He lunged forward and snatched up the doll, crushed flat on the ground.
His hands were shaking.
"This… this thing…"
"I have to show the boss right now!"
He spun on his heel and bolted.
Leonora didn't notice a thing. She was still smiling, chattering to Percival.
"That's one of the secretaries who follows my third brother around, isn't it? See, every little thing has to be reported back to him."
"My third brother cares about baby the most."
Cold sweat poured off me from the pain, but when I lifted my head, I found myself smiling.
Asher Perry. The third one.
Back when the four of them sewed that doll together, he was the one who took it most seriously.
The others would prick a finger, hiss, and keep stitching. Not him. He burst into tears on the spot. Not over his own hand. He was terrified the blood would stain the doll and I'd find it disgusting.
Afterward he made me swear, again and again, that I'd carry it on me always, and that anyone who broke it would lose everything they had.
I looked down at the little pile of stuffing on the ground.
On the doll's ruptured belly, the scrap of cloth with "Asher Perry" stitched across it had been punched clean through by a heel.
Someone's empire was about to go toward the bill.
Seeing me still able to smile after the beating, Leonora was so furious she stamped her foot.
"What are you laughing at!"
"Do you even know who baby's third brother is?"
"My third brother's luxury conglomerate is worth three billion! The whole elite circle's luxury supply chain runs through his hands!"
"If he wanted to crush you, it'd be easier than crushing an ant!"
The more she said, the more worked up she got, jabbing a finger at my face.
"Baby will have my third brother put your photo on every brand's blacklist! You won't be able to buy a single decent dress for the rest of your life!"
"Let's see how you copy baby's outfits then!"
Beside her, Percival poured oil on the fire.
"Sis, just blacklisting her is letting her off easy. Better to have Lawyer Lambert step in—hit her with violation of likeness rights plus deliberate defamation, sue for a few million, leave her in debt for life."
Leonora clapped her hands.
"Little brother's right! Let's do it!"
"But before that…"
She crouched down and dug a tube of lipstick out of her bag.
"Baby's been learning to paint lately."
She uncapped the lipstick and looked at me, all smiles.
"Since you love imitating baby so much, baby will just draw a little mark on your face."
"That way everyone will know at a glance—this is a fake that baby has tagged."
She reached out and gripped my chin, the lipstick coming for my cheek.
I twisted my head away, my voice cold enough to freeze.
"Leonora."
"Every single thing you've done today, I'll make you pay back with interest."
Leonora froze for a second, then laughed out loud.
"So scary. Baby's so frightened."
Still laughing, she pressed the lipstick to my cheek—
The instant it smeared across my skin—
The shriek of brakes exploded at the mall entrance!
Not one car.
Four.
A matching line of Maybachs, license plates running in sequence, pulled up right at the front doors.
Percival reacted first. He flung my hand away, straightened his clothes, and hurried over.
"Mr. Harding! Mr. Dickerson! Gentlemen!"
Leonora threw the lipstick aside just as fast, blinked the venom out of her eyes, and put on a pitiful, fragile face.
"Big brothers… sob… you finally came…"
The door of the first car opened.
The man who stepped out was tall, his suit cut sharp and clean, thin lips pressed into a hard line.
—Connor Harding.
Right behind him, the second, third, and fourth.
Sid Dickerson, Asher Perry, Duane Lambert—all four stepped out almost at once.
Their stride was fast.
Their expressions, eerily identical.
Out of habit, Leonora moved to meet them, reaching for Connor Harding's sleeve—
The four of them walked straight past her.
Every gaze landed, all at once, on me.
On the water dripping down my face, the bruise on my forehead, the cruel slash of lipstick across my cheek, and the cotton scattered all over the ground beside my hand.
The air felt like a hand had closed around its throat.
Connor's pupils shrank violently, his throat working in a hard swallow.
Sid Dickerson stopped dead where he stood, his fingertips beginning to tremble beyond his control.
Asher Perry saw the doll crushed flat on the ground, and in a single instant the color drained out of his face—
then flooded back as a livid gray.
Duane Lambert was the first of the four to speak.
His voice sounded like it had been dragged across sandpaper.
He said only one word.
"...Sis?"
