than the entire liquid cash reserve of the Roy family's failing company. “You'te dead,” Brendan whispered staring at the number in absolute horror. "He's goingto kil you. A million dollars...
Anissalet out a soft, bored sigh She reached into her pocket, pulled out the heavy titanium Black Centurion card, and tossed it onto the silver tray. It landed with a heavy, metallic clack
“You think a million dollars matters to hin?" Anissa asked, her voice drippingwith cold condescension ‘Brendan, this isn't eventhe interest his. accounts generated while we were standing here”
The manager pickedupthe card. He pulled a wireless POS terminal from hisjacket. He inserted the heavy metal card
Brendan held his breath. He waited for the machine to flash red. He waited for the decline. He waited for the fraud alert that would prove Anissa was just a fraud
Be ep.
The screen flashed a bright solid green. APPROVED.
The receipt printer buzzed to life, spitting out a tiny piece of paper that confirmed the transfer of 1.2 million dollars without a single security flag or limit warning
The sound of that be ep shattered the very foundation of Brendan's reality.
It proved that Harding Snow didn't just give Anissa a card; he had given her the keys to the empire: Her power was absolute. Her wealth was infinite.
Brendan's legs gave out. He collapsed onto the edge of a leather ottoman, staring blankly at the floor. The mechanics around the booth were pointingat him and laughing mocking the man who had tried to lecture the Queen
Anissa picked up her glass of water, She looked down at Brendan's crushed pathetic form.
“Poverty has severely limited your imagination Brendan Anissa said, her voice devoid of any emotion. The exit is behindyou. Don let the door hit you on the way out.”
Brendan didnt argue. He couldn't. He slowly stood up, his shoulders slumped, and walked off the balcony, completely destroyed by the weight of a world he would never belongto.
657% 1529 N1
< Marrying My Evs Powerlui Bilonare Un.. #* +120 Points at most
It was 3:00 AM. The freezing mist had turned into a steady, icy rain.
The party was finally over. Forrest had been poured into the back of a team van, snoringloudly, clutching his silver trophy to his chest.
Anissa pulled her leather jacket tight around her body. Caleb walked half a st ep ahead of her, his eyes scanning the shadows as they exited throughthe heavy steel doors of the Elysian Club's private back alley The armored SUV was idling twenty yards away, its headlights cutting throughthe rain.
As they st epped into the alley, a dark shape suddenly lunged out from behinda row of industrial dumpsters.
Caleb reacted with terrifying speed.
Before Anissa could even blink Caleb had shoved her behind him His right hand blurred. The harsh glare of a streetlamp caught the wicked serrated edge of a matte-black tactical knife. Caleb dropped into a ‘combat stance, the blade pointed directly at the throat of the attacker "Move and you die Caleb growled, his voice a low, mechanical threat The attacker froze, throwing his hands upinthe air.
It was Brendan.
He was completely soaked. His expensive suit was ruined plastered to his shivering body. He had been standing in the freezing rain for three hours, wailing for her. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair plastered to his forehead. He looked manic.
Anissa st epped out from behind Caleb. She placed a hand on his am, gently pushingthe knife down.
“Its fine, Caleb; Anissa said coldly. "He's not a threat. He's just a nuisance”
Brendan lowered his hands, his chest heaving The arrogant, lecturing older brother was completely gone. He looked broken
"Anissa” Brendan pleaded, his voice cracking rain drippingfrom his chin “Please. | just... | need to know. Where did you get that kindof power? Is. 0.0% 1520 N84
SH. 4% +120 Points at most
it real? Is Harding really letting you do this?"
He was still searchingfor a loophole, a reason to believe she was faking it
Anissa stared at him feeling a profound sense of exhaustion. "You still don't get it, do you? You think'm playing dress-up.”
“If you have that kindof maney.” Brendan cried out, his voice echoingoff the brickwalls, ‘why are you letting us drown? The company is bankrupt The feds are freezing everything Dad had a heart attack, he's in the hospital! How can you just watch your family die?”
The words watch your family die triggered a violent physical reaction in Anissa.
The temperature in the alley seemed to drop ten degrees. The air around her turned to ice.
She took a st ep toward him Caleb tensed, but stayed back.
“Watch you die?" Anissa whispered Her voice was so cold it burned "You ask me why? Because when | was a child, sick and burningwith fever in the attic, you were all downstairs at a party. Whenmy future was stolen from me, you all watched. When | was forced to my knees in humiliation, you told me to apologize. The Roy family had a thousand chances to be my family. You chose to be my cage. This isn't revenge, Brendan. This is a debt being collected
Brendan opened his mouth to speak, to offer some pathetic excuse, but Anissa raised her hand, silencinghiminstantly
“I am not your sister," Anissa declared, her voice echoingwith the finality of a judg epassinga death sentence. '] am your executioner.”
She leaned in close, the rain runningdown her face.
“This is my final warning to you, Brendan. If you, Ashlee, Lorraine, or anyone carrying the Roy name comes withinten feet of me ever again..." Anissa paused, letting the silence stretch. "l won't just sueyou. | will have Harding'slawyers buryyou in federal prison Youwill rot ina concrete box until you forget what the sky looks like."
The threat was absolute. Brendan's knees finally gave out
He slid down the wet brick wall, collapsing into a puddle of filthy alley water. He covered his face with his hands, letting out a wretched, pathetic sob. He finally realized that the monster destroying his family was the one they had created.
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Shem $8 +120 Points at most Anissa didn't look back. She tured and walked to the SUV.
Caleb opened the heavy armored door. She climbed inside Caleb shut the door, cutting off the sound of Brendan's crying and got into the driver's seat.
The SUV accelerated down the alley. The heavy rear tire drove directly through a massive, muddy puddle, violently splashing a wave of filthy water over Brendan's ruinedsuit
Anissa sat In the back seat, staring out the tinted window as they drove into the Manhattan night
She had won. The Roy family was completely, utterly destroyed.
She had thought that completely destroying the Roy family would bring her a profound sense of satisfaction. But as the adrenaline faded, a hollow, aching emptiness bloomed in her chest. The silence left by Harding's absence amplified it a thousand times over. She had let Forrest's team pour her a few too many glasses of champagne desperately trying to drown out the pathetic realization that sheactually cared that he was gone. She looked down at her phone The screen was black
No messages. No missed calls
Harding had been gone for three days. The penthousewas goingto be completely empty. The victory tasted like ash.