CHAPTER 16
The Devil and The Pop Icon
The word SIT did not just hang in the air; it curdled.
For Rory, that single syllable felt like a physical collar snapping around her neck. It was the tone he might use for a well-trained Doberman—sharp, expectant, and utterly devoid of the respect one gives to a human being, let alone an equal.
Deep in the marrow of her bones, a hot, prickly resentment began to spread. She was Rory—a woman who had clawed her way to global stardom, a woman who commanded stadiums and navigated the treacherous currents of the music industry. She had built herself into an icon through sheer force of will, and yet, in this hollow, gilded suite, Malphas was attempting to reduce her to a domestic pet.
It was more than just arrogance; it was a profound, systemic entitle
