the manicured path leading back to the mansionette. Every muscle fiber screamed, a s

t, a woman with a starched uniform and a per

past Eliza's shoulder. "Mrs. Beatrice Malone requests your presen

rapped in the poli

ed down at her sweat-soaked, modifie

the servant repeated, her vo

hirty-second shower, the water barely washing away the grime. She'd pulled on the only formal thing she ow

ke on. A massive crystal chandelier dripped

sture rigid. Harrison was at her right, swirling a glas

phone held just below the table's edge, the tiny r

n front of her sat a single plate. On it was a small pile of limp lettuce wi

latters of roasted chicken, potatoes dauphinoise, and stea

dn't look at the food or them. She f

d fork down with a sharp cli

sgrace. Even after all that running, the cheap fabric is straining at th

a sound like a rat c

, letting the insults wash over her, when assessing her

her lack of reaction. She

her tone shifting to one of cold, corporate final

ine, the fifty thousand dollars that represented a

eatrice continued, a cruel smile playing on her lips, "I have had my bank manager tak

a punch. The air left her lungs

dith added, her voice smug. "Consider it a cl

but steady. "That money is a gift.

pondence across the polished table. It stopped a few inches from Eliza's plate. "This is a formal notice

of his whiskey. His silence was his signatur

r a moment, trembled. The Eliza part of her was terrified.

yx too

a supercomputer built for analysis, processed the information, cross-referencing banking regulations, identif

of Funds

ly effective one to trigger a temporary hold. It

igning it perfectly with the edge. Her hands

r seen before. The fear was gone. The submission was gone. What loo

said, her voice low and clear, cutt

n her demeanor that she was speechless for

g her palms on the table and rising t

hing!" she spat, lunging across the table to jab a finger into Eliza's sh

a mo

ed away from the jabbing finger, her own hand coming up

he phone slipped from her grasp, clattering onto

d, merely applying pressure to a specific nerve cluste

th wailed, her face pa

ttened themselves against the walls. Harriso

hen, with a smooth, dismissive motion, she released Meredith's wrist

e the room. She looked down the long table at Be

going to make me bend?" Eliza as

covering her voice. "You can't even affo

lent room, the half-eaten feast, the crystal, th

the door, her back straight,

he paused, but di

" she said, the words hanging i

hock and fury behind her. The sound of a crystal glass s

ace as she stepped outside. A s

won't be tied down just be