Chapter 7 7

Back at the trailer park, the air was still charged with the residue of the helicopter's departure.

Brenda was pacing the small living room. She had applied a fresh coat of bright red lipstick, but her hands were shaking.

"Did you see that suit?" Brenda hissed. "Did you see the logo on that chopper? Sterling Industries."

Richard was at the computer, typing with two fingers. He hit enter.

"Holy..." Richard breathed. He turned the screen. It showed a net worth estimation. It was in the billions.

"We are sitting on a gold mine," Richard said. He stood up, pacing. "We raised her. We have rights. Emotional distress. Abandonment."

Regina was sitting on the floor, holding her wrist in a bowl of ice water. The swelling had gone down, but the pain was getting worse. It felt like invisible needles were digging into her bones, though her skin looked perfectly normal to anyone else.

"Forget the lawsuit!" Regina shrieked. "Get me to the ball! I need a doctor! A rich doctor!"

Brenda stopped pacing. "What?"

"The Debutante Ball," Regina said, her eyes feverish. "The Sterlings sponsor it. If I can get near them... maybe they have the key. Maybe she did something to it that only she can undo. I need to force her to fix this!"

"But she hates us," Richard pointed out.

Regina pulled her arm out of the water. The bracelet glinted mockingly. "She doesn't want us to talk. We have dirt on her. We know about the... the weird stuff. The fires. The time she made the mirror crack. We threaten to go to the press. They'll pay us to shut up. And get me fixed."

Brenda's eyes lit up. Blackmail. It was a language she understood.

"Get dressed," Brenda commanded. "Put on your Sunday best. We're going to the Manor."

Regina tried to pull a sleeve over her throbbing arm. She winced.

"Just cover it up," Brenda said.

They piled into the rusty pickup truck. The engine sputtered and coughed black smoke before roaring to life.

As they pulled out of the driveway, a crow landed on the mailbox. It stared at the truck with bead-black eyes. It let out a single, harsh caw.

Regina shivered. "Drive faster, Dad."

The truck rattled down the road, heading toward a world they had no business entering, fueled by greed and a profound misunderstanding of who they were dealing with. They thought Seraphina was a victim. They didn't realize she was the judge, and the sentencing had already begun.