HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVES!!

**WARNING graphic and violent content may be shown in this chapter, please be advised**

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Dressed and ready to leave for the Campbell residence, I knocked on Amari's bedroom door. A quiet 'come in' sounded and I pushed through.

She sat on her bed, dressed in shorts and a loose t-shirt, and scrolled through her phone. The phone dropped on her stomach as she looked up. While I had given her space that the therapist demanded from us for Amari to come to terms with what happened in my bedroom, she certainly looked terrible.

Her eyes had bags under them, the usual light in her eyes dim. "Thought I would come to see you before we left." I offered for her to join us but she refused. Atticus would be staying with her, along with the remaining men on the compound.

Nora promised to check on her every hour. Amari's eyes trailed over my dress. "You look pretty," she murmured.

I clenched my jaw at the forced compliment, knowing she would usually gush and carry on but this subdued response upset me more. I've never wanted her to be her normal annoying self so bad. I plastered a smile on my face. "Thanks, how was your last day of school?" I asked now that it was officially summer vacation for her.

Atticus still needed to complete his final exams over the next week before his high school graduation. The private school insisted that the other grades finish early to give the seniors quiet in the halls.

Amari lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "It was fine, we watched movies."

I lowered myself onto the edge of her bed and lay on my side, not caring if I wrinkled my outfit. "So, I was thinking," I began, watching her face, "Atticus said that he wanted to have a few friends over for his graduation party and they'll be in the pool and we'll do a barbeque and I thought that maybe you could invite two of your friends over so you won't be bored, how does that sound?"

She looked up at me, her brown eyes empty. "Sure, that's fine."

I gritted my teeth. "Okay, I have to go but Nora is downstairs if you need her and Atticus is studying in his room," I informed her, pushing to my feet and slowly walking back to the door.

"Ana," she called softly. I spun on my heel to face her. "What happened to the...?" she gestured to her neck, unable to form the words.

My fingers automatically reached for my neck, the bruises invisible from the amount of makeup it took to cover it up. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You never have to worry about them again," I told her vaguely. I would rather not go into any detail about how Jasper took care of the intruder with no mercy.

Amari fidgeted with her fingers. "How have you not broken when this is the life you're forced to live?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked so broken and I felt her pain in my chest.

A grim smile crossed my lips as I opened the door and looked over my shoulder at her. "Because he broke me long before this world could," I replied, closing the door behind me.

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My mind wandered for the entire drive to the Campbell residence. They lived in Pelham, roughly thirty minutes outside of Manhattan. Finn sat silently beside me, dressed in his newly tailored suit, less formal than a tuxedo but more formal than a work suit.

He didn't say a word, somehow knowing I needed this time for myself. He did, however, brush a cold hand just above my knee then casually left it there. Even going so far as to squeeze it gently, offering a small comfort.

Jasper and Elijah were in the other SUV with Santiago and Luca. Harvey and Lorenzo sat in the front with Franco and Theo behind us.

I took those silent minutes to settle myself, and internalize what would happen tonight given the information Uncle George gave me this week. Steps and protocols were put in place and I planned to make it so that no damage would come to my family. I just needed Shan to make the first move.

The SUV came to a stop at the gates to the Campbell residence. Jasper's driver opened their window and spoke to the security guard standing in his small booth. After a few exchanges, the guard nodded and the gates opened swiftly and we made the short drive to the mansion.

Their residence wasn't even half the size of ours since they preferred to conduct all their business in the city and in the south, where their main residence was located.

"Love," Franco called from the back. My head snapped up. "You need to get out of your head now."

Finn's eyebrows furrowed as he searched my face. I gave him a small personal smile before letting that practiced smirk grace my face. My hand came to rest on Finn's and I squeezed gently before letting go as the car swung around the circle leading to the front of the house.

A small group of butlers stood on the steps, waiting for each arrival. The dinner was supposed to be intimate, only the five families were going to be here but extras always managed to squeeze out an invite.

As the SUV stopped, Finn jumped out on his side and made his way around to mine, stopping the butler from opening my door. Franco made his way forward, sitting in Finn's seat. "You two look adorable," he commented with a teasing grin.

I glanced out the window, watching Finn wait for my brother's signal for me to exit the car. "He makes me feel human." Unlike the robot, my father created, that this lifestyle forced me to be.

Franco's warm hand brushed my shoulder but I didn't feel the same comfort Finn's cold hands offered. "Like when you were in California?" He prompted.

Without looking away from Finn, my head dipped a fraction. Before Franco could say anything more, Finn opened my door, a charming smile on his face.

I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to scrunch my nose, and grabbed his outstretched fingers. My body gracefully slid out of the car and I slipped my arm through his elbow while walking towards the steps.

Once we were all situated on the steps and I twisted on my heel and faced them. "Boys," I drawled, an evil gleam in my eyes, "put on your frowny faces tonight."

It took less than a split second for all of them to devoid their faces of emotions, no time at all for Jasper since that was his permanent expression.

Together, we walked up the steps and into the grand foyer. The space was a lot more ostentatious than our home. Gold seemed to be the standard color and I almost forgot how bad it looked in this house.

A throat cleared next to me. "Oh...wow." I gave Finn a side-eye and saw him gape at the shimmering gold curtains.

"Ugly as fuck, isn't it?" A voice drawled from the entryway to the dining room. Kimberly Campbell stood there with a sneer on her face. She wore a white cocktail dress, accentuating her long legs and making her red hair stand out.

I released Finn's arm and glided across the floor on my way to her. "Surprised to see you here, usually you run from these things."

She barely cracked a smile. "Believe me, I would be halfway to Paris right now to avoid this fun little get-together but my father insisted I be here tonight." We stood in front of each other, sizing the other up. I made a point of looking down at her since I towered over her by a couple of inches.

Kimberly was the only person I hated the least at these things. She hated all of this as much as I did but she knew how to have a good time. She and I often managed to get in trouble after a night out. But she was still a bitch who tested my patience at every chance she got.

Her eyes traveled behind me, scanning through my men. "Where's your guard dog?" She asked.

My lips twitched. "Corinne has the night off and I know you're only saying that since she's not here tonight." Everyone's brave when the thing that scares you most is not around.

Kimberly grinned.

A sudden chime sounded through the mansion and Kimberly scowled. "Dinner," she said slowly, her teeth grinding after each word, "is served. Fucking billionaires, spending their money on stupid fucking things like a dinner bell from Ancient Rome. I hate it here," she whispered to herself as she stomped back through the way she originally came.

We followed behind her. The dining room was unnecessarily large. A table the length of a swimming pool sat in the middle of the space. Floor-to-ceiling windows took up one entire wall, their curtains latched open.

Multiple security members were scattered across the room, mingling with each other yet keeping a close watch on everything.

The wives huddled in a corner, gossiping. My mother always told me I would be better off getting my information from the wives than the heads because the wives like to talk whether or not they're supposed to.

Mei Xiao kept her expression locked in a scowl as Giada Accardi spoke with animated gestures. Francisca Vigas listened, completely enraptured while Kimberly's mother, Lisa, scolded a butler for standing too close.

The heads of the families sat at one end of the table. Lawrence Campbell sat at the head of the table in respect to his home and Zhang Wei sat to his right. Alejandro Vigas and Angelo Accardi sat opposite Zhang Wei.

Shan Xiao took his place next to his father and the other heirs took their places along the table, leaving no space at that end for me or Jasper, who was now my heir. Shan watched my every move.

My men spread themselves around the room, Jasper disappearing into a corner with his phone while Santiago made his presence known to Sierra Vigas. Luca and Theo attached themselves to Elijah and wandered off to get drinks.

Finn tensed beside me at the emptiness around us. I moved to stand in front of him and held on to his suit jacket. He glanced down at me. "Relax," I ordered softly, "No one will bother you tonight."

His fingers slid along the silk-covered curve of my waist. "It's not me I'm worried about," he murmured, eyes boring into mine with an emotion I couldn't place.

Crap. I hadn't mentioned the whole purpose of us being here tonight. Instead, I smiled up at him. "How about a drink?"

He hung his head and nodded. We faced the bar together but a figure in my peripheral caught my attention. The person moved towards me and I knew I needed to get Finn as far from him as possible. "I'll be right back, order me a whiskey neat," I informed him, dismissing his confused expression, and stepped into Antonio Accardi's path. The scowl on my face was not forced.

Antonio's smile made my skin crawl. "Aw, Ana, where's your little date going? I wanted to meet him, I heard he's a doctor," he said, fixing the rings on his fingers.

"Fuck off, Antonio," I said without any emotion.

His dark eyes roamed over my body. My fingers itched to grab my knife on my thigh and slit his throat in front of everyone. Bu tI couldn't, there were rules to follow within the five families.

He stepped closer to me. "Miss me?"

"No."

He bared his teeth. "Ouch," he pouted, lifting a hand to my shoulder.

I intercepted and gripped his finger. "Touch me and you're dead," I promised, my tone dark.

Antonio chuckled. "Are you threatening me, Love?"

Without another thought, I pulled his finger, dislocating it. He let out a sharp breath and instinctively pulled his hand closer to his body, eyes wide. I let myself move closer to him, my voice dripping in venom, "You bet your fucking ass I am."

"Love," A voice came from behind me and I angled my head noting Santiago stood behind me, face blank. "Do you need me to deal with it?"

My hand dropped Antonio's finger and he pulled it to his chest with a sneer. I released a satisfied breath and smirked. "That's okay, Santiago, I've handled it. Haven't I, Antonio?" I asked expectantly, fluttering my eyelashes innocently.

Antonio spat some insults in Italian and stomped away.

"What a little bitch," Santiago mused with a smirk.

I chuckled. "You're not wrong."

Finn stood at the bar with Elijah when I got there. In a heartbeat, the whiskey glass was in my hands and the contents were drained in another. Elijah whistled. Finn looked concerned. "I thought you don't drink at work things?" He asked, repeating what I told him at the underground casino weeks ago.

The liquor burned on its way down my throat but I didn't acknowledge the discomfort, only slammed my glass on the bartop. "I'm going to need some liquid courage for tonight," I said, glancing at Elijah and nodding my head. He blinked once and disappeared with a silent wish of luck. I looked up at Finn. "You need to stay by Jasper and Elijah."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Stay with them," I pressed, trying to show the urgency in my gaze, "I'm going to the restroom, don't look for me."

"Ana?" Finn questioned.

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his cheek, whispering against his skin. "Don't come looking for me, I'll see you in twenty minutes," I promised, allowing my lips to linger on his cold cheek.

When I pulled away Jasper stood behind Finn, casually ordering a drink while leaning against the bar. Jasper caught my eye for a moment and watched me dart my eyes to Finn. His head bobbed in a shallow nod.

I took a few steps away. "I'm heading to the restroom, I'll be right back," I said at a normal volume.

Suddenly Elijah's voice carried towards me. "Finn, my man, let's do some shots!" He said eagerly, loudly ordering a round of shots for everyone around them.

I slipped out of the room and strolled towards the restrooms. The hallways were empty, all the staff in the kitchens or dining room, preparing the dinner food.

An arm came from nowhere and wrapped around my neck, holding me in a chokehold I could easily escape from. Making my struggle sloppy and visual, the air unwilling to fill my lungs, the arm tightened until black dots clouded my vision and I fell unconscious.

I gasped, my head snapping up.

My arms were restricted as were my ankles. I sat in a fancy chair in one of the guest rooms located in the Campbell mansion, I deducted after a slow sweep of the room.

Shan Xiao leaned against a desk in the corner, his fingers spinning the knife that had been strapped to my thigh earlier. "Hello, Anastasia."

"How long was I out?" I asked, brushing off his greeting.

He shrugged, his free hand in his pants pocket. "A few minutes, don't worry none of your men will be looking for you for another ten minutes at least."

"Oh good, so this shouldn't take too long then," I said in a relieved tone, giving him a lopsided smile.

Shan's eyes narrowed. "I suppose you're wondering why you're tied up right now."

I shook my head. "Not really." My hands were cable-tied behind my body and I used that to my advantage. "I already know about your money troubles, Shan." I dislocated my thumb in one movement, barely blinking at the jolt of pain rushing through my arm. "So what, you're going to kill me so you can pay off a couple of debts?" I moved my hand in such a way that allowed me to get it out of the cable ties.

His lips curled in anger. "My father made choices he shouldn't have and I have to suffer the consequences?" he scoffed, pushing off the desk, "I don't think so."

"Get a job then, why do you need to resort to killing someone for some extra cash?" I asked, dropping my voice to sound breathy, almost pleading. "Shan, you know how bad it'll get if they find out that you killed me. You know the consequences."

Shan pursed his lips, nodding thoughtfully. "I do know the consequences, which is why the Campbell family will take the brunt of this scandal. Blame will fly from every corner and no one will suspect a thing." He stopped spinning the blade and held it securely in his hand, advancing towards me.

"Shan," I pleaded.

"Goodbye Anastasia, it's been an honor to compete with you," he said gently, his own stupid idea of a goodbye. I nearly rolled my eyes.

He angled the knife toward my throat when I reached out, watching his eyes widen in alarm, and knocked the knife from his hand. I spun around ungracefully with the chair still cable tied to my ankles and threw my body backward, letting the chair smack Shan in the stomach. He curled over and I stood up to my full height, letting the back of the chair hit I'm square in the face.

Being the narcissist he was, he grabbed his nose, pressing a hand over the blood gushing from the wound. Unable to locate where the knife landed, I put a hand down my dress and pulled out a thin blade stashed there, and got to work cutting the cable ties around my ankles.

As soon as the cable snapped, I stood up, kicking off my heels, and anticipated Shan rushing me. His father never worried about him being in a situation like this, they relied too much on their security detail.

I smirked.

He growled, rushing for me. At the last second, I sat down on the chair and kicked my feet out, and used his momentum to lift him off the ground, putting his full weight on my legs and kicking him outwards.

Shan hit the desk, his back arching at the impact and he slumped to the ground, out of breath. I stood up and glanced down.

A gasp left my lips. "You got blood on my dress," I accused, a nasty scowl forming on my lips. Granted the dress was black but anyone could see the darkened spot and the tear at the bottom. "I would demand compensation," I said, walking closer to his still slumped form, "but I know you can't afford it."

I grabbed him by the back of the neck and hefted him up. He tried to hit me but his movements were sluggish and one pinch on his back had him groaning in pain. I practically threw him into the chair I recently vacated.

With a sorrowful sigh, I lifted the hem of my dress and ripped the bottom piece into long, thin strands. I tied his legs together and used the longer pieces to tie them to the chair. His hands I tied to the arms of the chair.

After a quick search, I found my discarded knife and walked up to Shan. He kept shaking his head, trying to clear his vision. "You will not come near my family again," I threatened, squeezing the cool hilt of the knife. "You will be made an example of for anyone else stupid enough to come for my family."

My free hand clamped down on his left hand, holding it down and his eyes widened in fear as I brought the knife down with all my strength.

He screamed.

Minutes later I walked into the loud dining room. Silence followed. "Anastasia?" Lawrence Campbell called out uncertainly, slowly standing from his chair.

They all gaped at my appearance. Blood covered my hands and a few dots landed on my face. My dress was torn at the bottom and splattered in dark spots.

But I walked confidently in my heels past the wives who looked ready to drop dead and the security confused and alarmed at a possible threat. I refused to make eye contact with Finn or my brothers, strutting past them completely.

I stopped behind Zhang Wei's chair and placed a bloody handkerchief on his plate. He frowned up at me, staring at me like I was something found beneath his expensive shoes. I jerked my head towards the handkerchief.

"Go ahead, open it."

Using his dinner knife, he unfolded the handkerchief. The scowl slipped off his face and he paled, his eyes wide and afraid.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, to which he flinched at, and leaned down my head until it lined with his. "Next time your son tries to kill me," I said loudly, holding the attention of the room, "this will be his head instead of his finger. Consider this a friendly warning to everyone else," my gaze swept across the five families and their security, "touch my family and you deal with me personally."

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Rest in Peace Betty White, forever a legend 💜

Until next time,

Sammipott xx