Chapter 2
"You're lying. You're making this up," Emily yelled, her voice nearly loud enough to blow the roof off.
She was like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, every hair standing on end.
She said, "I'm the only daughter of the Summers family. I'm Mom and Dad's favorite. You're just some random imposter trying to steal everything from me. Dream on."
Panic flashed in her eyes for a moment, but was quickly drowned out by a surge of bitter resentment.
Twenty years of being spoiled with riches and showered with affection had long made her forget her humble origins.
She really thought she was born to be a princess.
And to her, I was just the wicked witch who'd popped up out of nowhere to snatch her crown.
I wasn't about to waste my breath arguing over stuff that was never up for debate.
I bent down, reaching for the photo she'd trampled, covered in grimy shoe prints.
To Emily, my silence was straight-up disrespect.
"You dare ignore me?" she yelled.
She roared, storming over to my desk like a wild animal on a rampage.
All the onboarding paperwork and project files I'd just organized were swept off the desk, scattering everywhere.
Still not satisfied, she snatched up the papers and stuffed them into the shredder.
The ear-splitting grind of the machine filled the room as all my hard work was turned into nothing but confetti.
"Stop it!" I barked.
But she just cackled even louder, snatched the thermos off my desk, and slammed it into my computer screen.
The screen splintered and went dark.
"Emily! Do you even realize how important those files are?" I shot her a furious glare.
"Important?" Emily scoffed, curling her lip. "Is there anything in this company more important than me? It's just a pile of useless paper. If I want to rip it up, I will. What are you gonna do about it?"
She stalked toward me, her face twisted with a sick kind of glee.
She said, "Let me tell you, Olivia Summers. This is what happens when you mess with me."
A loud slap landed hard across my face.
A searing pain spread instantly.
My head snapped to the side from the blow, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
"You dare hit me?" I shouted, glaring at her.
"So what if I did?" Emily laughed, enjoying how pathetic I looked. "Today, I'm not just gonna slap you. I'm gonna show you who's boss around here."
I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek, staring at her with icy calm.
I said, "Those files were for the Southern District project. I spent ages sorting out all the crucial numbers. They were Uncle Richard's shot at a board seat.
"Now that you've trashed them, the system automatically fired off a warning to Richard's assistant.
"I bet he's already on his way here."
Emily froze for a second, then burst out laughing as I'd just told the world's biggest joke.
She said, "Uncle Richard? Wow, you're really playing the part, huh? Who do you think you are? You actually think you know my uncle? Someone like you isn't even good enough to carry his shoes.
"Couldn't you at least make your lies sound believable? You're just the new hire. What makes you think you have any right to touch Richard's project files?"
Her glare burned even hotter with rage.
She said, "Sucking up to my parents wasn't enough for you, huh? Now you're going after Richard, too? You slut, you really have a death wish."
The madness in Emily's eyes sent a chill down my spine.
It was like slapping me and smashing my things, but it still wasn't enough to cool her down.
Her eyes zeroed in on my face, almost a mirror image of hers.
Her eyes glinted with a cold, vicious intent.
She sneered, "Isn't this the face you love so much?
"Well, today, I'm gonna ruin it."