Chapter 117

Evelyn struggled against the brute's iron grip, but her efforts were futile. The towering man shoved her into the backseat of a black sedan before she could scream for help.

"Who are you working for? Where are you taking me?" Evelyn demanded, her voice raw with panic. No answer came. The goon beside her kept her wrists pinned against the leather seats throughout the entire ride.

Fifteen agonizing minutes later, the car screeched to a halt at an abandoned warehouse on Willowbrook's outskirts.

"Move!" The thug yanked her out by the arm, throwing her onto the gravel with enough force to scrape her knees bloody. Evelyn barely registered the sting as she lifted her chin defiantly.

Victoria emerged from the shadows like a venomous serpent, her designer coat fluttering in the winter wind. The smirk twisting her glossed lips made Evelyn's stomach churn.

"Victoria." Evelyn spat the name like a curse. "What's your game this time? Or should I guess—Alexander put you up to this?"

The moment Alexander's name left her lips, Victoria's perfectly manicured hand shot out in a vicious slap. Before Evelyn could react, a steel-toed boot connected with her ribs.

White-hot pain exploded through her body. Evelyn curled into herself on the frozen ground, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The December air cut through her thin sweater like shards of glass.

Victoria crouched down, tilting Evelyn's chin up with a gloved finger. "Poor little Evelyn. Still playing the victim after all these years?" Her saccharine tone dripped with malice. "Alexander wants you to understand your place once and for all."

Evelyn's blood ran colder than the snow beginning to dust her wounds.

"Teach her a lesson," Victoria commanded, stepping back to watch the show.

The blows came like hailstones—fists to her face, kicks to her stomach, until Evelyn could no longer tell where one bruise ended and another began. When the thugs finally left with their payment, Victoria remained, pristine as ever against the industrial wasteland.

Snowflakes settled on Evelyn's split lip, the icy burn nothing compared to the fire in her veins when Victoria waved a familiar document.

"Mother was so upset when her toothbrush went missing." Victoria's laugh tinkled like broken glass. "Imagine my surprise when I found this instead."

Evelyn's heart stopped. The DNA test—the one she'd risked everything to obtain—now dangled from Victoria's fingers like a trophy.

With a guttural cry, Evelyn launched herself forward. Victoria sidestepped effortlessly, driving her stiletto heel into Evelyn's abdomen. The pointed tip pierced through fabric and flesh alike.

"Pathetic." Victoria twisted the shoe deeper as Evelyn writhed. "You really thought a piece of jewelry could make you one of us?" She fisted Evelyn's hair, wrenching her head back. "The Montgomeries only have one daughter, and it will never be gutter trash like you."