Cora panicked. "Karen, Nina, you useless cowards, help me already!"
Karen Bennett and Nina Bennett stood frozen, red handprints stark on their cheeks, both trembling like leaves in the wind, neither daring to say a word.
Cora gagged as she stared into the toilet bowl filled with filth-her stomach churned like it wanted to empty out everything from the last three days.
She hadn't even flushed after using it. Disgusting didn't even cover it.
Ignoring the burning pain in her wrists, she quickly braced her elbows on the toilet seat, desperate to struggle free. No way was she putting her face anywhere near that mess.
But the pressure on her head kept increasing, and as the dirty water got closer and closer, she finally snapped. Her entire body shook from fear.
She choked out a sob, her voice breaking, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kidnapped Evan, I shouldn't have threatened you! You already stabbed through my wrist, isn't that enough? Can we call it even now, please?"
"I swear, if you let me go, I'll leave you alone forever! Let's move on!"
Serena let out a cold laugh. "Even? This is your idea of evening the score?"
"Yes, yes!" Cora nodded like crazy, hair sticking to her tear-streaked face, thinking the nightmare might finally be over.
Feeling the pressure on her head lighten, she exhaled in relief. But hatred burned hard in her eyes.
Wait till her brother showed up. She'd make Serena eat crap.
Just as the thought passed, Serena tilted her head and said casually, "Nope."
Cora blinked, confused. "What do you mean, nope?"
"I mean, I'm not done yet."
With a chilling grin still on her lips and eyes that could freeze fire, Serena suddenly kicked Cora hard in the back, slamming her face-first into the toilet.
"Mm-gahhh-!"
At that exact moment, the bathroom door was kicked open with a deafening bang.
A group of men stormed in, and the one at the rear walked in slowly, with a deep scar across his left cheek and a straight-backed posture that screamed military training.
"Who the hell touched my sister?"
Karen and Nina looked like they'd just seen God, puffy faces lighting up with hope. They scrambled over, voices shaky as they pointed to the bathroom. "Oscar! She's in the bathroom!"
Oscar Bennett stared at them, frowning, then made his way toward the door.
Right then, a woman came stumbling out, soaked in filth, stinking so bad it made people gag on instinct.
Seeing her about to lunge at him, Oscar reflexively kicked her away. "What lunatic is-"
Cora crashed into the floor, blood and mess all over her, sobbing painfully. "It's me! It's Cora! Your sister, goddammit! Gahhh-!"
Oscar's eyes widened. "Cora?! Who the hell did this to you?!"
He took a step forward, then retched at the smell and froze, staring at her with a mix of shock and disbelief.
Cora was crying so hard she could barely speak. "It-it was-"
Oscar leaned in but seemed to grow impatient. "Who? Speak clearly!"
"It was me."
Serena stepped out of the bathroom slowly, owning it without hesitation. She even had a casual smile on her face.
Cora instantly pointed at her, both scared and pissed off. "It's her! Bro, get her for me-kill her if you have to!"
Oscar Bennett looked up at the shout.
He was stunned for a second by Serena's looks, but the moment he saw his sister all messed up, rage started bubbling up.
"You kidding me? You did this to my sister?"
Serena shrugged, totally unfazed. "Yeah, that was me."
Oscar choked for a second, not expecting her to admit it so easily.
"Bro, she messed up my wrist-look at it! It hurts so bad!" Cora whined, lifting her arm. The bloody mess was hard to ignore.
Oscar's heart clenched. He turned and barked, "You two, get Cora to the hospital, now!"
Karen and Nina Bennett didn't need telling twice-they were more than ready to leave. Each grabbed one of Cora's arms to help her out.
But then-
"Who said you could move?"
Serena's voice came out like a whip-sharp, cold, and dangerous.
The moment she spoke, both Karen and Nina froze mid-reach. The room felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees. Just that one sentence made their hands start to shake.
Still, Karen sneaked a glance at Oscar and got a bit of courage. "What... what do you even want?"
As soon as she looked into Serena's eyes, though, any trace of confidence vanished.
Those eyes were cold as ice. One look, and Karen turned her head away fast, neck shrinking back as if she could disappear. She didn't dare breathe loud.
"It's pretty simple," Serena said slowly, her gaze dropping to the still-crumpled Cora. Her cold smile crept up. "She kneels and apologizes to Evan. Then you three? Off to co-ed jail, just like she suggested. Play babysitter for a hundred inmates. Do that, and I'm done."
Cora gave a sharp laugh, full of disdain. "My brother's right here. You really think I'm still scared of you?"
"Try it and see." Oscar stepped up, scowling hard enough to crack concrete. His protectiveness radiated off him. "You're a pretty face with a rotten heart. Lay one finger on my family, and you'll find out what I'm made of."
"Rotten? Seems like that label fits your sister way better," Serena said, lifting a hand like it was no big deal. But there was no humor in her eyes. "She's the one who said she'd throw me into jail and let me get torn apart. I just repeated her words. Somehow that's worse?"
She leaned forward a bit, her voice turning into ice. "Isn't that right, Miss Bennett?"
Being called out lit something in Cora-adrenaline kicked in, even dulled her aching wrist. Hatred pinned her upright.
She grabbed Oscar's arm, face twisted. "Bro, stop wasting time. Grab her!
"Serena, right? I changed my mind-I don't want you dead anymore. I want you to suffer. I want you to wish you were!"
Once Oscar got his hands on Serena, Cora would lock that btch up in the Bennett family's basement and torture her every damn day.
Just a nobody orphan. An escaped convict, no less. And she had the audacity to shove Cora's head in a toilet?
That kind of humiliation? Even killing her a hundred times wouldn't be enough.
Cora would brand that vixen-like face of hers with a red-hot iron, strip away every inch of beauty until there was nothing left to love.
She'd feed her scraps off the floor-hell, maybe even make her live off her own filth. Yeah. Exactly that. Let her choke on it.
"Go ahead, try me."
Four simple words-but they hit like a hammer.
Cora's pupils shrank as if some hellish flower was flying straight toward the center of her forehead. Her whole back stiffened, hairs standing on end. That stabbing pain in her wrist came rushing back too.
She immediately shrank behind Oscar. "B-Bro, protect me!"
Hiding behind her brother was always her safest bet.
She'd killed someone before by accident, and even then, Oscar flipped the whole thing and pinned the blame on the dead guy.
And come on, Oscar was a government official. He had power. No way Serena had the guts to lay a finger on him.
Sure enough, Serena didn't move.
But then Oscar's brows furrowed a little.
Serena? Douglas family?
Oscar studied her, eyes narrowing. "You're with the Douglas family?"
She looked young, but she did kinda resemble Esther facially, especially around the eyes.
He'd worked with the Douglas family for years, cleaned up plenty of "messes" for them, and considered himself a close ally. Never once did he hear about Esther having another daughter besides Aria.
Could she be a secret child? Or maybe just some phony clout-chaser?
"What, you think being from the Douglas family means your sister's getting a free pass from prison?" Serena scoffed, her tone full of mockery.
That hit a nerve. Oscar's protectiveness flared.
"You've got a death wish."
He was just about to throw a punch when-bang! Cora dropped to the floor hard, her wrist gushing blood again. Her face went ghost white.
"Cora!"
Oscar caught her just in time, then yanked his gun from his waistband like lightning, aiming it straight at Serena.
"I don't give a damn who you think you are-the truth's whatever I say it is! Enough talking. You two, get her to the hospital!"
Then to his men: "Take that woman down! Now!"
But before the last word even left his mouth, Serena moved.
A knee, a kick-so fast she was a blur.
Thud! The gun went flying from Oscar's hand.
Before anyone could blink, Serena hooked a finger midair. The gun spun right into her palm, and in one smooth move, she flipped it and pressed the barrel dead center against Oscar's forehead.
