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
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