I backhanded her.
"You're damn right I did."
"Sandra, five years ago you killed my father. Now you stand here and spit on his memory." I stepped toward her. "Did you really think the law couldn't touch you?"
Hatred flickered in her eyes. "Nothing happened to me five years ago. What can anyone do now? Ryan will protect me. He'd never let me go to prison."
Then—like flipping a switch—her expression crumbled. Tears welled up as she dropped to her knees at my feet.
"Ms. Perez, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have fallen in love with Ryan."
"You've already won. This job is all I have left to survive. Why won't you just let me go?"
The commotion drew a crowd. Whispers rippled through the onlookers.
"Isn't hitting someone a bit much...?"
"She's already on her knees. Show some mercy."
Someone raised a phone to record.
Sandra knelt there, trembling, tears streaming down her face. "Ms. Perez, please... I'm begging you..."
The door burst open.
Ryan shoved me aside without a glance.
My stomach slammed into the corner of the table. Pain shot through me, doubling me over.
He helped Sandra up with infinite care, his thumb brushing gently over the red marks on her cheek.