Chapter 2

My right hand shot out, grabbed Emily by the back of the head, and slammed her face into the steak.

The plate crashed against the table.

I heard myself say, voice ice-cold, "Who do you think you are?

"You're just some stray living off my family, and you think you run my house?"

Emily struggled to lift her head, face covered in sauce and steak juice, eyes bulging. "Olivia! Have you lost your mind?"

A palpable stillness fell over the dining room as the servants stood motionless.

I had never used harsh words with people, and I would never stoop to violence.

But now? Along with the panic, I felt a weird thrill.

I tried to tell Emily this wasn't me, but Penny was in total control.

Gripping Emily's hair, Penny ordered calmly, "From now on, treat Emily like a regular guest. If she bothers you again, tell me."

Emily wiped sauce off her face, her voice trembling. "Are you all just going to stand there? She's crazy! Get her off me!"

Cole Harris, the butler, stepped forward first, frowning. "Liv, how could you treat your cousin like that? Apologize right now!"

"Cole," Penny interrupted, typing on her phone. "You've been here two years, and last year you took 62,000 dollars from the house accounts for your own investments. Thought no one noticed?"

Cole's face drained of all color.

I remembered—when I first found out last year, he'd only taken about 10,000 dollars. He'd begged me not to tell my parents, saying he was desperate.

My resolve crumbled at the sight of his terrified face. The only thing left was my sharp warning. "This must never happen again."

I never imagined that letting him off would make him greedier. He kept stealing more and more.

Then Penny turned to Mary, one of the maids who'd been giggling. "Mary, your son got into a fight at school last month, right? Didn't you beg Emily to make it go away?"

One by one, Penny exposed every servant who'd sided with Emily.

The tension was thick. The dried sauce on Emily's face looked ridiculous, but no one dared laugh.

"Listen up," Penny said coldly. "This is the Sterling family, and there's only one Ms. Sterling—me. If you still don't get it, just get your things packed and leave."

I couldn't help speaking up. "Do you have to be so harsh? They've worked here forever. You're humiliating them."

Penny rolled her eyes at me, like 'just shut up.'

Emily finally found her voice, tears in her eyes. "I'm telling your parents! You'll regret this!"

"No, Em! I'm sorry—I can explain!" I wanted so badly to chase her and apologize, but Penny kept me trapped inside. All I could do was watch as Emily ran upstairs crying.

Penny stood her ground with a cold smile. "Go ahead, tell them! Let's see who they trust more—some outsider or their own daughter."

After Emily left, only the shocked servants and I were left in the dining room.

Penny looked around. "Enjoying the show? Or you all like my voice?"

Terrified, the servants ducked their heads and scattered.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Penny's cold voice cut through the air.

Everyone stilled, turned to statues.

I'd never seen the staff so respectful. They were even breathing with carefully controlled breaths.

Penny turned to the chef. "John, it's my birthday. Make me a cake. Everyone else, get the party decorations from storage—we're celebrating tonight."

John stared in shock. "You mean right now?"

"Are you doubting me?" Penny narrowed her eyes.

"No, no! I'll start right away!" John practically ran to the kitchen, almost tripping over his apron.

I protested in my head, "Penny, I really don't think we should bother everyone at this hour. They're all getting on in years—let's just drop it."

"You don't get it," Penny shot back. "Your parents hired them to work for you, not to be your family."

She turned to Cole. "Cole, get some people and move Emily's stuff out of the master bedroom. Put her in that guest room downstairs—the one facing north."

Cole hesitated. "But Ms. Turner said that room smells musty."

"Is Ms. Turner paying your salary?" Penny replied.

Cole's face changed immediately, and he hurried off to handle it.

As everyone scattered, I panicked. "Are you crazy? My parents will come back next month—what if Emily tells them?"

Penny poured herself a glass of lemonade. "That's exactly why we're doing this now."

She took a slow sip. "Your parents left you here to become someone who takes charge—not someone who gets pushed around until she tries to kill herself.

"You know why the staff listen to Emily? Because you're too easy to walk all over.

"Boundless kindness only pulls you into a deeper hell."

With that, she dropped her voice. "Just watch."

My eyes were drawn to the kitchen door, where two maids were whispering.

"What's wrong with Ms. Sterling today? Since when does she talk like that?"

"Shh, looks like Ms. Turner pushed too far this time. Don't forget, Ms. Sterling is the real heiress."

"Real heiress or not, Ms. Turner's the one running things now!"

Hearing them, I felt sad.

All my patience and kindness just made me look weak to them.

Meanwhile, Emily bossed everyone around, and they treated her like royalty.

Penny chuckled. "See? They know who's really in charge. Your 'niceness' just makes them think they can mess with you."

She suddenly threw the door open, scaring the maids so much they knocked over the sugar jar. "Enjoying gossiping about me? Pack your things and get out."

I pleaded in my head. "Come on, everyone gets talked about. No one's liked by everyone.

"They've got good hearts, just big mouths. Maybe we should drop it."

Penny just picked at her ear, totally ignoring me.

I watched helplessly as the two gossiping maids suddenly got fired. There was nothing I could do.

Still complaining inwardly, I was startled by a sudden scream from upstairs—it was Emily.