SLAP!


    Cora''s hand never reached the phone. Instead, Hannah''s palm connected with her cheek with a resounding crack.


    Cora stumbled back, her hand flying to her face, which was already red and stinging. For a moment, she was too stunned to speak. Then, a low growl escaped her lips.


    "You hit me!"


    Hannah looked down at her, her eyes cold with contempt. She grabbed the front of Cora''s shirt and yanked her forward.


    "Don''t forget your ce, Cora," she sneered. "No matter how much your mother is favored, she is still just a servant. And you are just a servant''s daughter."


    That was Cora''s biggest insecurity. Whenever anyone at school asked about her parents, she would say they were entrepreneurs, never admitting they were servants in a rich family''s home.


    "And no matter how little he loves me, as long as we are not divorced, I am still Mrs. Hannah Rosenberg!" She released Cora with a shove. "And no matter how much Lionel adores Sandra, she is nothing but a homewrecker, a bankrupt socialite."


    The words tasted like ash in her mouth. There was no triumph in saying them, only a bitter, suffocating pain.


    It was precisely because she knew she wasn''t loved that a servant''s daughter felt bold enough to challenge her.


    She clenched her jaw. "Cora, do you really think Sandra is a good person? Do you think she''ll treat you well after you''ve served your purpose?"


    Hannah stepped out from behind the desk, advancing on her slowly.


    Fear shed in Cora''s eyes, and she took an involuntary step back.


    "Tell me. Did she tell you to drug me, or was it your own idea?"


    Cora backed away until she was pressed against the window, her eyes darting to


    the view outside. She bit her lip, her resolve crumbling.


    She knew Hannah was right. But she had been backed into a corner!


    Her eyes filled with tears as she red at Hannah, her voice cracking. "Yes, Sandra told me to do it! But I had no choice!"


    "It''s all your fault! You gave her the security footage, and she used it to threaten me! She said if I didn''t put sleeping pills in your breakfast today, she would show the video to Mrs. Rosenberg!"


    Tears streamed down Cora''s face. She lunged forward, grabbing Hannah''s shirt.


    “This is all your fault! You''re getting a divorce anyway, why did you have to do this?" she shrieked.


    "If Sandra had shown that video tox


    Mrs. Rosenberg, my mother and would have been thrown out! It''s all your fault! You brought this on your..."


    SLAP!


    Hannah''s hand flew up, striking Cora across the face again.


    Cora''s head snapped to the side. She took a ragged breath and whipped her


    head back, her hair flying, her face now a blotchy red.


    "Go on, hit me! Hit me again! Am I wrong?" she screamed, a crazed look in her eyes.


    She didn''t know what had happened


    to Hannah today, but from her


    violent reaction she could guess was something terrible, something orchestrated by Sandra.


    She tilted her chin up, ready for another blow, a look of desperate defiance on her


    face.


    But instead, Hannah simply pointed to the door. "Get out."


    Cora froze, taken aback by the suddenmand.


    She stood there for a few seconds, watching as Hannah returned to her seat,<ppletely unable to guess her next move.