Chapter 2
Just as my daughter’s tongue was about to touch the dirt on that drone, I snatched it away and smashed it on the ground.
“You’ve gone too far.”
I could barely breathe from the pain, staring at them with bloodshot eyes.
I never imagined that without even divorcing me, Caleb Stratmore had already married another woman and had a kid!
I never thought their child would humiliate my daughter like this.
Caleb, even if you’ve moved on, how could you let them treat Lila this way?
“You… you broke my drone?”
The little boy froze for a second, then his small face twisted with a cruelty that didn’t belong on a child.
“Ms. Dalton, I want her to pay with her life for my drone!”
“”You bitch, are you trying to get yourself killed? You actually dared to lay a hand on the young master? SECURITY!”
Cheryl Dalton screamed furiously.
“Can’t you see someone’s picking on the young master? Are you all dead or what?”
The security guards who’d been hiding in the shadows looked at each other, then started closing in on me.
“Beat the shit out of her! I don’t care if you kill her!”
Cheryl barked out orders.
I managed to block two of them, but one of them got me in the back with a baton and I hit the ground.
They swarmed me, kicking and punching from every direction.
The people watching didn’t dare step in-they just stood there shaking their heads.
“This girl’s got balls, I’ll give her that. She could’ve picked on anyone, but she had to go after Ethan Stratmore, that little psycho.”
“Everyone in Washington D.C. knows how much Mr. Stratmore treasures that son of his. She’s done for.”
“That’s what you get for being a hero when you’ve got no power. Should’ve minded her own business.”
Some looked at me with pity, others with mockery.
Lila was crying, trying to shield me, but Cheryl roughly yanked her away and she nearly fell.
“Ethan, I’ll clean that drone for you right now. Please, just let this lady go.”
Lila looked at me curled up on the ground, bit her lip hard, picked up the drone, and started licking it clean.
Her little tongue carefully cleaned every speck of dirt off that thing.
My mouth was full of blood, but I tried to stop her.
“Don’t lick it!”
“Stop!”
Lila handed over the cleaned drone with tears streaming down her face.
“I cleaned your drone. Now make them stop! They’re gonna kill her!”
Chapter 2
Ethan Stratmore slapped the drone out of her hands with disgust.
“You’re fucking gross. It’s covered in your spit now, smells as nasty as you do. I don’t want this piece of shit anymore.”
“But you just promised…”
Lila’s whole body shook as she stared at him in disbelief.
“I promised to let her go, but Ms. Dalton’s giving the orders now. And she never promised anything.”
Ethan looked at her smugly.
Lila’s face went completely hopeless as she turned to Cheryl, her eyes pleading.
Cheryl looked triumphant, even came over to kick me a couple more times.
“Ethan’s absolutely right. She broke his drone-I’m gonna make sure she pays!”
All the color drained from Lila’s face. The light in her eyes just died, crushed by the cruelty of these people.
I took advantage of the distraction to grab Cheryl’s leg and drag her down.
I started throwing punches like my life depended on it, beating her face bloody.
“Ahh! Kill her! KILL HER!”
By the time security pulled me off, Cheryl’s face was a mess and she was screaming like a maniac.
Just then, footsteps approached with a cold voice.
“What the hell is going on here?”
I looked up and locked eyes with Caleb Stratmore.
He pushed through the crowd and came over, looking me up and down with complete disbelief in his eyes.
“Annora Sterling… how… how are you still alive?”
