The red wine was a fraction of a second away from ruining the velvet.
Aubree moved.
She didn't just step aside. She pivoted her torso with a terrifying, unnatural speed that seemed to violate the laws of physics. The arc of wine missed her dress by millimeters. The red liquid splashed violently onto the priceless Persian rug.
Pippa's momentum carried her forward. With her target gone, she lost her balance and pitched headfirst toward the floor.
Aubree didn't retreat. She stepped into Pippa's space. Her hand shot out and clamped around Pippa's wrist.
Aubree's eyes were dead. She used Pippa's own forward momentum, pulling her arm hard and swinging her body weight toward the towering glass structure of the champagne tower.
Pippa screamed in absolute terror. Her face was inches from shattering hundreds of crystal flutes.
At the very last millisecond, Aubree snapped her wrist. She redirected the kinetic energy, violently slinging Pippa away from the table and toward the open terrace doors.
Pippa stumbled wildly, her heels skidding across the marble floor. She crashed through the sheer curtains and spilled out onto the stone terrace.
Aubree held her glass of Dom Pérignon. Not a single drop had spilled. She walked slowly out onto the terrace.
The ballroom emptied as the socialites rushed to the doors to watch the carnage. Kennedy and Sterling pushed their way to the front of the crowd.
In the center of the terrace sat a massive, Roman-style marble fountain.
Pippa grabbed the stone edge of the fountain to keep from falling. She spun around, her face twisted in ugly rage.
"You psycho bitch!" Pippa shrieked, her voice echoing into the night. "You belong in a cage!"
Aubree walked right up to her. She looked down at Pippa like she was a stain on the pavement.
Aubree raised her crystal flute. She tilted her wrist.
The freezing, golden champagne poured directly over Pippa's perfectly styled hair. It ran down her face, stinging her eyes.
Pippa shrieked and brought her hands up to wipe her face.
Aubree's left hand shot out, clamping down onto Pippa's shoulder with bone-crushing force to lock her in place. Aubree lifted her leg. The sharp toe of her stiletto drove directly into the back of Pippa's knee joint.
Pippa's leg buckled instantly. Her center of gravity collapsed. She fell backward over the stone edge.
A massive splash soaked the terrace. Pippa thrashed in the waist-deep, freezing water. Her expensive dress clung to her skin like a wet garbage bag. She gasped for air, spitting out fountain water.
The crowd was dead silent. The sheer physical brutality of the retaliation left them paralyzed.
Kennedy covered her mouth, letting out a dramatic, trembling gasp. "Aubree! How could you?"
Sterling's face turned purple with rage. He stormed out onto the terrace, pointing a shaking finger at Aubree.
"You are a savage!" Sterling roared. He turned to the shadows. "Security! Grab this lunatic and call the police!"
Four massive men in black suits pushed through the crowd. They surrounded Aubree, cutting off her escape routes.
Aubree didn't flinch. She set her empty crystal flute on the edge of the fountain. She pulled a silk napkin from a nearby table and slowly, methodically, wiped the moisture from her fingers.
