Chapter 47
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Everyone freezes.
“Is that… real money p>
“Oh my god. I’ll never see that much in my entire life p>
Gemma stumbles back a step, then her face lights up. She turns to the lead guy in black:
“Did Hayes send you? Is this for me p>
“Actually, never mind-since these idiots refused to sign, I guess I’m saving money after all. I’ll use this to buy a vacation house instead p>
But the man ignores her completely.
He turns to me and bows respectfully. “Ma’am, the cash you requested is all here p>
I nod. Then I look at Gemma-whose jaw is practically on the floor-and play back the recording from earlier.
My voice comes out flat and deadly:
“That’s twenty million. As agreed. I’m buying your son’s life p>
Everyone gasps. The room goes silent.
Gemma stumbles backward, eyes wide with shock. “That’s impossible-that’s impossible p>
The teachers start whispering.
When they look at me now, there’s actual fear in their eyes:
“Who is she? How does she have this kind of cash on hand? Plenty of people are rich, sure-but mobilizing twenty million in cash in under an hour? I don’t even want to think about how powerful she must be p>
Even the teachers who were sucking up to Gemma earlier are practically trembling:
“We-we had no idea you were this connected. Please forgive us p>
“Mom! What’s taking so long? Why are you still talking to these broke losers? Dad and I came to pick you up for dinner p>
A young voice cuts through the tension.
A twenty-something guy in designer gear strolls in, looking bored.
The second I see him, my blood runs cold. Then it boils.
I’ve never wanted someone dead this fucking BADLY!
The father of one of the victims can’t hold back anymore.
He instantly charges at the kid, screaming: “I’ll kill you! You fucking monster p>
The kid-this Blaze asshole-sniffs and kicks the man hard in the stomach.
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Chapter 4
Once. Twice. Three times.
“Stupid old fuck! Your brat got in my way. And now you’re starting shit? You got a death wish p>
I immediately signal my security. They grab Blaze and pull the father back up.
Blaze thrashes around, yelling:
“Let me go! Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my dad is p>
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of cash! Mom, is this for them? Just give them like ten grand each and call it a day p>
“Oh hey! What’s with these guys in black? Just tell them to let me go p>
I hold out my hand. The lead security guy immediately hands me a baseball bat.
I walk toward Blaze slowly.
So this is the piece of shit who hurt my daughter.
God, he’s ugly. Just looking at him makes me sick.
Even restrained, he’s still running his mouth, eyeing me sideways with a cocky smirk:
“Who the hell are you, old hag? One of the other moms? Did you hire these black dumb p>
“Let me go. My dad’s the CEO of Apex Holdings. You don’t want to fuck with me p>
I point the bat at the cases of cash. My voice drops to freezing:
“You’re curious about this money, huh p>
“I brought it p>
His eyes widen. He looks me up and down, confused.
My lips curl into a slow, cold smile.
And suddenly, I swing the bat back and bring it down hard across his ribs.
My voice ringing out like a death sentence:
“This money is to buy your life p>
Blaze’s scream tears through the room at the exact same moment Gemma comes running in her stilettos, shrieking:
“NO p>
She’s moving too fast. She trips and crashes to the floor.
The Blaze screams again.
“AHH p>
The room’s dead silent except for one sound-clapping. The other father is applauding, tears streaming down his face.
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“Nice shot! Let that animal know what pain feels like p>
The mother next to him starts sobbing again:
“You can still move. You can still scream. My daughter got hit by your car and now she can’t even hear me when I call her name! You deserve
this p>
My heart shatters with every word.
My daughter hasn’t opened her eyes once since the accident.
She hasn’t called me “Mom p>
I take a deep breath and swing the bat again.
And again.
Gemma sees Blaze writhing in pain and screams: “STOP!STOP IT p>
She grabs Mr. Zane by the arm, frantic: “You’re a lawyer! Say something! My husband sent you here for a reason p>
Mr. Zane hesitates. He’d been rattled by my entrance, but now he puts on his usual polished smile and addresses me:
“Ma’am, please stop. Calm down. Assault is illegal p>
I don’t even look at him.
“When I got here, Ms. Serling said one life’s worth maybe a million, tops p>
“So go ahead-count the cash. Tell me HOW MANY times I can buy Blaze’s life p>
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Mark Twain