Vivienne let out a dark chuckle. She pulled off her sunglasses, revealing eyes that were breathtakingly gorgeous yet absolutely lethal. "What, planning to dust off your old playbook and spread some more Salacious Rumors about me?"
The color instantly drained from Julianne's face. Her family had spent a fortune wiping those incidents from her record. How the hell did Vivienne know?
Vivienne took a slow, menacing step toward her. "It seems the lesson you learned three years ago wasn't harsh enough. Julianne, I think I need to make this crystal clear for you: I am not Lara Arlington. You mess with me, and you're going to break all your teeth."
"Ah!" The memory of a blood-soaked nightmare from three years ago suddenly flashed through Julianne's mind. She clutched her face and shrieked, cowering desperately behind Preston.
Vivienne shot Preston a look of pure disgust, rolled her eyes, and slid her sunglasses back on.
Preston remained silent.
Josslyn looked up, quietly studying Preston's expression.
Vivienne grabbed Mina by the arm and unceremoniously patted her cheek. "Can you walk? Because if you can't, I'm selling you to The Fast & Furious Wannabes over there."
The entire crowd went dead silent.
In one breath, she had managed to insult every single high-net-worth heir present.
One guy in the crowd couldn't take the disrespect. Feeling bold with Preston backing them up, he yelled, "Don't push your luck, Vivienne! We're just going easy on you. Don't think for a second we're actually scared of you!"
The words had barely left his mouth when his cell phone started ringing.
That first ring seemed to trigger a massive chain reaction. One after another, phones began ringing incessantly, creating a chaotic symphony of ringtones right across the street.
"Dad..."
"Grandpa..."
"Uncle..."
"Bro..."
Suddenly, the entire squad of Fast & Furious Wannabes was scrambling to answer calls from furious family members.
Josslyn stared in utter confusion. Before he could process what was happening, his own phone vibrated in his pocket. The moment he saw the caller ID, his blood ran cold.
It was his father, calling all the way from the North Shore.
"Are you trying to get me killed?! The military supplies for the North Shore have been sponsored by the Ravenshires for years! If Old Master Ravenshire pulls his funding, what the hell are our hundred thousand soldiers going to fight with? Dirt clods and homemade fireworks?! You've got some nerve. You just got back, and you've already had me screaming at by the National Defense Council for five solid minutes!"
"You dare piss off the only people keeping us afloat?! Are you trying to put me in an early grave just so you can inherit the company?!"
Josslyn hung up the phone, his face a sickening shade of pale. He slowly lifted his eyes to stare at Vivienne. *Who the hell was this girl?!*
Vivienne tilted her chin up arrogantly. "Well? Does anyone else still think they're 'going easy' on me?"
The atmosphere plummeted into an awkward, suffocating silence.
Preston turned around and pulled open the passenger door of his car, gesturing for her to get in. "Get in. I'll drive you home."
Vivienne turned her head away in disgust. "Who would be stupid enough to get in your car? I'd probably be sold off to the highest bidder before we hit the highway."
Preston leaned against the doorframe, a faint smile playing on his lips. "You're The Official Princess of Stormhollow now. What do you have to be afraid of?"
...

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