Chapter 13
thirteen
“I guess you got what you deserved, and in your case, you got what your body was worth. Nothing.”
“The girl is practically skipping and shitting flowers down the footpath.”
“We’re going to take over, you dumb bitch. At this rate, the budding artist will bloom all over fucking Europe while you eat your weight in chocolate.”
She gritted her teeth and took the criticism. She had miscalculated the drunken lout’s effectiveness. A mistake she wasn’t prepared to let happen again.
“I said, I’ve got it under control,” she growled under her breath as she watched the seriously undertalented girl waltz into one of Dublin’s most exclusive Eircodes.
How had she climbed from the bottom of those stairs only to walk into a better life minutes later? She needed to escalate her plans before the voices did.
“Forgive us for underestimating you. Your track record of disappointment is legendary at this point.”
“We know you’re waiting for the gallery’s exhibition to make your so-called move. Surely, you know we don’t trust you anymore.”
“Headless birds? Christ, but you are an idiot.”
“I have a plan for the exhibition. Give me more time,” she begged.
“Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.”
“Give you more time? Your finances are finite, cow. We have just enough to exact revenge on Mirren Morrow-MacGregor Campbell before we need to turn our attention on your waste-of-breath mother.”
“Consider your free will revoked.”