“Fine by me.” I reached for my pen again, ready to sign the cancellation agreement.
But before the ink could hit the page, Cecilia suddenly snatched it from my hands.
“No need,” she said coolly, tearing the paper to shreds. “Consider it me saving you some ink.”
I let out a long sigh. Everything that had happened during my visit to this city had truly been beyond anything I’d expected.
Might as well head home.
But suddenly, the Montrose patriarch reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Mr. Mercer, the Montrose will not be backing out. We’ll fulfill the contract.”
“But the annulment papers have already been signed.”
Blair pulled on his sleeve. “Grandpa, what are you doing? There’s no way you’re falling for this prick’s lies. You wouldn’t actually make me marry some broke nobody from the slums, would you?”
The Montrose patriarch stared at the crumpled engagement papers in his hands, his legs trembling.
“What’s done is done. We have to bear the consequences. Let’s just go home,” he said weakly.
He looked at me once more.
“The Montrose Family wouldn’t have made it this far without help from your family, sir. We will forever be indebted to the Mercers.” He gave me a solemn bow.
But Bob and Blair still glared at me with scorn.
“What the hell did you do to my grandpa? Did you put some kind of spell on him?” Blair hissed. “You know what? Forget it. You’re just a broke nobody. If anything, we’re glad we won’t have to see your face again.”
That’s when I noticed her—timid, quiet, peeking out from behind the crowd.
I lit up instantly. “Faye? What are you doing here?”
“I-I heard you were leaving the city and I got worried. I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
Faye Sherman lowered her head, clearly nervous. She’d always been shy—and kind. The Sherman Family had treated me decently over the years. Especially her.
“It’s okay,” I said gently.
“Well, look at that. Another little rat from the slums? You two really do belong together,” Blair mocked. “Seriously, what are you even wearing? You look filthy and smell disgusting.”
Faye flinched and quickly hid behind me.
“She’s my friend. I don’t care if you won’t respect me, but I expect you to respect her.”
The engagement is void. All three families will face the doom they deserve and the Mercer Family’s fortune will return a hundredfold.
“Faye,” I said with a smile, “tomorrow, I’m taking you out for the best food in the city. We’ll eat like royalty.”
She nodded hesitantly, her small hand tightening around the hem of my coat.
Adrienne clapped mockingly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“What a touching scene. A pair of broke lovebirds. Eat like royalty? You two can barely afford dollar menu fries.”
She snapped her fingers and her bodyguards came forward and dumped a large suitcase full of cash right at our feet.
“Here,” she said, brushing her hands off. “Take this and run back to whatever slum hole you crawled out of. This should be enough to keep you alive ‘til you rot. From now on, your path and ours never cross again.”
She turned to leave.
But just as she stepped away, a sudden gust of wind whipped through the air.
The bills on the ground lifted, swirling, dancing like they were caught in a storm. The wind hit Adrienne’s face and she swatted at it, annoyed.
“Cass Mercer! What the hell are you—”
Adrienne caught one of the papers and fell silent. The bills weren’t cash anymore. They turned to funeral notes.
The air around her was filled with swirling funeral bills, spiraling like specters. They clung to her, wrapping around her like spirits out for vengeance.
A streak of red lightning cracked the sky, striking the ground with a thunderous boom. The asphalt split, black scorch marks tearing across the pavement.
Suddenly, Bob’s phone started ringing.
Cecilia’s phone lit up too.
Then the others.
Ringtones echoed everywhere. Rain began to fall, heavy and slow. I caught one of the ghostly bills between my fingers and turned to the three families, “It’s here. Are you ready to face your retribution?”
