Chapter 6

The grand ballroom of the Dudley estate was a masterpiece of excessive wealth. Massive crystal chandeliers cast a warm, golden glow over the hundreds of guests. Waiters glided through the crowd. The air hummed with the soft clinking of champagne glasses and the low murmur of high-society networking.

Chandler and Blair Dudley stood near the center of the room, smiling graciously as senators and tech billionaires showered them with compliments about their beautiful daughter, Emmie.

Then, a sound cut through the elegant string quartet playing in the corner.

Thud. Scrape. Thud. Scrape.

It was a heavy, uneven, dragging sound coming from the grand spiral staircase at the far end of the hall.

A few socialites standing near the stairs turned their heads. The polite smiles froze on their faces. One woman let out a sharp, audible gasp, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

The reaction rippled outward. The conversation died. The string quartet faltered and stopped playing. Hundreds of eyes turned toward the staircase.

Abbey Dudley stood on the landing.

She was wearing the yellowed, frayed Seacrest Preparatory uniform. The skirt hung awkwardly on her emaciated frame. She wore no makeup. Her pale, sunken cheeks and dark, hollow eyes made her look like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave. Her hair was pulled back with a cheap black rubber band.

She gripped the mahogany banister. She dragged her ruined right leg down to the next step. Scrape.

The contrast between her pathetic, poverty-stricken appearance and the sea of million-dollar couture gowns was violently jarring.

Whispers erupted across the ballroom like a swarm of angry hornets.

"Who is that? Did a beggar get past security?"

"Oh my god... is that Abbey? The daughter who went to prison for attempted murder? She's out?"

Brecken was standing near the bar, talking to a hedge fund manager. He heard the whispers. He turned around.

When he saw Abbey standing on the stairs in that humiliating, filthy uniform, the blood drained completely from his face. His brain short-circuited. His hand jerked, spilling half his glass of vintage champagne down the front of his tailored trousers. He didn't even feel the cold liquid.

A blinding rage consumed him. He shoved past a group of startled guests, his heavy footsteps echoing across the marble floor.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and grabbed Abbey's forearm, his fingers digging brutally into her skin. He tried to yank her behind a massive floral arrangement, desperate to hide her from the crowd.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Brecken hissed, his voice trembling with fury. "Are you insane? You come out here dressed like a homeless freak to humiliate us?"

Abbey did not flinch. She violently ripped her arm out of his grasp.

She calmly reached up and smoothed out the wrinkled collar of her yellowed shirt. When she spoke, she didn't yell, but her voice, though still carrying that harsh, raspy edge of crushed glass, was perfectly pitched to carry into the dead silence of the room.

"Isn't this the gown you prepared for me? It was the only piece of clothing hanging in my closet. I assumed this was the dress code for the evening."

The guests inhaled sharply. The collective gasp sucked the oxygen out of the room. The socialites exchanged wide-eyed, scandalous looks. The Dudley family, known for their philanthropy, was forcing their biological daughter to wear rags?

Brecken's face turned a violent shade of purple. He felt the judging eyes of New York's elite burning into his back. He had to kill this narrative immediately. He had to destroy her credibility before the family's reputation tanked.

"Stop playing the victim!" Brecken roared, abandoning his quiet hiss. He pointed a shaking finger at her face. "You have an eighteen-million-dollar annual allowance in your trust fund! Eighteen million!"

He turned slightly, making sure the crowd heard every word.

"You blew every single cent of that money on underground casinos and your degenerate friends! Now you purposely dress in rags to smear this family's name! You are a manipulative liar!"

The wind in the room instantly shifted. The guests' expressions morphed from pity to disgust.

"A gambling addict and a liar," an older woman whispered loudly. "No wonder they prefer the adopted daughter."

Abbey stood under the crushing weight of a hundred judging stares. Her heart rate did not elevate. Her hands did not shake. She slowly reached down and smoothed a crease out of her frayed skirt.

She looked up. Her dark eyes locked onto Brecken's furious face. The corner of her mouth curled into a slow, mocking smirk.

"Eighteen million dollars?" Abbey's voice rang out, clear and piercing as a silver bell. "Brother, since you are so absolutely certain of my spending habits... why don't we check the ledger right now? Let's see exactly whose pockets that money flowed into."

Brecken let out a harsh, arrogant scoff. He was absolutely certain of his facts. His father had told him about her gambling debts.

"Fine! Let's check!" Brecken challenged, his chest puffing out. "I want everyone here to see exactly what kind of parasite you are."

Brecken pulled his phone from his pocket. He aggressively tapped the screen, dialing the family's chief wealth manager. To ensure maximum humiliation for Abbey, he walked over to the DJ booth, snatched the heavy wireless microphone from its stand, and held his phone's speaker directly against the mic mesh.

Ring. Ring.

The dial tone echoed off the vaulted ceilings. The entire ballroom held its breath, waiting for the execution.

Abbey stood perfectly still. She watched Brecken wrap the noose around his own neck, and she waited for him to jump.