Chapter 4

Kailee lay on the floor, her shrill screams piercing the air. Cassie stood over her, her chest rising and falling evenly. She slowly flexed her right hand, shaking off the stinging numbness in her palm.

Kathleen saw her daughter hit the ground. A horrific shriek tore from her mouth. She threw herself off the sofa and dropped to her knees beside Kailee.

Kathleen's head snapped up. Her eyes were wide and filled with pure, venomous hatred.

"You bitch!" Kathleen screamed. She lunged upward, her hands curled into claws, aiming her sharp nails straight for the fake scars on Cassie's face.

Cassie's reflexes kicked in. She swiftly shifted her weight to her back foot and leaned her torso backward. Kathleen's fingernails swiped through empty air, missing Cassie's face by an inch.

Cassie looked down at the two women groveling on the floor.

"Look at yourselves," Cassie said, her voice dripping with cold disdain. "Pathetic."

Kathleen's face contorted. She gasped for air, looking as though she might physically choke on her own rage.

Josephus watched his wife and daughter humiliated. His fragile masculine pride shattered completely. A low, guttural roar erupted from his chest.

He charged at Cassie like an enraged bull.

He pulled his thick right arm back, curling his hand into a massive fist, aiming a devastating punch right at her head. The force of his movement pushed a gust of air against Cassie's face.

Cassie didn't panic. She planted her feet firmly on the rug, her core tightening as she calculated his trajectory.

At the exact moment his fist flew forward, Cassie ducked and twisted her torso to the right.

Josephus's heavy fist sailed past her ear. The momentum of his missed punch pulled his heavy body forward. He stumbled, losing his balance.

Cassie pivoted on her heel. She drove the toe of her designer heel hard into the back of Josephus's knee joint.

The precision strike hit the nerve. Josephus let out a loud cry of pain. His leg buckled instantly, and he crashed down onto one knee.

The commotion sent the remaining maids fleeing toward the kitchen, screaming in terror. A tall porcelain vase was knocked over in the panic, shattering into hundreds of pieces across the floor. The living room had descended into absolute chaos.

From the corner of her eye, Cassie saw movement.

Kailee had scrambled to her feet. She grabbed a heavy ceramic teapot full of scalding hot tea from the coffee table. With a scream of fury, Kailee hurled the teapot directly at Cassie's head.

Cassie's heart skipped a beat.

She grabbed the heavy velvet throw pillow from the armchair and threw it up like a shield.

The teapot smashed into the pillow. Boiling hot tea splashed across the velvet fabric, sending up a cloud of steam. A few drops of hot liquid hit Cassie's forearm, burning her skin, but she had avoided a catastrophic burn to her face.

Cassie tossed the soaked, steaming pillow aside. Her patience was entirely gone.

She closed the distance between her and Kailee in two quick strides. She reached out and grabbed a thick handful of Kailee's hair.

Cassie yanked backward, forcing Kailee's head to snap back, exposing her throat.

Without hesitation, Cassie raised her hand and delivered two brutal, back-to-back slaps across Kailee's face. The impacts sounded like gunshots in the room.

Blood immediately welled up in the corner of Kailee's mouth. Her eyes rolled back slightly, the fight completely beaten out of her.

Cassie opened her hand and shoved Kailee backward. Kailee collapsed onto the sofa like a broken doll, letting out weak, pathetic sobs.

Behind her, Josephus was struggling to stand. His eyes were bloodshot, entirely devoid of reason. He limped over to the corner of the room and grabbed a heavy, metal golf club from a display bag.

He gripped the club with both hands and swung it wildly toward Cassie's head. The metal shaft sliced through the air with a terrifying swoosh.

Cassie's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

She threw her body backward, rolling over the arm of the sofa to dodge the blow.

The heavy metal club smashed into the glass coffee table. The thick glass exploded. Shards of glass flew in every direction, slicing through the fabric of Cassie's dress and scratching her calves.

Cassie scrambled to her feet, ignoring the stinging cuts on her legs. She grabbed a heavy brass table lamp from the side table, ripping the cord from the wall. She held it up like a club, her eyes locked onto Josephus with the cold intensity of a predator.

Josephus raised the golf club again. He let out a feral, animalistic scream as he stepped over the broken glass, closing in on her. Cassie tightened her grip on the brass lamp, her muscles burning with adrenaline, ready to strike a lethal blow.

"Kill her! Beat her to death!" Kathleen shrieked from the corner, her voice a hysterical screech.

Cassie's jaw locked tight.

Just as Josephus began his downward swing, a deafening crash echoed from the front of the house.

The sound was so violent that everyone in the living room froze. Josephus's golf club stopped in mid-air.

The massive, solid oak front doors were kicked open with a force that splintered the heavy brass lock and sent the thick wooden doors crashing violently against the interior walls.

Bright morning sunlight flooded into the dark foyer.

A tall, broad figure stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the light. An aura of pure, suffocating violence rolled off him in waves.

Dane Frederick stepped into the house. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying rage.

Cassie's breath caught in her throat. Her grip on the brass lamp loosened.

Adrian, Dane's assistant, marched in right behind him, followed by a dozen men in black tactical suits. The bodyguards flooded the living room, instantly taking control of the space. The sheer, suffocating weight of his presence pressed down on everyone's chests.

Dane's dark, furious eyes swept the room and instantly locked onto Cassie, who was backed into the corner, surrounded by broken glass.

The muscles in Dane's jaw feathered. He strode across the room, ignoring the glass crunching under his expensive leather shoes.

He reached her in seconds. He grabbed her arm and pulled her hard against his solid chest. His large arm wrapped tightly around her waist, locking her against him in a gesture of absolute, undeniable possession.

Cassie's face pressed into his suit jacket. The sharp, clean scent of cedar and cold air filled her lungs, immediately calming her racing heart.

Josephus stood frozen, the golf club still raised slightly. He stared at the billionaire who had just materialized in his living room. His hands began to shake violently. Cold sweat drenched the collar of his shirt.

Dane slowly turned his head to look at Josephus. His eyes were completely dead, devoid of any human emotion.

"Drop it," Dane ordered. His voice was quiet, but it carried the chilling weight of a death sentence.