Chapter 3

Madison snatched a dripping towel from the ice bucket and clamped it brutally over my mouth and nose.

Freezing water instantly flooded my nasal cavity. Her other hand locked onto the back of my neck in a death grip.

My chest felt like it was trapped under a boulder. The last trace of oxygen in my lungs was sucked dry.

The primal instinct to survive took over, and I thrashed wildly like a dying fish on land.

"What the hell is going on?"

Julian's voice suddenly cut through the noise.

The second she heard his voice, Madison let go and whipped the wet towel away.

Seizing the opportunity as I blindly flailed my arms for balance, Madison suddenly shoved her cheek right into my path.

A crisp slap echoed across the room.

Madison dramatically stumbled backward. She clutched her instantly reddened cheek, tears springing to her eyes.

"She hit me! I told you she was faking it!" she shrieked.

Whatever alert expression Julian had was instantly swallowed by a dark scowl the moment he saw Madison's red cheek.

"Chloe, are you seriously not tired of embarrassing us?"

I scrambled backward in panic, only for my sneaker to hit a slick puddle of spilled liquor.

My ankle buckled. I pitched backward.

My lower back slammed brutally against the sharp edge of the glass coffee table.

Several glasses on the table toppled over and shattered.

The jagged glass shards instantly sliced through my shirt, digging deep into my back.

A violent tremor of agony tore through my body.

Seeing me writhing in actual pain, a flicker of genuine hesitation finally crossed Julian's eyes.

He took a half-step toward me. "She... really doesn't look right."

The second the words left his mouth, Madison dug her nails into his wrist and sneered, "Are you seriously falling for this again?"

She raised her voice, pointing directly at me. "She still had the strength to slap me! Does someone in anaphylactic shock throw a punch? Don't let this drama queen manipulate you!"

"Madison..." Julian stared at my violently trembling body, a flash of real panic finally breaking through his facade. "Maybe... maybe we should just give her the EpiPen. I don't think she's faking it this time."

"Okay, okay, joke's over!" Madison suddenly clapped her hands, putting on a highly exaggerated look of exasperation. "Oh, wait! You were complaining about being hungry earlier, weren't you, Chloe?"

Julian swallowed her lie without a second thought. The tension drained right out of his face. "So it's just a tantrum because she's hungry."

He picked up a slice of cake from the tray and knelt near me.

I shook my head frantically. My airway was inflamed to the size of a pinhole; forcing food down would literally kill me on the spot!

"Look at her, still acting!" Madison scoffed.

She dropped to a crouch, pinched my jaw in an iron grip, and forced my mouth open. She shoved a massive chunk of sticky, heavy frosting and cake straight into my mouth.

"Just swallow and you'll be fine!"

The horrible, heavy cream instantly cemented my closing airway shut. My spine arched violently off the floor as I gagged and dry-heaved. Sweat and tears smeared across my face.

Madison let out a manic, excited laugh. "See? Looking so much more energetic now that she had a bite!"

Standing beside her, Julian actually nodded in agreement and turned to walk away.

Summoning the absolute last shreds of my strength, I lunged and locked my fingers tight around the hem of his jeans. My knuckles turned stark white.

"Save... me..." I wheezed. "My brother... is Alexander... of Sterling Global..."

Julian let out a loud, incredulous snort, looking down at me like I was a lunatic. "Sterling Global's heir? Right, and I'm the freaking spokesperson for the White House. Let go. Cut the crap."

The surrounding crowd instantly erupted into deafening, jeering laughter.

"Cinderella's really deep into her billionaire roleplay!"

"Quick, get the cameras on her! Let's see what crazy shit she makes up next!"

Through the barrage of mocking laughter, Madison crouched down and pressed her lips near my ear. "No one is ever going to believe you. Just be a good girl and die right here. It's much more dignified."

Supreme rage boiled furiously in my chest, but my physical strength was rapidly draining away like air from a slashed tire.

Seeing my fingers still clamped desperately onto Julian's jeans, the amusement vanished from Madison's eyes, replaced by pure malice.

She stood up, drew her arm back, and delivered two vicious slaps across my face.

"Look up! Give everyone an encore!"

When I couldn't even react, she lifted her foot and slammed her sharp, steel stiletto heel directly onto the back of my hand.

The agonizing, sickening crunch of my joints grinding together shot straight up to my shoulder.

Still unsatisfied, she tangled her fist in my hair and brutally dragged me away from Julian like a dead dog. My face scraped sickeningly through the filthy alcohol stains and smashed cake crumbs on the rug.

"Help her cool off!" a few frat boys yelled out.

A massive cup of freezing ice water was dumped directly over my head.

I lay crumpled on the ground, my chest heaving violently, gasping like a broken machine.

Julian just stood there, arms crossed, watching the whole thing. "Watch it, guys. Don't let things get too messy," he said.

His tone wasn't an attempt to stop them; it was a green light.

A deafening ringing consumed my ears. My vision rapidly began to tunnel, reducing the room to dark, blurry, swaying silhouettes.

Madison's manic laughter sounded like it was coming from underwater. Julian's voice faded into staticky white noise.

My bleeding fingers went completely slack.

After one final, ugly convulsion, my body simply gave up, melting completely limp against the floor.

Right in that absolute final second before death—

The brutal sound of heavy boots crashing through the front hall shattered the noise, accompanied by a furious, bloodcurdling roar:

"CHLOE—!"

In the exact microsecond before the darkness claimed me completely, I saw the blurry outline of a massive, familiar silhouette charging desperately toward me.