Chapter 2

I hit the concrete floor hard. Before I could catch my breath, Chloe stormed in, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and slapped me across the face.

A blinding, stinging pain exploded over my cheek.

"Whore! You think you can crawl into my man's bed?!"

"Think you can sleep with him and burn through his money?!"

Her voice was shrill. Raising her pointed stiletto heel, she kicked me viciously in the stomach.

Agony doubled me over. My stomach violently heaved, nausea rushing up my throat.

Watching me curl up in pain seemed to give her an intoxicating rush of satisfaction.

She turned to the two guards and barked, "Beat her! Beat her within an inch of her life!"

Clearly her personal attack dogs, the men didn't hesitate. A relentless barrage of kicks and punches rained down on me.

I clenched my teeth, wrapping my arms tightly around my head to shield my skull as much as possible.

The searing pain ripped through every nerve in my body.

She nudged my swollen cheek with the tip of her shoe. "Learned your lesson yet? You're nothing but a cheap piece of trash he sleeps with!"

"I told you, I'm his sister! Call him right now if you don't believe me—let me talk to him!"

I gasped out the words, desperate to make her see reason. But she didn't care. She hauled me up by my hair again and slapped me across the face over and over until my vision blurred into black spots.

Only then did she finally stop.

Resting her foot on my bruised shoulder, she smiled down at me. "That first bill was $1.2 million. Now you're going to pay me even more."

"That's the price you pay for touching my man and spending his cash."

"This is felony extortion," I wheezed, swallowing the metallic taste of blood. "Aren't you even a little afraid of the law?"

"Threatening me? Logan can clean up whatever mess I make with his eyes closed."

I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe my brother had indulged this woman to such an insane degree.

Curled in a ball, shivering from the pain, I tried one last time. "I explained it... it's a misunderstanding. That card belongs to me."

"Still running your mouth?"

Her face darkened, and she kicked me hard in the ribs.

The guards immediately stepped in again, their boots finding my bruised flesh.

I realized then that nothing I said would reach her. If this went on, she was going to kill me in this room.

Blood spilled from my mouth onto the cold floor. With the very last ounce of strength in my body, I reached for my phone.

"Stop... Stop... I'll pay."

Satisfied by my surrender, she waved the guards off. Crouching down, she gave my swollen cheek a patronizing pat. "See? Was that so hard? You just had to do it the painful way."

"Two million total. Not a single cent less."

Lying flat on the freezing floor, I drew ragged breaths, barely able to twitch a finger.

I quickly tapped my assistant's number.

She picked up almost instantly.

"Rachel. Bring a cashier's check for two million dollars, payable to Chloe Miller, to the back entrance of my brother's med spa."

"Right now."

On the other end, Rachel paused, instantly sensing the terror in my tone. "Ms. Vance? What's going on? Your voice..."

"Don't ask questions. Just get here," I rasped, cutting her off before hanging up.

Hearing the figure "two million," Chloe's eyes ignited with pure, unadulterated greed.

The triumphant smirk on her face was impossible to hide.

"Smart girl."