Chapter 6

Burke stormed back into the Clark Estate, slamming the front door behind him.

He found Brielle in the living room, lounging on the velvet sofa and sipping espresso. The silver pendant rested against her collarbone, catching the light.

He didn't say a word. He lunged.

His hand shot out, grabbing the pendant and yanking it hard.

Brielle shrieked, choking as the chain dug into the back of her neck. She clawed at his hand, her coffee cup shattering on the floor. "Are you insane! Let go!"

The commotion brought the house staff running. Burke, realizing they had an audience, released the chain, his face red with embarrassment.

Brielle coughed, rubbing her bruised neck. Tears of rage filled her eyes. "You attacked me! For that bitch?"

Burke leaned in close, his voice a lethal hiss. "If I don't give it back, she's going to Dad. Do you want Dad to ground us both? Do you want him to cut off your allowance?"

The mention of the General drained the defiance from Brielle's face. The old man ruled the family with an iron fist.

But her stubbornness flared back up. "Even if I give it back, I shouldn't have to! It's trash she didn't want. It's mine now!"

Burke looked at his sister's greedy, pouting face. He realized logic wouldn't work. Only a trade would satisfy her.

Meanwhile, across town, Christina was signing the discharge papers. She changed out of the hospital gown into a pair of dark jeans and a simple blouse. She looked lean, sharp, and completely focused.

She walked out of the hospital doors and stood on the sidewalk. She didn't hail a cab. She looked toward the upscale district where the Clark Estate sat on the hill.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

It was a text from Burke. "I found the pendant. It will take time to retrieve. Tomorrow, 10 AM, Clark Estate."

Christina stared at the address. A cold smile touched her lips. Burke was bringing her onto his turf, hoping the grandeur of the estate would intimidate her into submission.

She typed back a single word. "Fine."

She wasn't just going to show up. She was going to be armed.

She walked three blocks to an electronics store. She bought a high-end laptop with maximum RAM, a set of precision micro-tools, and a universal data cable.

Back at a short-term rental apartment she had secured using a prepaid card, she set up the laptop on the kitchen counter. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code reflecting in her eyes. Knowledge of programming languages she'd never learned flooded her consciousness, as natural as breathing. Her fingers, at first clumsy on the keys, quickly found a rhythm, a kind of muscle memory awakening from a deep slumber. Code flowed from her fingertips, elegant and efficient. She was writing a data extraction script. If the pendant was a storage device, she needed to be ready to read it the second she touched it. Even if the biometric lock held, she could at least verify the hardware's integrity.

Late into the night, she lay on the bare mattress, staring at the ceiling. Her brain wouldn't stop simulating. She ran through every possible conversation, every angle of attack.

Her hyper-memory fed her images of Brielle's sneering face, of Burke's arrogant dismissals. The pain they had caused her wasn't a wound anymore; it was fuel.

Brielle was a spoiled brat. She cared about status and things. Burke was a coward. He cared about his career and avoiding blame.

Christina's strategy crystallized. She needed to pit them against each other. And she needed to ensure the General was there to witness it. Using a burner app on her phone, she sent an anonymous, encrypted text to the General's personal aide: "Concerned about Major Clark's upcoming review. A serious family dispute tomorrow morning at the estate could create a PR disaster. It involves his fiancée."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the micro screwdriver. She rolled the cold metal between her fingers. It felt like a weapon.

Tomorrow, the Clark family would learn what happens when you underestimate a woman with nothing to lose.