Chapter 64

Serena's POV

Vincent's protest died mid-sentence as Beatrice Sinclair swept in, her presence filling the room with a suffocating tension. Nina and Angela hovered behind her like vultures waiting for their feast.

I remained seated behind my desk, my fingers still resting on my keyboard. *So predictable*, I thought, watching them arrange themselves before me. I gave Vincent a slight nod, dismissing him. His concerned glance before closing the door didn't escape my notice.

The crack of Beatrice's palm against my cheek shattered the silence. The force of it snapped my head to the side, sending a wave of burning pain across my face. The familiar metallic taste of blood filled my mouth where my teeth had cut into my cheek.

"You ungrateful creature!" Beatrice's voice dripped with venom. "How dare you humiliate our family like this?"

The pain pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, but it wasn't the physical sensation that threatened to overwhelm me. It was the memories that came flooding back, triggered by that all-too-familiar sting...

*I was twelve again, standing in the mansion's dining room. Two days without food, my legs trembling as I stood in the corner. "Until you learn your place," Beatrice had said. My mother had only been gone for three months...*

*Fourteen, my ear ringing from another slap, the doctor saying the hearing loss might be temporary. Nina smirking from behind her mother's skirts...*

*Sixteen, kneeling on dried rice in the study, my knees bleeding through my uniform skirt while Beatrice lectured about family loyalty...*

The memories crystallized into a sudden, stark realization. They had never accepted us - my mother or me. The Sinclair family's façade of welcome had lasted only as long as my mother's grip on StarRiver Group. After her death, their true colors had emerged, painting my childhood in shades of cruelty and contempt.

"You're just like your mother," Beatrice spat. "Devious, Selfish-"

I reached for my phone, my movements deliberate despite my trembling hands. "I'm calling the police. I'm being physically assaulted-"

Beatrice lunged forward, snatching the phone from my grasp. "You worthless piece of-" Her words dissolved into a stream of abuse, but I barely heard them. A strange calm had settled over me, like the eye of a storm.

"Do you know what I regret most in my life?" I interrupted her tirade, my voice steady despite the throbbing in my cheek. "It's not the missed opportunities. It's not even the years of abuse I endured in your house." I stood slowly, drawing myself to my full height. "The thing I regret most is carrying the Sinclair name."

The silence that followed was absolute. Even Nina's perpetual sniffling had stopped.

"You ungrateful-" Beatrice started again, but I cut her off.

"Ungrateful?" A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "What exactly should I be grateful for? The way you treated my mother? The way you encouraged Nina to torment me? Or perhaps I should thank you for the month I spent partially deaf after one of your 'disciplinary' sessions?"

"Your mother was nothing but a social climber who-"

The words died in her throat as I slammed my hands on the desk. "Don't you dare speak about my mother." My voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper. "You never deserved to breathe the same air as her."

From my position behind the desk, I watched the silent exchange of glances between Nina and Angela. Their barely concealed smirks spoke volumes - they were enjoying the show, watching Beatrice put me in my place.

I straightened my spine, ignoring the stinging in my cheek. "You know, Beatrice," I said, my voice carrying just a hint of amusement, "for someone who claims to care so much about the family's reputation, you're remarkably comfortable with physical assault in a corporate office."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "How dare you take that tone with me? You're nothing but a-"

"A what?" I interrupted, my lips curving into a cold smile. "A successful CEO? Someone who actually earned her position instead of marrying into it?"

The barb hit its mark. Beatrice's face flushed with rage as she raised her hand again. This time, I was ready. My fingers wrapped around her wrist, stopping the blow mid-arc. The shock in her eyes was almost worth the earlier slap.

"I wouldn't," I said quietly. "Once was more than enough evidence for the assault charges."

She yanked her hand free, trembling with fury. "You son of a bi-"

"Let me make something perfectly clear," I cut in, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I will never set foot in the Sinclair mansion again. But don't mistake that for surrender. I'm going to initiate a full audit of the family trust."

Nina's smirk faltered. Angela's hand flew to her throat. Beatrice's face turned an interesting shade of purple.

"You have no right!" she sputtered. "You lost any claim to the family assets when you-"

"When I what?" I leaned forward, placing both hands on my desk. "When I refused to let Nina sabotage our company? When I exposed her incompetence at the press conference? Or perhaps when I dared to succeed despite your best efforts to break me?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. I could see the wheels turning in their heads, finally realizing this wasn't going to play out according to their script.

"You're just like your mother," Beatrice spat. "She never understood her place either."

"My mother?" A quiet laugh escaped me. "My mother built this company while you were playing society wife. The only reason you treated her with any respect was because she held the purse strings. The moment she died, you showed your true colors."

The sharp rap of knuckles on wood interrupted our standoff. The door opened to reveal two uniformed police officers, their presence immediately changing the dynamic in the room.

"We received a report of assault?" the taller officer said, his experienced gaze taking in the scene.

"That would be my report," I said calmly, touching my reddened cheek. "Mrs. Beatrice Sinclair struck me during what was supposed to be a business meeting."

"This is a family matter!" Beatrice protested, but her voice had lost some of its authority.

"Assault is assault, ma'am," the second officer stated firmly. "Whether it's family or not."