A smile danced in Natalie''s beautiful eyes. "On purpose? What did I do? I just let things unfold the way you all wanted them to." In her past life, this ungrateful wretch had let thugs disfigure her.


    "Natalie, you knew this would happen! Why didn''t you stop it?" Jerome screamed, his voice breaking.


    "I told you multiple times not to race. But you didn''t believe me. And what about you? Weren''t the things you did to me far worse than this? When you set me up, when you tried to have me raped, when you hit me, when you stole my designs- did you ever think you were going too far?" Natalie''s voice was calm, but her eyes zed with an unquenchable hatred.


    "And why are you in such a rush? There''s plenty more toe. You''re going to see just how terrifying the wolf you raised really is. You''d better stay alive to feel the pain they''re going to cause you."


    She nced around the room. "Where''s your goddess? Why isn''t she here taking care of you?"


    Jerome''s jaw tightened, his eyes dark with unspoken rage.


    "Zenobia gave you her all," Natalie continued, her voice dripping with scorn. "And you not only failed to see it, you hurt her deeply. A person like you doesn''t deserve her love. The only one you deserve is someone like Yvonne. You two should be locked away together so you can''t ruin anyone else."


    Jerome flinched at the mention of Zenobia, the bookworm. He had always hated school, hated studying. All he wanted was to have fun, and his father had always let him, telling him to just grow up healthy.


    What Natalie said next sent a chill through his entire body.


    "Do you know why your father let you do whatever you wanted? Because he wanted to raise you to be useless. The one person who cared@bout you, who pushed you, was the girl next door. She wanted


    you to study hard so you have


    a sessful future. Now she''s an executive at a Fortune 500


    Today, she would say it all, then go home and pop a bottle of champagne.


    Jerome was stunned. He hadn''t heard anything about Zenobia since she left. But he refused to believe that his own father would intentionally raise him to be a failure.


    He shook his head in denial. "That''s impossible! You''re lying, Natalie! This was all your n, wasn''t it?"


    Natalie ignored him and turned to Wendy. "It seems you haven''t told him the truth yet. I suppose that''s understandable. After all, she''s the daughter you raised. It doesn''t matter if she''s the child of a mistress; the bond between you


    what''s important."


    "Natalie, that''s not it," Wendy exined quickly. "I didn''t tell him because I didn''t want him to interfere with my ns."


    Natalie looked at the haggard woman and felt not a shred of sympathy.


    "Natalie, we''re family. Do we really have to go this far?" Wendy pleaded, tears in her eyes.


    Natalie spun around, her eyes


    burning with hatred. "Do you know why I''m doing this? Do you know that I have died once already? I. never once felt a mother''s warmth from you. Right up until the moment


    your family that


    I died, it was you pushed


    meto my grave


    Do you know what


    Do


    he did for Joanna? He hired thugs to destroy my face. And do you know why? Because Joanna didn''t like my looks. I suffered for four days and four nights before I finally died, trampled on by every single one of you."