I rushed forward and struck her hard. Lila didn’t flinch; she smiled as if she’d been waiting.
“You’re right on time. We’ll dig up your mother’s bones later, so we don’t have to toss them in the trash and pollute the environment.”
She nodded once and started directing the workers with shovels.
“No!” I lunged to stop them, but the bodyguards closed in and pinned me down.
“What are you doing?!” I screamed.
The bodyguards shifted uncomfortably. “Sorry, ma’am. The master said Miss Lila is pregnant, so she’s the priority.”
“She’s the priority?” My voice broke. “Those are my mother’s ashes!”
“Let me go!” I tried to wrench free.
“Shut up!” Lila stamped on my fingers, squeezing with cruel force. The louder I screamed, the harder she pressed. I could only watch as my mother’s urn was dug up and the ashes were scattered to the wind.
My fingertips dragged across the earth, leaving streaks of blood. Lila only released me when she saw I’d cried myself into exhaustion. She lifted the pink urn that held my mother’s remains and moved to place it back into the grave.
Summoning every ounce of strength, I sprang up. With one hand, I knocked the urn aside; with the other, I backhanded Lila across the face.
The urn hit the ground and shattered. Lila collapsed into Leon’s arms, wailing. “Leon, my dog is dead. I must bury him in Mrs. Quinn’s grave so he can be reborn as a human next life.” She sobbed theatrically. “What did I do wrong? Why does Claire Quinn treat me like this? My stomach pains—my baby—”
Leon’s face changed into something I had never seen—sharp and cold. “Claire, why won’t you understand me?” he asked plaintively.
“Even if Lila is pregnant, what does that have to do with you? Why are you protecting her and destroying me?” I spat back.
“You’ve taken this too far. You must answer for it.” His voice held quiet cruelty.
A bodyguard produced a paper: a letter of apology. Another forced my finger to bleed and pressed my wounded hand onto the paper, making a smeared, bloody handprint. Leon stepped forward and used the tip of his shoe to lift my chin.
“I’ll hold a press conference tomorrow. You’ll tell the reporters that your mother deliberately rammed Lila’s car.”
For a moment, the words did not register. “Lila has suffered these last few years in hiding,” he added. “There’s nothing wrong with clearing her name now.”
“Absolutely not!” I roared, eyes wide.
Leon’s pupils darkened. He glanced toward my father’s grave. “Your father’s grave is nearby. Would you like to see it dug up?” he asked, a faint nod, the only movement.
Several bodyguards stepped forward soundlessly.
“Wait!” I begged. Panic filled my chest. “Don’t dig—please—don’t disturb my father…”
Tears streamed down my face, and he reached out to wipe them away with an almost tender hand. “Be good,” he murmured.
They led me back to the car. He stayed with Lila. Workers swept my mother’s ashes into piles and threw them aside like refuse. Lila’s pet urn was placed into my mother’s grave as if it belonged.
I sat numb, staring through the window at the meaningless scenery. The world kept turning.
The next day, they marched me in front of reporters. Cameras focused on my face as questions came fast and loud.
“Mrs. Hartman, was your mother attempting to blackmail Miss Young?”
“Is this how you married into money?”
“Miss Young’s youth was stolen—won’t you kneel and apologize?”
I don’t remember bowing. I don’t remember leaving. I only remember the rotten eggs they hurled at me, the insults hurled like stones.
“Your mother and you are sluts—slept with thousands—and you tried to cheat your way into wealth!” someone shouted.
“You use tricks because your family is poor! Go to hell!” another yelled.
My cheeks stung from the blows and the words. I walked on, hollow and exposed, while the cameras recorded everything—my humiliation made public, my grief turned into a spectacle for strangers to jeer at. Somewhere inside, a small, furious light began to burn for justice.
The bodyguard hesitated.
Just as I moved toward Leon’s car, the crowd erupted.
Hands shoved me sideways, and I toppled into a tangle of bodies. I screamed for help, but my voice was swallowed by the chaos.
Through the pushing mass, I saw Lila inside the car, clutching her head. Leon wrapped his arms around her and murmured something I couldn’t catch. The door shut, and the car lurched forward.
Someone yanked me back. A folded note was pressed into my palm. A masked stranger leaned close and hissed, “Ms. Quinn, remember — you still have family who will stand for justice.”
