Chapter 171

• I hadn’t ever felt the urge to hit another woman until I looked Zinnia dead in the eye. That sly little smirk curling on her lips? I wanted nothing more than to snatch that certificate from her smug hands and shred it into confetti. Even Aveline Chun, usually cloaked in faux humility, lifted her chin like she’d already inherited every cent of the Lockhart fortune.
• My hands curled into fists, knuckles paling. I could feel the storm rising in my chest, anger boiling just beneath my skin, begging to be unleashed. They were lucky lucky I had more pressing matters on my plate. Otherwise, I’d have delighted in making their lives an endless series of regrets. But now? Now I was making space for a new assignment.
• Normally, I wouldn’t have wasted energy on women like them. I might have even pitied them after hearing their tragic tales of toxic men and mistreatment. I had almost extended compassion. Almost. But they had just burned the last remnants of sympathy I had left. Now, they were on the wrong list.