Chapter 4
598words
"Selling daddy's treasures to keep the lights on? How pathetic."
Alex stared at the floor, unable to meet my gaze.
I clenched my fists, determined to walk past them without a word.
But Miranda dangled something in front of me—my father's pendant.
"Not so fast! Looking for this little trinket?"
So Miranda had been the buyer. My stomach dropped.
"It's quite beautiful craftsmanship," she mused, turning it in the light. "But…"
"Don't."
Before I could reach for it, she let it slip from her fingers. It hit the marble floor with a sickening crack.
Shattered.
The last piece of my father—gone in an instant.
Miranda's smile was venomous.
"Such bad luck, carrying around a dead man's trinket."
"Better broken than bringing you more misfortune."
"You're not upset, are you, Lily dear?"
She shoved me hard, her laughter echoing through the hall.
"I call you 'Miss Johnson' out of courtesy, nothing more."
"Don't mistake my courtesy for weakness. By this time tomorrow, either the Johnson Gang will be a memory, or you'll be kneeling at my feet."
My throat closed up, words failing me.
I watched them saunter away, powerless to stop them.
When I reached our compound, a crowd had gathered at the gates.
They were tearing down our sign, replacing it with Miranda's emblem.
My men—my family—wore Miranda's colors now, the bright red emblem like a knife in my gut.
"What the hell is this?"
No one even looked at me.
After what felt like an eternity, someone approached with a cigarette.
"Have a smoke, boss."
It was Jack, wearing Miranda's colors but sporting the same eager-to-please smile.
"If all my men have abandoned me, am I still your boss?"
Jack couldn't meet my eyes.
"The new colors suit you."
I took the cigarette and blew smoke directly into his face, making him cough and sputter.
"Please don't be like that," he wheezed.
Watching him squirm, everything clicked into place.
I'd been blind. Alex couldn't have orchestrated this betrayal alone.
"What exactly have you been doing behind my back?"
"Nothing major," he mumbled. "Just mortgaged our entire operation."
Nothing major. Just.
White-hot rage surged through me. I grabbed his collar, lifting him to his toes.
"I've been fighting tooth and nail to save us while you sold us out from under me? This was our home!"
"Have you forgotten who saved your worthless life?"
Jack had been a starving orphan who couldn't read his own name. He'd be dead in a ditch if I hadn't taken him in.
Jack stared at the ground, shame written across his face.
"Why so upset?" Miranda's voice cut through the tension. "Everyone looks out for themselves. It's just business."
Miranda sauntered over and slapped my hand away from Jack's collar.
"Oh, my mistake. You're not 'Miss Johnson' anymore, are you?"
"Just little Lily now. Nobody's boss."
Miranda's laugh was like nails on a chalkboard as she turned to Jack.
"Tie her up. Let her watch as we erase every trace of the Johnson Gang."
Jack hesitated for just a heartbeat before moving to bind my wrists.
The men who once bowed to me now looked at me with contempt.
Their faces twisted with mockery as they circled me.
Our sign crashed at my feet, splintering into pieces.
"From this moment on," Miranda announced, "this is Moore territory. You all answer to me now."
"The Johnson Gang is dead."
Just as despair threatened to swallow me whole, a voice cut through the crowd.
"Who dares say the Johnson Gang is finished?"
