Jerry struggled to his feet and jumped into the deep pit.

Exposed rebar sliced into his skin. Blood dripped down, staining the gray dirt a dark red.

He clenched his teeth and tried to grab the rocks with his mouth, but they were bigger than his jaw. There was no way he could bite them.

He forced his mouth open anyway. His jaw dislocated from the strain, and blood mixed with saliva as it poured down his chin.

"Jerry! Stop!" I screamed until my throat tore, tears blurring everything.

But Jerry kept going.

Digby watched him suffer, not with pity, but with growing impatience.

"Hurry up! How long is this supposed to take?" He started barking at the guards. "I've changed my mind. Tie that crazy woman and that idiot together and set them in front of the bulldozer. Mr. Gray said this land has to be flattened today."

My blood went cold.

Several guards roughly bound Jerry and me with thick wire and strapped us to the front of the massive bulldozer. The steel treads pressed against my back.

The engine roared to life. Black smoke swallowed us whole.

Jerry shook violently, terrified, but he wrapped his arms around me, trying to steady me instead.

"Tiff… Don't be scared… Don't be scared…" he mumbled, his words slurred.

Then, all of a sudden, he pointed at my grandfather's body.

"They fed… Grandpa… medicine…"

My entire body jolted.

My grandfather had always been strong. How could he have died so suddenly? Had his death been tied to Marshall and the rest of them?

That thought detonated something inside me. I forced my wrist out of alignment, using a joint-dislocation technique.

The pain was blinding, but the wire slipped loose. I snapped the joint back into place with my other hand.

I reached my ankle, pulled out the Swiss Army knife strapped there, and cut through the restraints. I grabbed Jerry and rolled away just as the bulldozer lunged forward.

The steel tread scraped past my head, tearing out a chunk of my hair. Blood seeped down my scalp.

I ignored the pain, charged the cab, and kicked the driver out of the seat.

He screamed as he hit the ground.

Digby's face twisted in shock. He shouted at the guards, "All of you, go! Kill her! Mr. Gray will cover it. Mr. Gray wants her dead!"

More than ten guards rushed toward us, steel pipes and batons raised.

I held Jerry tight as we were swallowed again by the crowd.

A steel pipe slammed into my back. I collapsed.

That was when my hand brushed against the satellite phone at my waist. The call connected automatically to the private line of my commander, Henry Kinsman.

"Tiffany," he said. "What's going on?"

I coughed up a mouthful of blood and pulled Jerry tightly under me, my head spinning.

Right then, a flashy red Ferrari tore down the road, its tires shrieking as it braked hard.

The door swung open. Marshall stepped out in a custom suit with the glamorous movie star Gina Lawson beside him, dressed to turn heads.

Marshall glanced at me, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, then walked past like I wasn't even there.

Gina pinched her nose, disgust written all over her face. "Marshall, these people are covered in blood. It's disgusting. Have someone get rid of them already. I don't want my golf course delayed."

"Marshall, I dare you…" I hissed.

The words came out hoarse and weak, but my eyes stayed locked on him.

Marshall finally stopped and looked at me again. This time, recognition hit.

"Tiffany? Is that you? You're still alive? I thought you'd died years ago."

"My family treated you well," I growled, my voice raw. "This is how you repay us?"

I pointed at the flattened graves behind me.

Marshall let out a short laugh. "Give me a break. Everything I have, I earned myself. What does your family have to do with it? You vanished for seven years. Now you come back, trying to take a cut? Dream on!"

He gestured toward Jerry behind me, his tone full of contempt.

"I'll give you a chance. You and your precious brother had better get down on your knees and lick Gina's diamond heels clean. Lick until she's satisfied, and maybe I'll spare your miserable lives."

Gina stretched out her foot. The diamonds on her heel flashed blindingly in the sun. "Hurry up. I don't have all day."

Jerry looked at me, fear filling his eyes. Then, he took a small step forward anyway.

"No!" I screamed and reached for him.

Gina kicked him impatiently. "Trash like this doesn't deserve to live."

I stared at the two of them, teeth clenched so hard that my jaw ached.

That was when I heard the faint crackle at my waist. I had forgotten about the satellite phone. Through the static, I caught heavy breathing on the other end, and my heart steadied just a little.

"Marshall," I said, laughing coldly through my rage. "Do you really think you call all the shots in Joule?"

He snorted. "In Joule, I'm number one. No one dares challenge me. And who are you to question that?"

"Do you remember who paid your tuition seven years ago?" My voice shook, not from fear, but fury.

"So what?" Marshall brushed dust off his suit. "I paid it all back. Principal and interest."

Back then, he had been dirt poor, and my family supported him. Everything he had now came from us.

And he actually thought he had made it on his own.

After all these years in business, he was still so damn naive.

Gina laughed softly and looped her arm through his. "Marshall, why waste your breath on people who don't matter? Just throw them into a cement mixer. It'll keep the place clean."

Digby nodded eagerly. "Ms. Lawson's right. Trash like this should disappear."

"Exactly," Gina said, nudging a rock with her heel. "I'm building the most luxurious golf course in the region here. I don't want any bad press."

"Marshall," I asked one last time. "Are you really going to wipe us out completely?"

"Wipe you out?" He laughed. "You give yourself too much credit. Crushing you is like stepping on an ant."

Gina lifted her chin smugly. "Do you even know who I am? I'm the queen of Axytria's entertainment world! Beggars like you aren't even fit to breathe the same air as me."

My chest tightened, and I nearly lost my balance.

"Ms. Lawson, should I give the order now?" Digby asked eagerly.

"Wait," Gina said, suddenly amused. "I've changed my mind. Make this crazy woman get on all fours and bark like a dog. If she sounds good, I might give them a quick death."

Marshall nodded. "Your wish is my command."

"Marshall, you'll regret this," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Regret?" He burst out laughing. "I've never regretted anything in my life. You're the one about to die, and you're still acting tough."

Digby handed Gina a collar and a riding crop. "Ms. Lawson, use these to train her."

Gina took the crop and swung it playfully. "I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

"Last chance," Marshall said, glancing at his watch. "Get down and bark, or die right now."

I smiled coldly. "Marshall, I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends for you. I hope you live by your words."

I counted the seconds in my head. Knowing Henry, it was about time.

Sure enough, a deep roar rolled across the sky. Several dark green military helicopters thundered in from the distance.

At the same time, a security guard came sprinting up from the base of the hill, panic all over his face.

"Mr. Gray, Mr. Wolfe, something's wrong! A federal convoy just rolled in from the mountain. Black SUVs, sequential plates!"