Summer Simmons drank in the praise like champagne, her ego swelling with every honeyed word. In her mind, Mr. Gilbert was already on his knees, desperate to claim her for the Gilbert dynasty.
I went cold.
The day I'd cut ties with the Simmons family, I hadn't just contacted the Gilbert Group. I'd notified every major partner of my departure.
Their response had been unanimous: *We follow you, Ms. Simmons. Wherever you go.*
Headhunters had descended like vultures—double salaries, triple, corner offices with skyline views. I'd turned them all down. My sights were set on one target.
Colin Gilbert.
I'd approached him directly. Told him I wanted in on his empire.
He'd agreed without hesitation. Said he'd send an assistant to handle the transition.
This man must be him.
I thrashed against the bodyguards, desperate to speak—but before a single syllable left my lips, Summer's palm cracked across my face.
The force sent me sprawling. My skull bounced off the marble. A metallic flood filled my mouth as blood welled from my split lip. The world spun in ink-black swirls, my brain struggling to reboot.
Paul Walker took a deliberate step back, nose wrinkling.
He clearly hadn't expected the woman Mr. Gilbert valued so highly to be this unhinged. This *brutal.*
Summer sneered down at me. "Useless parasite. It's bad enough you drag the whole family down—now you're trying to seduce Mr. Gilbert's people?"
Paul's gaze slid toward me. Contempt hardened his features.
Summer noticed the shift immediately. Her eyes welled with tears on command. Her posture crumpled into something fragile and pitiful.
"Assistant Walker, I'm so sorry you had to witness that." A delicate sniffle. "I've made a complete fool of myself."
She dabbed at her cheek. "I'm just so *angry.* This woman... she relied on my parents' sponsorship to latch onto our family like a leech. Used her poverty to manipulate their pity. Stole the love and care that should have been *mine.*"
Paul's jaw tightened.
Mr. Gilbert had mentioned that Miss Simmons had suffered greatly—the reason for her sudden resignation.
*So this woman is the cause.*
He helped Summer back into her chair.
The black spots in my vision finally receded. That was the first thing I saw.
"You will regret this." My voice came out shredded, barely human.
I ignored Summer's smirk and locked onto the assistant. "Assistant Walker. I don't know what instructions Mr. Gilbert gave you—but I suggest you ask one simple question."
A beat.
"What is Miss Simmons's *full name*?"
Paul paused. The request struck him as odd.
He didn't know Miss Simmons's first name—only that the Simmons family had publicly acknowledged one son and one daughter. Mr. Gilbert's long-time partner had always been the eldest Miss Simmons.
He stepped aside and pulled out his phone.
Seeing that I still had fight left, Summer grabbed a cup of scalding coffee from the desk.
And threw it over my hand.
I *screamed.*
Liquid fire blistered my skin. Before I could make another sound, a hand clamped over my mouth from behind, muffling my cries into desperate, animal whimpers.
"You won't stop until you're completely broken, will you?" Summer hissed against my ear. "Fine. Don't blame me for what happens next."
She pulled out her phone. Initiated a video call.
The image on the screen turned my blood to ice.
Duoduo.
My three-legged calico kitten. The only keepsake I had left from my biological father.
I hadn't dared bring him to the Simmons estate. I'd rented a small apartment, hired a pet sitter—thought he would be *safe.*
I never imagined she would hunt him down.
"Duoduo!" I screamed at the screen.
Hearing my voice, the kitten thrashed violently. His claws raked the handler's arm. The man yelped—and flung the small body to the ground.
A shrill meow of pain ripped through the speaker.
"Summer!" My throat tore. "*What do you want?!*"
She tilted the phone toward me, a cruel smile curling her lips.
"You tell me. Should I smash this beast's legs... or roast him alive?"
Paul returned.
"Miss Simmons, Mr. Gilbert says he will handle everything that occurred today. He hopes this incident won't affect your mood."
Summer beamed. Her delusion cemented into fact: *Mr. Gilbert has fallen in love with me at first sight.*
She looked at the screen.
And issued a command that stopped my heart.
"Burn it."
I watched in horror as Duoduo was kicked into a room. The door slammed shut behind him.
