The words don’t hit all at once.
They slither in. Curl around my ribs.
I stare at him, stunned. My stomach flips, then drops into nothing.
“You don’t mean that.”
His face gives nothing away. “She’d want us to save the company. She’s not stupid.”
I shake my head, tears burning behind my eyes now. “She’s dying, Jonathan. And you’ll stripped away everything she ever loved. Her house. Her legacy. Her horses?—”
“Those horses don’t feed anyone,” he snaps.
“Those horses are her heart and soul!” I can’t help the tears streaming down my face now. “She and I took those horses to races and made them champions and you’re just going to?—”
“Oh, give me a fucking break, Cassidy. You’ve never worked a day in your prim little life of delusion and sketch books.” He slams a drawer harder than necessary. “Anyone can tell a horse to run.”
“She’s not just anyone,” I cry. “She’s ourmother.”
The final thread holding my voice together snaps, but I don’t care.
“I’m the one that came home from college to take care of her. I have watched her fight every day to live. To smile through pain. To hold on for us. While you ruin everything you touch.”
Like a storm breaking free of its restraints, he turns and surges toward me. I don’t even have time to flinch before his hand snaps out.
He grabs my face, his fingers crushing my cheeks, forcing my gaze to his.
“You want to play hero?” he hisses. “You think you’ve got what it takes to fix this?”
My back hits the wall hard, breath catching as his grip tightens.
“Thenfix it, Cassidy. Go on. Save the fucking house.”
He lets go with a sharp shove, and I stumble sideways. My shoulder slams into the doorframe. The pain flashes down my arm, but I don’t cry out.
I won’t give him the satisfaction.
He sneers down at me, pure ice in his eyes. “Do something useful for once in your life.”
I press my hand to the wall to steady myself.
He adjusts the cuffs on his shirt like nothing happened.
Then he nods toward the hallway. “Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
I don’t move. Can’t. My feet are rooted, chest heaving, heart crashing against my ribs like it’s trying to break free. I want to scream, to fight, to make him understand what he’s doing—but the words catch behind the burn in my throat.
But I stay standing because fuck him.
Someone has to say it.
My voice shakes, but I make sure it’s loud enough to carry. “You don’t deserve this family.”
Jonathan’s eyes narrow before he’s on me in a blink.
“I said, get the fuck out of my face,” he growls, stepping forward again. “Before I put you on the auction block too.”
His hand shoves hard into my shoulder. My feet slip out from under me, and I crash to the ground just outside the threshold, my hip catching the edge of the hallway runner. Pain flares sharp and hot, but before I can do more than gasp, the door slams shut behind me.
