Chapter 3

Chloe froze, but I didn't give her a chance to recover. I grabbed her by the collar and yanked her backward, ignoring her screams.

I slammed her against the wall hard enough to knock the breath out of her. "Do you remember Emily? Emily Lane. I'm asking you! Do you remember her?"

I gripped her chin and forced her to look at me.

Her eyes blazed with hatred, so I slapped her again.

"Do you remember? Answer me, Chloe."

She laughed and met my gaze head-on. The sound was shameless and cold.

"She's dead, isn't she? What, are you her friend? Here to avenge her? She jumped off that building herself—it has nothing to do with me. Revenge? You think you're worthy of that, Sophia? What gives you the right?"

She looked so harmless, so innocent on the surface, but the words coming out of her mouth were pure cruelty.

Chloe said, "Let me tell you something. You won't avenge her. You can't. And guess what? You're my next target. It's a shame, really. If I'd met you earlier, maybe Emily Lane wouldn't have died at all."

She sneered, "And you're never going back to that house again."

Bullies never feel guilty. That's just how the world works.

Fate hands some people everything from the start, and they use it like a weapon.

They beat you down, threaten you, take pictures, gather ammunition—whatever it takes.

But they never face consequences. They went home to their bright, perfect houses and spent money as if it were nothing, living better than most people could ever dream of.

It shouldn't be this way.

I was stronger than her—way stronger. She'd only gotten away with bullying because she had numbers on her side, but right now, in this moment, she didn't stand a chance against me.

I looked at her face, completely unrepentant, and something inside me snapped.

I grabbed a towel from the rack and tied her hands together. She thrashed and struggled, and her nails caught my hand, tearing the skin open. I didn't care.

I grabbed the back of her neck and dragged her toward the bathroom. She tried to fight back, but she was no match for me. I'd already filled the sink with water.

I shoved her head down without hesitation.

Five seconds the first time. Ten seconds, the next. Then fifteen. Then thirty.

After a few rounds, she looked wrecked entirely—hair plastered to her face, mascara running, gasping for air.

"Does it feel good, Chloe?" I said, my voice cold. "Emily felt a hundred times worse than this. You held her down in that filthy water, ripped her clothes off, ignored her begging, and took pictures of her."

I added, "Why aren't you laughing now? Come on, Chloe. Laugh."

Chloe started screaming, and I clamped my hand over her jaw, forcing her to look at me. "If you bring anyone in here, I'll show them the video of what you did to her."

She stopped screaming. For a moment, she just stared at me with pure hatred in her eyes, but then, suddenly, she smiled.

Even though she was soaked through and a mess, she actually smiled.

Chloe laughed and said, "You think I'm scared of you? Sophia, let me tell you something. If you dare to post that, I'll release Emily's nudes and videos too. I'll destroy her."

She sneered, "And it'll all be because of you. Think she'll forgive you for that? Especially when those are the things she'd rather die than have leaked."

Someone pounded on my door, and I opened it to find Ethan standing there.

He asked, "What did you do to Chloe? I'm telling you right now, this family doesn't want you here, and if you mess with her again, I'm going straight to Mom and Dad."

The boy stood there all righteous and protective, ready to defend his sister. I didn't care, though. Because he meant nothing to me.

"Did you see it happen yourself?" I asked, and then I shut the door in his face and locked it.

His fists hammered against the door, and I could hear him yelling, furious and helpless.

The welcome party came up fast, and Chloe stayed out of my way for the next few days.

But I knew she wasn't done with me.

She was the type who would go to great lengths to track down someone she hated, find them wherever they were, let them see a glimmer of hope, and then crush it under her heel.

The party was extravagant. Bianca had picked out an expensive gown for me, and the ballroom gleamed with gold and crystal. People moved through the crowd in their designer clothes, and I stood there among them, entirely out of place.

Chloe, on the other hand, had a steady stream of people around her, and she thrived in that kind of environment, laughing freely and confidently. When she spotted me, she jogged over with quick little steps.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the crowd. As we got closer, I saw Ethan standing there, eyeing me with unmistakable suspicion.

"Everyone, I want you to meet my sister." Her voice was soft, and her smile was sweet.

Before I could say a word, someone bumped into me hard, and I stumbled, and red wine splashed across most of my dress.

I looked up and found myself face-to-face with a guy dressed like old money.

He looked at me with this careless smirk on his face. "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to."

There were plenty of people around us, and they weren't even trying to hide their laughter. From the way they were dressed, I could tell they were all rich kids used to getting whatever they wanted.

"Chloe, so this is your sister? Doesn't look like it. She looks more like some hick who can't pull off nice clothes no matter what she wears." The guy looked at me with complete contempt in his eyes.

The wine stain spread across most of my dress.

"Chloe has always been kind-hearted and she's always been exceptional. She's not someone a clueless country girl like you with that cheap small-town vibe can push around."

I didn't say anything and just stared at the person in front of me for a long moment, and then, right there in front of everyone, I picked up a wine glass, grabbed another one, and poured them both into the same glass.

Then I stood on my toes and dumped the whole thing over his head in one smooth motion.

I said, "No need to apologize. I don't accept it anyway. Better to return the favor so there's no confusion about where we stand."