Celina pushed open the door to the small guest room at the end of the first-floor hallway. She stepped inside and immediately pushed the lock button on the doorknob, shutting out the sound of Elvie's crying from the foyer.
The room was tiny. It had a single twin bed, a cheap wooden desk, and a small window. It looked like a servant's quarters compared to the gold and marble of the rest of the house.
Celina tossed her flat backpack onto the mattress. She walked over to the window and stared out at the darkening sky.
She slowly opened her right hand.
The Patek Philippe sat heavy in her palm. The deep scratch across the glass caught the dim light from the window. She stared at it, her mind flashing back to the intense, possessive look in Donovan Suarez's eyes.
A dull ache throbbed in her temples. She had come back to this life to destroy the Hayes family on her own terms. She did not want to be dragged into the dark, dangerous orbit of New York's most powerful predator.
Celina walked over to the small desk, pulled open the top drawer, and tossed the ten-million-dollar watch inside like it was a piece of junk. She slammed the drawer shut.
Meanwhile, miles away, the Maybach cruised smoothly toward a massive penthouse in Manhattan.
The air inside the car was quiet.
Preston gripped the steering wheel, glancing at the rearview mirror. He couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Donovan," Preston started cautiously. "Why did you leave the watch with her? That was your grandfather's. She's just some angry kid from the Rust Belt."
Donovan leaned his head against the leather seat. His eyes were closed. His long fingers slowly rubbed the fabric of his jacket, right where Celina had tugged it.
"She is interesting, isn't she?" Donovan murmured softly.
Preston felt a chill run down his spine. He had known Donovan for twenty years. Whenever Donovan called someone "interesting," it meant he had locked onto them. He would never let them go.
"Dig into her," Donovan ordered, his eyes snapping open. "I want to know everything about Celina Brewer. Why the Hayes family brought her back. Everything."
Back at the Hayes estate, dinnertime arrived.
No one came to knock on Celina's door. It was Elvie's petty revenge, trying to starve her into submission.
Celina couldn't care less. She reached into the deep pocket of her oversized, damp jacket, pulled out a dry protein bar she had snatched from the diner counter yesterday, and took a bite.
She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up her battered AP Physics book. She flipped to the back cover and carefully peeled away a false layer of cardboard.
She pulled out a sleek, matte-black smartphone. It was heavily modified.
Celina pressed her thumb to the screen, typed in a complex alphanumeric passcode, and then scanned her iris.
The screen unlocked.
Instantly, dozens of encrypted messages flooded the screen. They were all from the dark web and the underground street racing circuits.
She tapped on a message from the boss of the Brooklyn docks drift racing ring.
Boss: Shadow, when are you coming to NY? We need you on the track. The pot is huge.
Celina's fingers flew across the keyboard. She typed a single, cold word.
Shadow: Soon.
She hit send.
Suddenly, she heard the soft padding of footsteps outside her door.
"Sister?" Karrie's sickeningly sweet voice drifted through the wood. She knocked lightly. "Are you hungry? Mom is really mad, but I brought you some snacks."
Celina's eyes turned to ice. She quickly slid the phone back into the hidden compartment of the book.
She walked to the door, unlocked it, and yanked it open.
Karrie jumped back, startled. She held a small plate with a single dry cracker on it. Her eyes immediately darted past Celina, trying to look into the room.
"Sister, are you really keeping that watch in here?" Karrie asked, her voice dripping with a sickly-sweet, fabricated concern. "It must be so incredibly stressful to hold onto something so valuable. Dad said he could put it in the main estate safe for you, just so you don't have to worry about losing it or someone breaking in."
Celina leaned her shoulder against the doorframe. She looked at Karrie with a mocking smirk.
"Looking to steal it?" Celina asked bluntly. "The door is on your left. Get lost."
Karrie's face turned bright red. Her hands shook, rattling the plate. She gritted her teeth, spun around, and stomped down the hallway.
Celina slammed the door shut and locked it again.
Tomorrow was her first day at Columbia Prep.
