e heavy iron gates of St. Jude's,

ewalk, tires screeched against the

ked horizontally, its long body completely blocking the crosswalk. The man

ir tracks. Phones came out instantly, cameras raised t

rolled down with a sm

k of cold fury and barely contained disgust. Her eyes-hard

Eleanor snapped

the rear door with stiff formality. He stepped direct

int of the St. Jude's sign, the cracked concrete, the students in their slightly-too-cheap uniforms. The

s. "You throw away a guaranteed marriage to the Redding family-a union that would have secured your future and honored our

deliberate slowness. She let out a dry, mocki

voice loud enough for the front row of students to hear. "You made

r purse with a sharp, jerky motion and pulled out a thick stack of bank statement

ou is gone. Reclaimed. When you're starving on the streets next week-when you're begging for scraps and

She stepped forward, her fists cle

lde's chest, holding her back

ard. Then another. Each foot

Eleanor with eyes that had gone cold and flat and utterly terrifying. The lazy, bored aura she usually wore vanished co

r lips stopped inche

Thorne," Ayl

reath caught audibly in her throat. The color drained from her face s

oft, venomous hiss that only Eleanor could hear. "Or perhaps you should ask yourself if the hush money you paid him was truly enough to keep everyone quiet. Fifty thousa

unadulterated terror. Her hands b

one in the basement of the Golden Lion. I know whose name is on that debt. I know the exact figure, Ele

family. If the academic fraud and the crippling gambling debts leaked, the family's reputat

d uselessly. She looked at Ayla as if seeing her for the first

anor choked out, her vo

her hands back into her jacket pockets, the picture of casual indifferen

e if you do-if I ever see you, hear from you, or catch your scent anywhere near me-I will burn your perf

. They hadn't heard the whispered threats

nto a million pieces. She didn't say another word. She didn't threaten. She didn't sneer. S

ffeur, her voice cracking into a

d marks on the pavement and a cloud of exhaust in i

nging open in awe. "What magic spell did you just c

ection. "I just reminded her that glass houses shatter easily

ry truck, a man sat in an unmarked dark sedan. He was nondescri

The lens had captured the entire confrontation-eve

. He selected the clearest photos of Ayla standing fearless aga

it s