Chapter 3

"You lazy, ungrateful bitch!" Marge shrieked. Specks of spit flew from her red lips. "It is eight in the morning! Why isn't breakfast on the table?"

Cora wrinkled her nose in disgust. She tilted her head slightly to the left, letting the spit fly past her face. She looked at Marge like she was a rotting piece of meat.

Marge's face turned purple. She wasn't used to being ignored. She raised her hand high in the air, her heavy gold rings catching the light, and swung her palm toward Cora's face.

Cora's muscle memory took over.

Her left hand shot out like a viper. She clamped her fingers around Marge's wrist, stopping the slap inches from her cheek.

Marge gasped. She tried to yank her arm back, but Cora's grip was like a steel vice.

Cora didn't change her expression. She twisted her wrist sharply downward, putting intense, grinding pressure on the joint.

A sharp, sickening crackle of strained ligaments echoed in the room. Marge let out a blood-curdling scream. Her knees buckled instantly, and she crashed onto the Persian rug, cradling her injured wrist against her chest.

Cora looked down at the woman kneeling before her.

"Move again," Cora whispered, her voice dangerously soft, "and I will shatter it completely."

Heavy, frantic footsteps pounded down the hallway.

Leland rushed into the bedroom. He was only wearing his suit trousers and an undershirt. His face was puffy from sleep and alcohol.

He stopped dead when he saw his mother kneeling on the floor, screaming in pain, while his wife stood over her holding her wrist.

Leland's face turned a violent shade of red. The veins in his neck bulged.

"You crazy bitch!" Leland roared. He lunged forward, pulling his right arm back. He threw a heavy, uncoordinated punch straight at Cora's head.

Cora released Marge's wrist. She didn't step back. She stepped inside his guard.

She ducked smoothly under his swinging fist. As Leland's momentum carried him forward, Cora dropped her weight and swung her right leg out in a brutal sweep.

Her shin slammed into Leland's ankle.

Leland yelled as his feet were ripped out from under him. His massive body crashed onto the floor. The impact shook the furniture.

Before he could even process what happened, Cora stepped forward. She planted the heel of her bare foot directly onto the center of his chest. She pressed down hard, pinning him to the floor.

Marge scrambled backward, still clutching her wrist, until her back hit the wall. She pointed a trembling finger at Cora with her good hand.

"I'm calling the police!" Marge babbled, her chest heaving, tears of pain and fury streaming down her face. "You're going to jail!"

Cora let out a short, cold laugh. She shifted her weight, pressing her heel deeper into Leland's sternum.

Leland's eyes bulged. He choked, his hands clawing uselessly at Cora's ankle. He couldn't draw a breath.

Cora leaned down. She patted Leland's red, sweating cheek.

"Stay out of my way, Leland," Cora said. Her voice was calm, almost conversational. "Or next time, I'll break your neck."

She lifted her foot off his chest. She stepped back and wiped the bottom of her foot on the silk bedsheets, looking thoroughly disgusted.

Leland gasped for air, coughing violently. He scrambled backward across the floor, pressing himself against his mother. He looked at Cora with pure terror in his eyes.

But his fragile male ego couldn't handle the humiliation. He rubbed his chest and glared at her.

"You think you're tough?" Leland spat, his voice raspy. "I'll cut off the payments. Your brother's medical bills? Gone. Let the little freak die."

Cora felt absolutely nothing. Heloise's brother meant nothing to her. But her brain instantly calculated the situation. She needed them to think they still had leverage.

Cora narrowed her eyes, faking a flash of panic.

Leland saw it and smiled, a nasty, triumphant grin spreading across his face.

"That's right," Leland sneered, gaining his confidence back. "You're going to put on a dress, and you're going to come to Veronica's wedding tomorrow. You will smile, and you will play the perfect wife. Or your brother is dead."

Cora's mind raced. A high-society wedding. The entire Vance family would be there-though the press and social circles still insisted on using the matriarchal empire's name, Mercer. It was a relic of old money branding, but for Cora, it was the perfect place to gather intel and map out the power dynamics of her enemies.

"Fine," Cora said coldly.

She turned her back on them and walked straight into the master bathroom. She didn't look back.

She slammed the heavy bathroom door shut, cutting off Leland's voice.

Outside, she could hear Marge whining and demanding Leland call the family doctor.

Cora walked over to the marble sink. She turned the silver handles. Freezing cold water blasted out of the faucet. She cupped her hands and splashed the ice water onto her face.

She grabbed a thick towel and patted her skin dry. She looked at herself in the mirror. The terrified Heloise was gone. A predator looked back at her.

A sharp ping echoed in her mind.

Achievement unlocked: Physical Deterrence. Plot deviation increased by 10%.

Cora dropped the towel onto the marble counter. She stared at her reflection, a cruel smile touching the corners of her mouth.

Tomorrow, the Vance family was going to have a very memorable wedding.