"I need you to finalize the divorce proceedings. And start acquiring shares in James Group."
Everything Guy cared about most, I was going to take it all.
That night, I lay on the narrow bed in the servants' quarters, my heart frozen solid, staring at the ceiling until dawn.
When the sky outside the window began to lighten, I forced myself up and pulled on the maid's uniform. I stood before the mirror.
The woman staring back had swollen red eyes and tangled hair, looking no better than a stray dog.
Was this really me?
The door burst open. Bodyguards flooded in and dragged me to Mabel.
Something cruel and amused flickered behind her eyes. She seized my arm, her grip bruising. "Oh, sister. Still here, clinging on with that shameless face of yours? Why bother occupying a place that was never yours?" She let out a little laugh. "Silly me, I forgot. You're so in love with Guy, you just can't bear to leave."
Before I could get a single word out, she raised her voice. "Someone, grab her!"
The guards swarmed in, locking my arms on both sides.
Their grip was crushing, enough to splinter bone. A vicious kick buckled my knees, and white-hot pain shot straight through my skull as I crashed to the floor.
I clenched my teeth so hard they ached, forcing words through the gap. "What the hell do you want, Mabel?"
"Let's make a little wager, sister. Let's see who Guy really cares about most."
Mabel pulled a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. She grabbed my chin and forced the wine into my mouth.
I was severely allergic to alcohol.
I clamped my jaw shut with everything I had, but the liquid still poured down my throat and into my stomach.
A searing burn blazed from my throat to my gut, then spread through my entire body.
Within seconds, my skin flushed red and began to swell. Clusters of blisters crawled up my arms and crept along my neck.
Then she ordered the guards to drag me to the edge of the swimming pool. From behind her back, she produced my daughter's keepsake locket, the one she'd worn since birth.
"Don't you touch that!"
My vision was already blurring, my throat swelling shut. I thrashed against the guards despite the agony tearing through me, my voice raw with desperation.
Mabel leaned in close to my ear, her whisper dripping with venom. "Amber Fox, why should you get a brother who adores you? A good husband? Everything you have, I'm going to take it all."