The slap cracked through the penthouse like a whip, sharp and final.

Damien’s head jerked to the side, a streak of blood trailing from his split lip. The zip ties cutting into his wrists only made him angrier, his chest rising and falling with ragged, shallow breaths.

"You stupid, pathetic little boy," the woman hissed, her heels clicking against the cold marble floor as she paced around him. "After everything I built… after everything I sacrificed… this is how you repay me?"

He ...