into the leather seat of the Bentley Bentayga I’d driven to the warehouse.
“Cut the shit, Colton. I need to come down there tonight, and I don’t have time for twenty questions. Level up the new recruits before I get there. I want tears by the time I arrive.”
Another shocked pause. In the background, I could hear a woman moaning, whether in pleasure or pain, I wasn’t sure. There was no telling when Colton got his hands on them.
“It’s their first day,” he reminded me. “We don’t generally push them to the point of tears so quickly.”
“They know what they signed up for,” I snapped, not giving much of fuck about anything other than proving a point.
“I’ll be there in a few hours. Make sure to put on your best show. I’m expecting an Oscar-worthy performance.”
He laughed, and I could picture his eyes scraping the room with utter delight. It wasn’t often that I let him have free rein to do what he liked. Colton had a habit of breaking his toys, which made them useless for the fighters walking out of the pit.
“Anything you say. We’ll see you later.”
The line went silent, and I relaxed against my seat.
The little brat didn’t want to be a maid? That was fine. One hour with Colton and I knew she’d be begging for a fucking toothbrush to clean the entire mansion without daring to complain.
I hated to admit I was looking forward to watching Lisbeth’s reaction.
The best part was, I wouldn’t have to speak a word to her to get my point across.
She could talk all she wanted, but she would never be good enough for my voice.
Lisbeth
My feet still ached a few hours after Franklin left. It took some digging, but I was able to remove all the small shards that had taken up residence beneath my skin. I’d bandaged the cuts so well that they were padded against the floor, which gave me a small bit of relief.
Physically, at least. Emotionally, I was a different story.
My pride - or at least what little I had left of it after finding myself penniless and running back home - that was still shredded and in tatters, sore and bruised after the exhibition that was made of me this morning for anybody to see.
I was hungry and thirsty, still dressed in my nightgown and robe, my hair a mess and my eyes swollen from crying. Not once had I let those bastards see my tears, but they’d fallen regardless while I was alone.
Several times, Gretchen had waltzed in expecting me to be dressed and ready for work, and each time, I’d sent that old bitch running when I screamed that she’d have to drag me from the room if she wanted me to leave.
Gretchen had simply stared at me like I was no more important than a piece of lint stuck to her pressed uniform. She’d leave without a word, click the lock into place, and then try again an hour later.
She could come in as many times as she liked. I’d rather starve than do anything she ordered.
Demanding to speak to Franklin hadn’t helped my situation. It was Callan I needed to convince, and the probability of that was slim to none. Not with the wedge I’d driven between us when we were kids. Not after the way I’d treated him.
There was a price to be paid. Franklin made that clear, but I didn’t understand why Callan had allowed me back into the mansion in the first place.
Wouldn’t a better price have been leaving me on the streets? I was penniless. They knew that. Franklin must have told him. Why allow me to return when leaving me homeless would have been crueler?
The only reason I could think was that Callan wanted to watch me crumble and fracture apart. He wanted a front row seat, as if I were some form of entertainment, the once pampered daughter being forced to crawl.
The thought only made me more certain that I wouldn’t do as I was told.
Still, the small comfort of my resolve to refuse only lasted an hour. My heart cracked open, the bravery bleeding out, as a deep voice rumbled outside my door, like the boom of rolling thunder.
I couldn’t make out what exactly was being said, but I recognized the voice responding to that thunder, a strict crack of lightning on the authoritarian tongue of a woman who had prodded me all day to do my job. I’m sure Gretchen was grinning inside