My mother’s fingers clutch my dress. It’s sickening to see her like this. “Jade, please!” she sobs, her voice raw and echoing off the vaulted ceiling. “Don't do this to us. Don't let them throw us back in that cage. We’ll go back to jail if the creditors find us. Your father, he’s sick, Jade. He’s dying in a basement while you sit here pretending we don't exist because we’re poor.”I feel the collective intake of breath from the Board—the sound of fifty pedigrees recoiling.“Security,” Zayn calls. He doesn't move, but the air around him turns cold.“No, wait!” my mother shrieks, looking up at the guests, her eyes wild. “Look at her! Look at my daughter! She’s living lavishly, wearing more money on her neck than our whole family has ever seen, while she lets her own family rot! Is this who you want in your company? A woman who forgets where she came from the moment she finds a rich heir?”I don’t look down at my mother. I look across the table. Damon leans back, a slow, predatory grin
Read more
LOGIN
