Chapter 1 - The Red Light Above the Table
Callan slapped Anastasia before anyone had finished pretending the dinner was normal.
His palm struck her cheek and sent her shoulder into the edge of the dining table. Crystal glasses jumped against white linen. The silver soup ladle stayed trapped in her hand.
“Apologize to my sister right now, or get out of this house!”
Anastasia stared at him.
Across the table, Brooklyn clutched the dark stain spreading over her ivory dress. Tears shone in her eyes, but the corner of her mouth lifted for half a second before she forced it down.
Melissa Whitmore pointed at Anastasia as if passing judgment.
“You should be grateful we ever let you sit at this table.”
No one mentioned that Anastasia had paid the mansion’s past-due property taxes six months earlier.
No one mentioned that she owned thirty-eight percent of Whitmore Custom Estates, the luxury construction company keeping all of them inside that Paradise Valley dining room.
They watched Callan step closer and block her path.
“In this family, your pride means nothing.”
Anastasia’s cheek burned. Her pulse hammered beneath the collar of her white suit.
Brooklyn’s accusation had been simple: Anastasia had deliberately spilled roasted-red-pepper soup on her dress because she was jealous of Brooklyn’s new position in the company.
It was a lie.
Brooklyn had tipped the bowl into her own lap beneath the table, then screamed loudly enough to bring Callan running from the kitchen.
Anastasia had seen the movement.
She had also seen Melissa watching it happen without surprise.
“Move,” Anastasia said.
Callan caught her lapel and shoved her backward again.
Something inside her broke loose.
She grabbed the stockpot from the sideboard and hurled the soup into his chest and face.
Callan staggered into a chair, shouting. Relatives jumped away from the table. Melissa lunged toward Anastasia.
“I’ll bury you for this!”
The pot struck the rug with a heavy metallic clang.
Anastasia stood motionless, horrified by what she had done and even more horrified by the relief on Callan’s face.
He had wanted her to lose control.
That was when she noticed the tiny red light blinking from the smart-home camera on the kitchen shelf.
Callan followed her gaze.
His expression changed.
Anastasia looked down at her empty hand, then back at the camera.
The red light blinked again.
May you like
Callan moved toward the kitchen.
Anastasia reached the doorway first.
