"Remember what I'm telling you. Everything you've done today, I will return to you a thousandfold."
"Return it to me? Keep dreaming!"
A vicious gleam surfaced in the depths of Jarvis's eyes. He raised his fist and brought it hammering down on my skull.
"You crossed the Farley heir. You'll never crawl out from under my heel."
When I still refused to let go, Jarvis reached in and started wrenching the pendant out with brute force. The metal chain shredded the inside of my mouth. Blood streamed from the corners of my lips in a steady flow.
But Jarvis had no intention of stopping.
Crack.
The sound of a tooth snapping. I bit down harder.
Jarvis's hands were slick with blood. His patience had run out. He kicked me aside, wiped the blood off on my clothes, then pulled out his phone and shoved the screen in my face.
"You piece of garbage. If you don't spit that filthy thing out, I'll show you exactly what the Farley heir is capable of."
The moment I saw what was on that screen, I froze as if struck by lightning.
On the surveillance feed, lying in an ICU bed, was my foster mother.
"You worthless dog. I'm counting to three. If you don't let go, that old woman dies today."
"Three..."
"Two..."