Chapter 367
Chapter 367:
“Bryan!” I shrieked, lunging at the gates and grabbing the cold iron, shaking it with both hands. “You can’t do this to me p>
A Pack Warrior stepped forward from the shadows. With a single, effortless shove, he sent me flying backward. I hit the driveway hard, the rough gravel tearing the skin from my palms and snapping my manicured nails. Blood welled up, stinging fiercely in the damp, cold air.
“Touch the gate again, and I call the police for trespassing,” the lawyer droned.
Humiliated and trembling, I dragged my bleeding hands and my luggage into a dented, filthy yellow cab. The interior reeked of stale tobacco and cheap air freshener — a sickening contrast to the life I had just been stripped of. I had only one place left to go.
R𝘦a𝘥 𝘧𝗋𝖾𝘦 𝗻о𝘷𝖾𝗅ѕ 𝗼𝗇.со𝘮
The Sterling family townhouse on the Upper East Side loomed like a magnificent, heartless mausoleum. Inside the main parlor, cold marble floors reflected the pale light, illuminating the tufted Chesterfield sofas I had sat on as a girl.
I fell to my knees before my father, Arthur, and my younger brother, Richard.
“Look at you,” Richard sneered, his eyes devoid of any familial warmth. He regarded my ruined clothes and bleeding hands with absolute disgust.
“Please, Father,” I sobbed, looking up at Arthur. “Bryan took everything. I need access to the family trust. I need a lawyer p>
“The Parrish name is dead,” Arthur stated, his voice like cracking ice. “And you, a failed Omega, are a liability to this family. We will not throw good money after bad p>
“You are a catastrophic return on investment, Carolyn,” Richard added, crossing his arms. “You couldn’t even manage your primary bloodline asset. Adelina was our ticket to the Lycan King, and you let her slip away. You cost the Sterling family our greatest strategic alliance p>
“Investment?!” I shrieked, the injustice of it all boiling over. “You sold me to her father for a board seat! You forced me into that Pack p>
Blinded by rage, I scrambled to my feet and swung my bleeding hand at Richard’s face. He didn’t even flinch. He caught my wrist easily, twisted it sharply, and shoved me backward with brutal force.
I lost my balance and crashed hard onto the unforgiving marble floor. A sharp, sickening pop echoed from my ankle. Pain flared — blinding and absolute. I curled into a pathetic ball, my Omega wolf howling in total defeat. I was nothing.
“Enough, Richard p>
The smooth, authoritative voice of my eldest brother, Edward, drifted down from the grand brass-railed staircase. He descended with his face set in a mask of calm reason. “We cannot have her weeping on the streets. It will tank the company stock if the press sees her p>
Edward knelt and offered me a gentle, if sterile, hand. “You can stay in the attic guest room, Carolyn. We will provide your basic meals until you figure things out p>
“Thank you,” I choked out, grasping his hand like a lifeline. He was my savior.