Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“Let me make something clear,” Saylor began. “You’ve been fooled. Those texts were not mine. They were faked by a sad, pathetic Dreg who saw a chance to take me down and make some money while she’s at it.”
Saylor pinned me with a glare. “I’ve got to hand it to her. It was a good plan. Make a small fortune passing off her fiction as my private texts, then before my lawyers could come after her, she had her Rogue boyfriend infect every copy with a virus that’ll crater a hard drive. Evidence gone, money in her pocket, a Burkhardt disgraced.”
Irritation strangled my throat. I had to hand it to her. She expertly turned everything around and used my father’s takedown and computer virus to her advantage.
“I don’t blame you all for falling for it, but the disrespect stops now.”
Alice pushed out from the pack.
“Anyone who dares to use that bullshit you wasted your money on against me will—”
Alice smacked her tray up, exploding the hot coffee in her face.
Saylor’s scream rang through the café.
“Fuck, you never shut up,” Alice remarked. “Do you really think anyone is buying your crap? The Dreg made it all up? How could she have done that when she wasn’t even in Regalia during half the shit you pulled? I mysteriously fell sick during the Model U.N. trip and you had to take my place. Luna just ‘made up’ all the texts where you were laughing about spiking my iced tea? How did she even know I drank iced tea that day?”
I couldn’t help inclining my head. Alice made a fabulous point.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Saylor screeched.
I hissed at the angry red burn blotches on her forehead and cheeks.
“We’re telling you how it is from now on,” said a voice from the other side of the room. I followed it to Iris. “The Royals are done doing what you say. The queen has been dethroned.”
Saylor was still puffing and screaming. “You— You can’t do this to me! That was the biggest mistake you’ve ever made. You’re out—”
“Out of what?”
I stiffened. Slowly, achingly, my head turned to the door.
Everleigh smiled at her oldest friend in the world. Flanking her were Piper and Gabriella.
“You weren’t going to say they’re out of the Royal line, were you? Surely you know you don’t have the power to do that anymore. Ahhh.” Everleigh mock-pouted. “You didn’t know. It’s cute how deluded you are.”
“Everleigh?” Saylor couldn’t have looked more confused if she truly was deluded.
“Looks like you need someone to spell it out for you,” Everleigh went on. “So, here it is. You’re the one who’s out of the Royal line, Burkhardt. The next generation is taking over, and they want nothing to do with you. They’re ending their business contracts with you. They’re moving off the overpriced land you own. And they’re definitely not voting for your fake-ass daddy. They’re dissolving all their ties with you”—she smiled nastily—“and giving them to me.”
“But— But— That’s not how it works,” she cried. “Who the hell cares what they do a hundred years from now when they take over their companies. All that matters is what I can do today. One call to my dad and—”
“He won’t do shit,” Gabriella sliced in. “Your power was that you could take out any one of us whenever you wanted. But you never had the power to take out all of us. Grandpa and Daddy Burkhardt need us just as much as we used to need them. More importantly, they need the second and third rungs to support any removals from the Royal line. And you’re not getting it.”
“The only power you really had over us is fear,” Piper said, crossing to the drinks station. “We’re not afraid of you anymore.”
The lemonade she poured went straight in Saylor’s face.
It was a mass exodus, but not a quiet one. The entire café emptied out and dumped their tray on Saylor like she was the new screaming trash bin.
“Bitch!”
“Drop dead, Burkhardt.”
“I’ll get you back for what you did.”
“Get the fuck out of our school,” Gabriella said.
“Or we’ll do worse,” Everleigh finished.
“Piper? Gabriella! Everleigh,” Saylor cried at their backs. “Why are you doing this? We’re friends. We’re best friends!”
The three of them didn’t look back. They walked out, leaving the formerly reigning queen of Regalia in a mountain of food trash on the floor.
In the span of twenty minutes, only me, Victor, Saylor, and a handful of incredulous Dregs remained in the café. I walked up to her, not taking any pleasure at the horrific mess that was the great Saylor Burkhardt.
Okay, I was taking a little pleasure, but I didn’t let it show on my face.
“Here.” I held out my hand.
She looked at it like she didn’t know what I wanted her to do with it. It was hard to tell under the smears of jelly and syrup running down her face, though I swore the shining wetness was tears.