anyway. Something had shifted inside her, and she almost laughed.These women thought they deserved an apology from her?She had done nothing wrong. She had humbled herself as much as she was willing to. Even then, they kept pushing.The woman holding the knife took the word as an invitation. "Fine."She forced Clara's head to one side and drew the blade across her cheek.The others watched with the detached expressions of people enjoying a show.The blade was sharp. It was real.Clara felt it slice her skin, and blood poured from the wound, joining the blood already covering her face from the slaps.But something else happened. A deep calm settled over her, and her fear vanished. Her eyes became steady.The woman raised the knife for another cut.The blade refused to move. She pressed harder.Metal scraped against Clara's skin with a hard, clear ring, like steel striking stone.Across from her, Meghan cried out, "What? It's burning me!"She yanked the ring f

Chapter 694

At that moment, Clara's body had not been hers. She had watched from somewhere just outside herself as her arms unfolded, as the hands pinning her down were thrown aside, and as a force she did not recognize moved through her limbs with calm, overwhelming authority.The strength had not been normal. Neither had what happened to her skin.She reached back and touched her spine. Something had been there. Something that was gone now.It had retreated the moment she put the ring on.She looked at the ring on her finger. She had meant to take it off, but it would not budge.She tugged at it, but nothing happened. She tried again, twisting it and changing the angle of her hand. The ring remained in place as though it had always belonged there.She let her hand fall.She could not wear a burial ring. It had belonged to her father. It had come from a burial. Yet it was still on her finger, and she was still standing.Meghan glanced sideways at the others. She was afraid.She would nev

Chapter 695

"Can we go now?" Meghan asked carefully. "I'll talk to Steven and tell him this was our fault. I'll have him post a notice at the personnel office making that clear."She did not mean a word of it. Once they got out of here, she would figure out how to deal with Clara.Today's group had been smaller than usual. If Clara wanted a rematch, Meghan would be more than happy to come back with more people.So what if Clara's face was tough? So what if she was strong? There were always ways to deal with someone who could not be cut."That's your apology?" Clara raised an eyebrow. Her voice was perfectly flat. "Get on your knees. Slap yourselves. Keep going until I'm satisfied."She sat back down on the bench, crossed her legs, and regarded them with the detached look of someone thoroughly unimpressed."You've got some nerve, lady." Meghan's voice turned sharp. "Do you know who owns this factory? My first cousin's neighbor's uncle. One call from me, and you won't just be paying damages. Y

Chapter 696

Clara had given those women exactly what they deserved. On top of that, she had taken their money.She felt no guilt whatsoever. If anything, she felt cleansed."They say every good shortcut is written somewhere in the criminal code."She almost laughed.She splashed cold water on her face.Only a minute earlier, exhaustion had left her feeling hollow. Now energy coursed through her.She looked at her reflection in the water. It was the same face, yet it felt strangely unfamiliar, like a photograph of someone she had once known.She tried to smile. What appeared was not quite a smile. One corner of her mouth lifted into something cooler, sharper, and far more contemptuous than warm.She reached for a painful memory to test herself.Her eyes remained dry. Her chest did not tighten."I don't love it. But I think I might."She looked down at her arms. Her skin was smoother than before, pale and almost luminous. Yet the hands at the ends of them were anything but delicate. She w