Before I could reach it, Cara hurled the necklace at the ground with all her strength.
A sharp crack split the air. The jade pendant shattered into pieces, fragments scattering across the floor.
"No!"
My mother's pendant. The one she'd traded her life for. Gone. Just like that.
The pain in my chest was so sharp I couldn't breathe.
"You're an animal!"
Something inside me snapped. I swung my hand and slapped Cara across the face as hard as I could.
"You bitch!" Cara shrieked, clutching her cheek. "Beat this slut within an inch of her life!"
Her voice pitched higher, eyes wild with fury. "Whoever does the best job gets a million dollars!"
The words hit like a starting pistol. Cara's friends' eyes lit up, and they descended on me in a frenzy of fists and kicks.
"You actually hit Cara? She's about to become the wife of Grandview Group's CEO. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Seriously, it was just a necklace. You probably earned it on your back anyway. Go service a few more men and buy another one. What's the big deal?"
"Shameless whore. You seduce someone else's man and then have the nerve to hit his girlfriend? You must have a death wish."
They beat me to the ground. My whole body shook with rage. I gritted my teeth and forced out the words:
"You're going to regret this."
The room erupted in laughter, every one of them throwing their heads back like I'd told the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
"Oh, that's rich! Cara's boyfriend is the CEO of Grandview Group. What are you? Nobody. You think you can make us regret anything?"
"You're nothing but some bottom-feeder employee who threw herself at the CEO. You already sell your body for cash, and now you're threatening us?"
"A whore should know her place. You take your beating and stand there and take it."
They pinned me to the ground, mocking and humiliating me without a shred of restraint.
Surrounded by her cheering entourage, Cara grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up. Her face twisted with vicious triumph.
"Regret? I've never regretted a single thing in my entire life." She leaned closer. "Go ahead. Show me what a worthless piece of trash like you can do to make me regret."
The words had barely left her mouth when the roar of engines filled the air. One luxury car after another came tearing up the driveway, pulling to a stop in front of the villa.
