Kimberly POV
The limousine prowled to a stop, its engine idling with a low, predatory hum. The driver, a man named Rocco who had been loyal to my father for thirty years, stepped out. He didn't open the door. He stood by the trunk, his arms crossed, his face unreadable.
The back door opened from the inside.
Austyn stepped out.
He looked every inch the part I had paid for him to play. He wore a tailored Italian suit that had been billed to my account. He wore a Patek Philippe watch that I had given him for his thirtieth birthday. He looked handsome, successful, and powerful.
He was none of those things. He was a day-trader who had lost his savings before he met me. He was a man I had lifted out of the mud because I thought he was safe. I thought he was too weak to bite.
"Daddy!"
A boy ran from the playground. Jaylin. Evalena's son.
He ran past Lily. He ran past me. He threw himself at Austyn's legs.
Austyn caught him. He picked the boy up, swinging him around with a smile that I had never seen him give my daughter.
"Hey, buddy," Austyn said. "Did you have a good day?"
Jaylin pointed at Lily. "She tried to take my toy, Daddy. The mean girl."
Austyn looked up. His eyes scanned the courtyard. He saw Evalena. He saw the teacher. And then he saw me.
The color drained from his face so fast it was as if his heart had simply stopped beating. He almost dropped the boy.
"Kimberly," he choked out.
He set Jaylin down, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. He took a step toward me, then stopped dead when he saw the two guards standing behind me. He knew them. He knew what they did to people who crossed the Family.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. His voice was a whisper, carried away by the wind. "You are supposed to be in Zurich."
"I finished early," I said.
Austyn swallowed hard. He looked at Evalena, his eyes wide with panic. He was silently begging her to fix this, to spin a lie that could cover a crater.
Evalena stepped forward, linking her arm through his. She squeezed his bicep, a gesture of ownership. "Darling, tell this woman to leave. She is upsetting Jaylin."
Austyn flinched at her touch. He looked at me, terrified. He knew that touching another woman in front of me wasn't just adultery. It was an insult to the Crown.
"Evalena," he hissed. "Stop."
"Tell her, Austyn," Evalena demanded, her voice rising. "Tell her who runs this family."
I looked at his neck. He was sweating.
Then I looked at Evalena's neck.
She was wearing a necklace. Emeralds set in platinum. It was a heavy, ostentatious piece. It had been a tribute gift from the head of the Chicago Outfit three years ago. It was kept in a safe in my office. A safe that required a biometric scan.
My eyes narrowed.
"That is mine," I said.
Austyn followed my gaze. He saw the necklace. He looked like he was going to vomit.
"Kimberly, please," he said. "Let's go home. Let's talk about this in private."
Omertà. The code of silence. He was trying to invoke a rule he didn't understand to save his own skin.
I walked up to him. I stood so close I could smell his cologne. It was the scent of betrayal.
I reached out. My hand hovered over the necklace on Evalena's throat.
Evalena slapped my hand away. "Don't touch me! Austyn gave this to me!"
I looked at Austyn. "Did you?"
He couldn't speak. He was shaking.
"Tell them, Austyn," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Tell them who paid for the necklace. Tell them who paid for the suit. Tell them who paid for the car you arrived in."
He looked at the ground.
Ms. Albright stepped in again, emboldened by Austyn's presence. "Mr. Hester, surely you aren't going to let this servant speak to you like that?"
Austyn looked up. He looked at the teacher. Then he looked at me. He saw the darkness in my eyes. He saw the end of his life as he knew it.
"She isn't a servant," he whispered.
"What?" Ms. Albright asked.
"He is a coward," I said.
I reached out again. This time, when Evalena tried to stop me, I didn't pull back. I grabbed the necklace. I yanked it.
The platinum chain gave way with a sharp crack.
Emeralds rained down onto the concrete like green hail.
Evalena screamed. "My jewelry!"
She dropped to her knees, scrambling for the stones. She looked pathetic.
I looked at the staff, at the other parents gathering by the gate. They looked at me with disgust. They saw a crazy woman attacking a mother. They didn't see the truth.
But they would.
