Ivan didn't punch her. Instead, his massive hand shot forward and clamped directly around Ella's throat.
He shoved her upward. The soles of Ella's cheap shoes scraped against the marble wall as her feet left the ground.
Her windpipe crushed under the weight of his grip. The air in her lungs was instantly trapped.
Ella's hands flew up. She clawed frantically at Ivan's thick forearm, her fingernails digging into his expensive suit jacket.
Ivan's face was twisted into a demonic mask of pure rage. Spittle flew from his lips.
"Die," Ivan hissed, his eyes wide and unhinged. "Just die and leave us alone."
Ella's face flushed a deep, burning red. The blood pounded in her ears like a war drum. Her vision started to narrow, the edges of the world turning fuzzy and black. Her lungs screamed for oxygen.
But she didn't close her eyes. She stared down at him. She refused to let a single tear fall.
She forced her throat to open just a fraction of a millimeter against his crushing fingers.
"Glen..." Ella choked out. The word was a broken, wet rasp. "Ten years ago... the car crash."
Ivan's entire body went rigid.
"You... coward," Ella gasped, her face now turning a terrifying shade of purple.
The mention of their oldest brother's paralyzing accident hit Ivan's nervous system like a shockwave. His pupils dilated in absolute panic.
Instead of letting go, his fear made him squeeze harder.
The blackness closed in on Ella's vision. Her hands went weak, sliding off Ivan's arm.
Suddenly, the heavy glass door of the terrace was violently thrown open.
A flood of harsh yellow light spilled onto the dark balcony. Ivan's previous roar had carried through the empty VIP corridor, drawing the exact two people who were obsessed with maintaining the family's flawless image.
"Ivan!" a woman's voice shrieked.
Karen Campbell stood in the doorway, her hands pressed to her cheeks. Leland was right behind her.
Leland rushed forward. He grabbed Ivan's shoulder and yanked him backward with all his strength.
Ivan stumbled back, his hand ripping away from Ella's neck.
Without the wall and his hand holding her up, Ella collapsed. She hit the concrete floor hard, landing on her hands and knees.
She gasped loudly. The freezing air rushed into her burning lungs, feeling like swallowed glass. She coughed violently, her whole body shaking as she clutched her bruised throat.
Ivan was still thrashing against Leland's hold. "She's a demon! She knows! She's a freak!"
Karen didn't rush to her daughter on the floor. She didn't even look at Ella's purple, wheezing face.
Instead, the matriarch of the Campbell family hurried over to Ivan. She grabbed his face in her hands.
"Ivan, stop it!" Karen hissed, looking frantically around the empty terrace as if cameras were hidden in the potted plants. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know how many reporters are downstairs? If someone sees this, the company stock will plummet by morning!"
Ella sat back on her heels. She pressed her hand against the throbbing skin of her neck.
She listened to her biological mother worry about the stock market while her daughter was seconds away from being murdered.
A slow, chilling smile spread across Ella's face. It was a bleak, dead expression.
In that single moment, the last microscopic thread of hope Ella had for this family snapped. They were dead to her.
