Chapter 1 - The Blood Red Pool Party
The deafening sound of a stinging slap echoed violently across the glistening marble terrace of the Sterling family estate.
Over one hundred high-society guests froze with their crystal champagne flutes suspended halfway in the warm summer air.
Twenty-year-old Clara Sterling staggered backward against the stone balustrade, her small trembling hand pressed firmly against her burning left cheek.
Standing directly in front of her was Victoria Sterling, her ruthless stepmother, draped in an emerald silk designer gown that reeked of ill-gotten wealth.
Victoria’s face was twisted into a mask of pure, unfiltered venom that wiped away any trace of her painted cosmetic elegance.
Before Clara could catch her breath or wipe the tears that instantly welled in her wide hazel eyes, Victoria lunged forward with sharp, manicured nails.
She grabbed the delicate white cashmere cardigan resting on Clara’s shoulders, the very cardigan their late father had gifted her on her eighteenth birthday.
With a sickening rip that cut through the silence of the garden, Victoria tore the fabric right off Clara's trembling body and hurled it into the dirt.
“YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A PARASITE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!” Victoria shrieked, her voice screeching across the manicured lawns.
“YOUR FATHER IS DEAD, YOUR FORTUNE IS GONE, AND YOU DO NOT BELONG AMONG CIVILIZED HUMAN BEINGS!”
Clara’s voice cracked in desperation as she pleaded for a shred of humanity.
“Victoria, please, this was my father’s house before you ever stepped foot inside it!”
“It was his house, but everything belongs to me now, you worthless orphan!” Victoria snarled in response, stepping closer until her heavy perfume choked Clara’s senses.
Without a second of hesitation or an ounce of mercy, Victoria planted both of her hands squarely against Clara’s chest.
She shoved with all the malicious strength gathered from years of bitter jealousy and hatred.
Clara lost her footing on the wet marble perimeter and fell backward into the open air.
SPLASH!
The quiet surface of the Olympic-sized swimming pool exploded into violent white foam as Clara crashed into the eight-foot deep end.
Frigid chlorinated water rushed into her mouth, her nose, and her stinging eyes as she plunged down toward the tiled bottom.
She had never learned how to swim because of a childhood trauma, a vulnerability Victoria knew all too well.
Panic seized Clara’s lungs as her arms flailed helplessly beneath the turquoise surface.
Gasps and scattered screams erupted from the crowd of onlookers, yet not a single wealthy socialite stepped forward to offer a hand.
They were all terrified of crossing Victoria, the undisputed tyrant who currently controlled the vast Sterling financial empire.
Standing only two feet away from the water’s edge was Victoria’s biological daughter, twenty-two-year-old Chloe.
Chloe wore an obnoxious diamond choker and held a glass of rosé, laughing with hysterical delight at the sight of Clara drowning.
“Look at her flailing like a pathetic stray dog!” Chloe jeered loudly so everyone could hear her amusement.
“Maybe now she will finally realize she belongs at the very bottom of the gutter!”
To add salt to the open wound, Chloe kicked Clara’s small leather handbag across the wet tiles with the tip of her designer heel.
The zipper snapped, scattering Clara’s personal medication, student ID, and cherished family photographs across the dirty ground.
Clara broke the surface for a brief, agonizing half-second, gasping for air while choking on swallowed water.
“Help me… please… I can’t breathe!” she choked out before slipping beneath the surface once again.
Victoria merely crossed her arms, a triumphant smirk curling the corners of her dark red lips.
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Nobody moved an inch to save a dying girl, as cowardice hung heavy over the entire backyard.
The water churned furiously as Clara’s strength began to fade into dark, suffocating oblivion.
