Susan’s hand flew through the air. A loud smack echoed in the quiet hallway as she slapped Clarisse hard across the face.

"How dare you?" Susan gasped, breathing heavily.

​Clarisse’s head snapped to the side from the hit. She waited for a second, then slowly turned her face back to look at Susan.

​"Does the truth hurt?" she asked.

​"What do you want?" Susan asked again.

"I want my rightful place. I am moving into the Vaughn estate tomorrow. You will welcome me with a smile, and you will tell your friends that we are thrilled about the baby."

"We don’t even know who the father of the child is," Susan said, crossing her arms.

"It’s Mark’s or Alex’s," Clarisse replied calmly. "You can do your own DNA test when the baby is born."

"You will never be in my home, and you will never be a part of my life. When the baby is born, if it really belongs to any of my children, I will take care of the child’s needs. But you? You will never be acknowledged by this family."

"That doesn’t work for me, Susan," Clarisse replied, tilting her head. "I know Mark is about to start his campaign. What do you think people will say when they find out he abandoned his pregnant girlfriend?"

Susan stepped right up to her, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "You don’t want to see the other side of me. I will discredit you. I will ruin you completely."

"A few days ago, you were proud to announce my engagement with your son."

"Two days ago," Susan hissed, "I didn’t know you were a whore."

Clarisse shrugged, looking completely unbothered by Susan’s harsh words.

"Get out of here," Susan snapped, turning her face away in disgust.

"I will go," Clarisse said. "But think about what I said."

Meanwhile, back on the private island...

Emily and Lyvana walked slowly along the beach.

"Whatever you want to remember must be very important," Emily said.

Lyvana looked out at the ocean.

"It is. When is the graduation ceremony anyway?"

"Next month. Honestly, I just want it over with."

"You’ll miss it when it’s done."

Emily giggled. "Perhaps."

The waves rolled in gently, washing over their feet.

"This is paradise," Lyvana breathed.

Just then, a voice carried across the beach.

Near the line of palm trees, two figures stood. It was Julian, Ethan stood beside him.

Lyvana ran towards him and jumped into his arms, her legs locking around his waist.

"Hey," he murmured, a small smile forming. "Missed me that much?"

Lyvana let out a breathless laugh, her face buried against his shoulder.

"When did you get back?" she asked quickly.

Julian’s hand slid lightly along her back.

"We came back to check on you. We’ll head out again in the evening."

Across the sand, Emily was busy kissing Ethan, completely unconcerned with anything else around her.

"We got the memory thing from the store," Lyvana said.

"That’s great. The locals swear by it."

Lyvana looked up at him.

"You actually believe that?"

Julian shrugged.

"Believe is a strong word. But the store has been around a long time, and so have the stories. People come here looking for all kinds of things."

"And they find them?"

"Sometimes."

The four of them eventually made their way back to the villa as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

Thousands of miles away, Catalina sat at a long metal table in a crowded prison dining hall, staring down at the tray of food in front of her.

The noisy room was full of shouting and clanking trays, but she was too distracted to care.

She looked past the gray walls and the heavy security guards, wondering why she had agreed to this stupid deal in the first place.

She didn’t have to be here. She could have just run away, disappeared to another country, and changed her name without anyone ever knowing where she went.

Instead, she was trapped in this loud, terrible place. She still had a whole year left to spend here, and every single day felt like a lifetime.

"What’s wrong, princess doesn’t like her food?"

Catalina looked up from her tray. Another inmate was standing over the table, a mean smirk on her face.

When she said nothing. The inmate sat down right across from her.

"I asked you a question," she said, leaning forward and tapping her fingers on the metal table.

Catalina kept her expression blank, refusing to let the woman see any fear.

"I heard you," she replied. "I just don’t have anything to say to you."

The inmate’s smile disappeared, replaced by an angry glare. She reached out and pushed Catalina’s food tray, making the mushy food spill over the side.

"You think you’re better than everyone else in here just because you look like a rich girl?" the inmate sneered, leaning in closer. "Let me tell you something, princess. In here, your money and your fancy name means absolutely nothing."

"So you know who I am."

Everyone knows who you are," the woman scoffed, leaning her elbows on the table. "You’re the girl from the Windsor family. The whole prison has been talking about the high-society girl coming to serve time. We don’t get a lot of famous around here."

​Catalina’s grip tightened on her plastic spoon, but she kept her face completely still.

​"If you know who I am, then you know you should leave me alone," Catalina said quietly.

The inmate stared at her for a second. Then she laughed.

"You still don’t get it, do you?" she said, shaking her head. "In here, you’re just another inmate."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

The woman’s smile faltered.

A few inmates nearby snickered.

She slapped her palm down on the metal table. The loud bang echoed through the dining hall.

"I don’t like your attitude."

"That’s unfortunate."

Several conversations stopped.

"You think you’re tough?" The inmate asked. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"No," she said. "I think I was trying to eat lunch. And you’re in my face."

The inmate’s face darkened.

Being mocked clearly wasn’t something she was used to.

"Listen carefully, princess," she hissed. "People who come in here acting like you usually learn their lessons the hard way."

Catalina met her stare without blinking.

"Is that a threat?"

Before the woman could answer, a guard’s voice cut across the room.

"Problem over there?"