Chapter 4

But instead of breaking down the way she expected, I gagged, fighting the bile rising in my throat.

Tiffany’s face twisted with fury.

“You disgusting little tramp! What are you gagging for? You stole my fiancé, and now you’re playing the victim? Today, unless you get on your knees and beg, I’m not letting you leave here alive!”

She snapped her fingers. The guards yanked my wrists together and shoved my head down toward the pavement. Another one lifted his phone, recording everything.

My forehead slammed hard against the ground. Pain exploded through my skull, blood spilling down into my eyes until the world blurred red.

One of the guards hesitated. “Miss Lawson… maybe this is going too far. She looks hurt—”

“Shut up!” Tiffany barked. Her voice was ice-cold. “Even if I kill her, my family can buy their way out. You think I’m afraid?”

Her words froze me more than the pain.

I gasped, choking on the blood and heat. “Tiffany… if you keep going, you won’t get away with it. What you’re doing—it’s a crime!”

She dug her heel into my back until I screamed.

“A crime? The law’s for people like you. People beneath me. My family runs this place. And you think you can fight me?”

By now, a crowd had gathered—residents, passersby, whispering among themselves. For a fleeting moment, I hoped someone might step forward, might help me.

But Tiffany’s voice was louder than all of theirs.

“I’m the daughter of the property group that built this neighborhood. My uncle’s the developer. I’m here cleaning up messes. This delivery girl destroyed the flowers we planted, and I’m making an example out of her!”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“She’s right. This is a luxury community. Delivery vans shouldn’t even be allowed in.”

“Those scooters speed around dangerously. One nearly hit me once.”

“Honestly, about time someone cracked down.”

Their words stabbed deeper than Tiffany’s heel.

Tiffany crouched beside me, her breath hot against my ear.

“See? Everyone agrees with me. And now, Sophie Carter, you’ll pay the price for stealing my fiancé. I’ll make sure you regret it every second of your life.”

She laughed, sharp and cruel, and suddenly yanked open my delivery vest.

“No—don’t!” My voice cracked with panic.

But she didn’t stop. With vicious hands, she tore at my clothes until only my tank top and bra remained.

Heat and horror crashed over me. I folded my arms across my chest, sobbing as Tiffany’s phone hovered inches from my face, recording it all.

She sneered, her gaze sweeping over me with mockery.

“Wow. That’s it? That’s what you’ve got? No wonder you’re nothing compared to me. Tell me, Sophie—was it the sex that kept Ryan entertained?”

The humiliation was unbearable. My pride—my dignity—shattered into pieces I couldn’t gather.

Why? Why did being poor make me less than human? Why did it mean I deserved this?

I hated myself for not being strong enough to fight back. I hated myself for believing Ryan’s lies, for letting him play me like a fool.

And most of all, I hated him. Hated him for giving Tiffany this chance to destroy me.

Exhausted, shaking, I couldn’t resist anymore.

Tiffany wasn’t finished. She scribbled something on a sheet of paper and ordered the guards to pin it to my chest.

The words read: NO DELIVERIES. NO DOGS.

Then they shoved me onto my knees at the neighborhood gate, my clothes torn, my dignity stripped away.

The crowd grew. Phones flashed. Whispers rose.

I couldn’t lift my head. Couldn’t look at anyone.

Tiffany grabbed my chin, forcing my face upward into the blinding summer sun. Sweat and tears and blood all mingled as the heat burned my skin.

And through it all, her phone camera kept rolling.

My mind spiraled. Would this video spread through campus? Would I be swallowed whole by gossip? Would I end up like the others she’d ruined—broken, hopeless, gone?

My body shook. My chest heaved.

I was drowning in despair when suddenly—

A familiar voice cut through the chaos.

“Tiffany? What the hell is going on here?”