I refused when my stepmother ordered me to change my brother’s baby. Her hand cracked across my face; then my laptop shattered on the floor. She flung the filthy diaper at me and hissed, “You’re useless. Get out of my house.” I grabbed my bag, reached the door, then stopped. “By midnight, this house won’t be yours anymore.” Her face drained white—because she finally remembered what was hidden inside my broken laptop.

Marlene stepped out into the executive lobby, looking wildly disheveled. Her designer hair was slightly out of place, her makeup was smudged around her eyes from frantic driving, and her expensive wool coat was half-buttoned. She looked less like an elite suburban socialite and more like a cornered animal running out of time.

She spotted me sitting calmly at Marcus’s desk through the open glass doors of the corner office.

Without waiting for the security guard who was trailing nervously behind her, Marlene marched down the hallway, pushed open the glass door, and slammed her palms onto the edge of Marcus’s desk.

“Clara!” Marlene hissed, her voice shaking with a mixture of fury and absolute terror. “You little ungrateful viper! Get your things and come back home right now!”

I didn't flinch. I slowly turned my chair around to face her, resting my hands neatly folded in my lap.

“Good evening, Marlene,” I said smoothly. “You look tired. Driving downtown at midnight can be so exhausting.”

Marlene’s chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. She glanced frantically at Marcus, then back at me. “Don't play games with me, Clara! You think you can pull some childish stunt and walk away with everything your father worked for? That house is mine! My name is on the secondary utility bills!”

“Utility bills don't grant property ownership, Mrs. Vance,” Marcus intervened, his voice cool and authoritative as he stood up from his chair. “As corporate trustee, I must remind you that you are currently trespassing on private commercial property after hours.”

“Shut up, Marcus! You’ve always been her little enabler!” Marlene shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at him before turning back to me with a sudden, desperate shift in tone. Her expression twisted into a sickening imitation of warmth.

“Clara... sweetheart,” Marlene pleaded, her voice dropping into a sugary, fake whine as she reached out to grab my hand. “Listen to me. We’re family. What happened tonight... it was just a misunderstanding. I was stressed out with the baby, Jason was being difficult, and I overreacted. Let’s go back home together. We can talk this out like civilized people.”

I pulled my hand back firmly, watching her with cold, dead eyes.

“Civilized people don't slap their stepdaughters across the face,” I said quietly. “Civilized people don't smash family heirlooms and computers. And civilized people certainly don't steal from orphans.”

Marlene’s fake smile vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, venomous snarl.

“You think you’ve won, don't you?” Marlene hissed, leaning over the desk so close her breath smelled of stale mints and panic. “You think because you managed to sneak out of the house that you can take everything from me and Jason? I will drag you through the courts for the next ten years! I’ll claim you were mentally unstable! I’ll destroy your reputation in this city so thoroughly no company will ever hire you!”

I glanced down at the digital clock glowing on Marcus’s computer screen.

11:59:45 PM.

Only fifteen seconds left.

“You can try, Marlene,” I said softly, standing up from my chair and looking down at her with absolute sovereignty. “You’re welcome to try whatever you want.”

Marlene blinked, suddenly noticing the timestamp glowing on the computer monitor behind me.

Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the numbers tick down.

11:59:55 PM.

11:59:58 PM.

00:00:00 AM.