Chapter 5

June stared at Tristan's squirming back. She took a deep breath, and brought her right hand down hard.

Smack!

The sharp, stinging sound cracked through the massive hall. It landed squarely on Tristan's backside.

Tristan's screaming cut off instantly. He gasped, his eyes going wide with absolute shock. He couldn't believe she had actually hit him.

"Ding! Progress 1/3." the system's cold voice counted in her head.

June's heart hammered against her ribs. Her palm stung from the impact. She knew if she hesitated, she would lose the nerve.

She locked her jaw. She raised her hand and brought it down twice more in rapid succession. Smack! Smack!

"Ding! Task completed. 24 hours of lifespan rewarded," the system chimed, the pain in her head vanishing.

A second of dead silence hung in the air. Then, Tristan erupted. He let out a wail ten times louder than before, tears and snot instantly covering his face.

He rolled onto his back on the sofa, kicking his legs and screaming. "It hurts! I'm telling Daddy! I'm going to make him kill you!"

June released her grip on his shirt. She looked down at him with cold detachment. She reached over to the coffee table and pulled a tissue from the silver box, wiping her hands.

She tossed the crumpled tissue into the trash bin. She looked down at Tristan. "Go ahead and tell him. But until he gets home, you will keep your mouth shut."

Tristan hiccuped, terrified by the absolute ice in her tone. His screams dialed down to a loud, angry sob, glaring at her through wet eyelashes.

June turned her back on him. She locked her eyes onto Cole, who was still standing frozen near the stairs.

Cole immediately dropped his hostile stare. He widened his eyes, putting on a mask of innocent concern. "Mother, Tristan is just having a bad day..."

June let out a harsh, bitter laugh, cutting him off completely. "Save the performance, Cole."

Cole's face went rigid. His pupils contracted slightly. He wasn't used to adults seeing through his act.

June took a step toward him, dropping her voice to a low murmur. "You think I don't see it? You purposely wound him up so he'd take the fall while you watched the show."

Cole took a half-step back. His hands gripped the seams of his pants tightly. His breathing hitched.

June pointed to a blank section of the wall in the far corner of the hall. Her tone left absolutely no room for argument. "Go over there. Time-out."

Cole jerked his head up, his eyes flashing with disbelief. He was the genius heir of the Walton family. He didn't do time-outs.

He bit his lower lip and planted his feet, refusing to move, challenging her authority with total silence.

June crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm going to count to three. If you aren't facing that wall, dinner is canceled for both of you tonight."

"One." June said, her voice flat.

Cole glanced at his crying brother, his mind racing to calculate the odds.

"Two." June said, her eyes narrowing.

Right as she opened her mouth to say three, Cole's shoulders slumped. He had lost.

He dragged his feet across the floor, walking slowly to the corner. He turned around, pressing his nose toward the blank wall.

June looked at Cole in the corner and Tristan sniffling on the couch. She let out a long, exhausted breath.

She turned to the terrified maids. "Clean this up. And neither of them gets a drop of water until their punishment is over."

Just as the words left her mouth, the heavy double doors of the main entrance were shoved open. Isaac strode into the hall, surrounded by bodyguards, bringing a wave of freezing outside air with him. "I forgot the Henderson file," he announced to his head of security, his deep voice cutting through the tension before his eyes suddenly landed on the chaos.