Chapter 2

"Maisie, what are you doing?" A calm yet angry voice echoed from the end of the hallway.

Shane Spears strode over, with Victoria trailing behind, her eyes red and looking utterly vulnerable, and Camila beside her, face full of concern.

Victoria shrank behind Camila, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Dad, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have come back.

"Maisie must be angry because of me. If one of us has to go, then I'll leave."

The same act as always. Maisie looked at Victoria Spears's clumsy, overdone expression and said nothing. She even felt a flicker of amusement.

Camila wrapped her arms around Victoria, glaring furiously at Maisie. "Look at yourself. You're acting like a lunatic. I heard you splashed coffee on Chloe. Is that true?

"Victoria just got back, and you're already trying to bully her. How did I never realize you could be so mean?"

Shane's expression darkened. "Maisie, apologize to Victoria. The move can be negotiated, but you must fix your attitude. The Spears family doesn't put up with ungrateful kids."

"Ungrateful?" Maisie repeated, laughing so hard that tears pricked her eyes.

She picked up the document from the table and flung it right into Shane's arms.

"Mr. Spears, I won't apologize. As you said, I'm ungrateful. Just take a look at the bill on this." Maisie straightened her coat and strode toward the door.

When she passed Victoria, she stopped.

Victoria instinctively shrank back, a glint of pride in her eyes, but she kept up the act. "Maisie, I really don't want to take your place."

Maisie leaned in to whisper in her ear, her voice low enough for only Victoria to hear. "Victoria, you went through all that trouble to get back into the Spears family so you could live it up.

"Let me tell you, the Spears family is just a facade now. Those three overdue loans? Shane wants to use you in a marriage to cover them."

Victoria's face stiffened for a second, but before she could react, Maisie straightened up.

She raised her voice so Shane could hear her clearly. "Since you love your Victoria so much, I wish the three of you all the happiness in the world, but when the Spears family falls apart, don't come looking for me."

"How dare you?" Shane was shaking with rage, tearing the document in his hands to shreds. "Get out. From now on, you're no longer my daughter. I'll announce it to the world."

"Gladly," Maisie said, not bothering to look back as she walked down the stairs.

She took nothing with her, only her phone and the original patent authorization.

All the pricey jewelry and fancy dresses the Spears family had bought to make her look perfect stayed behind; she didn't touch any of it.

As she walked out of Spears Manor, snow fell onto her shoulders.

Maisie hailed a cab.

The driver asked, "Where to?"

Maisie gave him an address. It was the most exclusive, most private villa district in Jalvenor, the kind of place the Spears family could never even dream of setting foot in.

*****

Thirty minutes later, Maisie stood before a sleek black modern-style building.

She rang the doorbell.

A young man opened it, in a baggy robe with his chest partially bare, showing a hint of toned muscles.

He swirled a half-full glass of red wine, and when he saw Maisie, a look of intense amusement flickered in his eyes. "The Spears family's heiress? Out this late to run to the family's rival?"

He was Tyler Norris, the head of the Norris Group, the madman Shane dreaded and wanted gone more than anyone else in his previous life.

Maisie met his gaze, eyes sharp and unwavering. "Mr. Norris, I've got the counter-agents for Spears Biotech's three core formulas, plus dirt on all of Spears Capital's offshore laundering routes this quarter. I need you to help me with something."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, boxing her in between the doorframe and his chest. He leaned in, catching a whiff of the wetness lingering in her hair. "What is it?"

"I want Shane to cough up every cent he owes me, twice over, at the Spears family's party tomorrow night," Maisie said.

Tyler let out a low laugh, the sound resonating deep in his chest.

He lifted Maisie's chin with his fingers, a teasing glint in his eyes. "That's it? Maisie, I can't believe you show up at my door for a bit of money."

"More than that," Maisie replied, tilting her head back as snow melted on her lashes. "I want the Spears family to vanish from Jalvenor."

Tyler's amusement grew even stronger. He stepped aside, sweeping his arm in a welcoming gesture. "Come on in, my dear... Mrs. Norris."

Maisie stepped inside.

This time, she was done playing their games; she was here to turn the whole table upside down.

Winter sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Norris Manor's living room, but it brought no warmth.

Maisie lounged on the gray leather couch with a plate of brunch in front of her.

This was the most peaceful meal she'd had in twenty years. No cold mockery from Camila, no rigid rules from Shane, and none of Victoria's sickly-sweet chatter.

Tyler lounged in a blue robe, holding a financial report, his legs crossed with effortless elegance.

"Spears Biotech's stock started tanking the moment the market opened this morning. Looks like word of your little walkout yesterday spread faster than I thought," Tyler said, not bothering to look up.

Maisie sliced into her Eggs Benedict, watching the bright yellow yolk spill out. She said calmly, "That's no surprise. The Spears Group has only managed to hold its ground in Jalvenor all these years because of the three biotech patents I own.

"Now that the key developer has 'run away', those shareholders are naturally dumping their shares. Still, this is only the beginning."

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone started buzzing wildly on the table. Shane's name flashed on the screen, like a ghost that wouldn't let go.

Maisie ignored it, taking a slow sip of her hot cocoa.

Tyler glanced at the screen, smirking. "Not picking up? With your dad's temper, he's not giving up."

"He's freaking out," Maisie said, setting her cup down. She tapped to answer and switched on the speaker.

"Maisie, what did you do to my company's servers?" Shane's voice exploded through the room, shaking the walls.

He yelled, "Why is the core experimental data locked up? The whole approval process is a mess. Get back here right now and fix the system."