I stared into my father's smug face, the disgusting reality of his scheme clicking into place.
All that grand speech about saving my mother's life—all those vicious insults calling me ungrateful and despicable—had been nothing more than a calculated performance.
He had refused to help me, withheld her medication, and staged a crisis for one single reason: to corner me and force my hand into securing a contract with the Sterling Group.
After my desperate phone call yesterday, he had assumed I was completely trapped. He never imagined I could raise $100,000 on my own in less than twenty-four hours. In his mind, he held absolute leverage over my mother's life.
When I remained silent, the grin on his face widened, ugly and triumphant.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" he mocked, stepping close
