Elvie was curled up in the corner of the seat. Her expensive makeup was smeared under her eyes, and her Chanel suit was heavily wrinkled. She radiated a toxic, exhausted anger.

Gary, sporting dark circles under his eyes, started the engine. He pulled the car onto the now-cleared Interstate 80, heading straight for Manhattan.

The air inside the car was suffocatingly tense.

Elvie stared at Celina through the rearview mirror. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and filled with a complex, venomous mixture of dread and exhaustion. "What kind of monster are you?" Elvie hissed, her voice raspy from sleeping in the cold car. She shrank back slightly against the leather, her hands trembling as she clutched her purse. "You knew. You deliberately stalled us yesterday. Are you a witch? Did you curse that highway?"

Celina placed her flat backpack on her lap. The zipper was half-open, revealing how little she had packed.

Elvie's eyes darted to the bag. Her face flushed a deep, angry red.

"You didn't pack anything!" Elvie yelled, her voice echoing in the small space. "You played me yesterday!"

Celina slowly lifted her gaze. She met Elvie's furious eyes in the mirror.

"If I didn't delay us, we would be in body bags right now," Celina said, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

Elvie's mouth opened, but no words came out. Her chest heaved. She knew Celina was right, but the sheer humiliation of being outsmarted by this girl made her stomach churn.

To regain control, Elvie sat up straight and smoothed her wrinkled skirt. She switched to a cold, authoritative tone.

"Listen to me," Elvie commanded. "The Hayes family is respected in New York. Warren demands perfection. You will not embarrass me."

Celina stared out the window.

"You will learn from your sister, Karrie," Elvie continued, her voice dripping with pride. "She is a perfect lady. And you will never, ever cross your brother, Dock. He is Warren's pride and joy. Do you understand?"

Celina felt a dark, bitter amusement rise in her throat. She remembered Karrie's fake smiles and Dock's violent hands.

Without saying a word, Celina reached into her backpack. She pulled out a battered textbook she had kept tucked against the back. The cover was torn.

She opened it to the middle and began to read. It was an advanced AP Physics workbook, printed entirely in English.

Elvie glanced at the pages filled with complex equations and diagrams. She sneered.

"Still pretending to be a scholar?" Elvie mocked, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm as she recognized the dense academic formatting. "You think staring at a book you obviously can't understand will magically make you fit in here? With your brain, that's just a pathetic prop."

Celina didn't defend herself. She kept her eyes on the page, mentally solving a brutal physics equation in her head in less than ten seconds.

Hours later, the towering skyline of Manhattan appeared through the windshield. The glass buildings glittered like knives in the sunlight.

The Bentley drove past the chaotic city center and climbed into a highly exclusive, gated community on the hills.

Gary stopped the car in front of massive, wrought-iron gates. The security guard checked their plates and waved them through.

The driveway was lined with perfectly manicured French gardens. A massive stone fountain sprayed water into the air.

Elvie pulled out a compact mirror. She frantically rubbed the smudged makeup from her eyes and applied a fresh coat of lipstick.

"Wipe that pathetic look off your face," Elvie snapped at Celina. "Don't stare at things like a peasant."

Celina closed her physics book. She looked at the massive mansion. This was the cage that had trapped her in her past life.

The Bentley pulled into the main courtyard and stopped smoothly at the base of the white marble steps.

The front door opened. The butler and three maids stood in a line. Their eyes flicked over Celina, filled with thinly veiled contempt.

Celina pushed her door open. Her worn sneakers hit the pristine stone driveway. She slung her cheap backpack over one shoulder.

As she turned, her peripheral vision caught the reflection of sunlight off black metal.

Parked on the far side of the courtyard was a car.

It was a black, extended-wheelbase Maybach. It sat there quietly, but it radiated an overwhelming, crushing sense of power.

Elvie stepped out of the Bentley. She followed Celina's gaze.

The moment Elvie saw the Maybach, all the color drained from her face. Her breathing hitched.

She lunged forward and grabbed Celina's wrist with a bruising grip.

"Put your head down!" Elvie hissed, her voice trembling with raw panic. "Do not look at that car! Those are people we cannot afford to offend!"

Chapter 4

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