Shalma Hughes paused, her phone in hand. Her slender fingertips appeared somewhat pale against the completely black device. "Three years ago, I swore I would never return to the Thorne Family."
"The blood of the Thornes flows in your veins. Your mother was a daughter of the Thorne Family. You really can harden your heart, can't you? Don't argue with me anymore. Come back to the Thorne family's home right this instant."
A faint, chilling smile flickered across Shalma's face. "The Thorne Family? When my mother and I were living on the streets, where was the Thorne Family? When my mother willingly washed dishes in a restaurant just so we could have three square meals a day, where was the Thorne Family? Uncle Leroy, you're telling me now that my mother was a daughter of the Thorne Family. Have you forgotten who enforced the family law on her and drove her out? Wasn't it you?"
The resentment she had never vented erupted like a volcano, crashing forth with an unprecedented intensity.
