Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Claudia Is a Lunatic

The maid parked the car in the garage for Claudia. By the time she drove out, Lydia was already waiting at the curb.

She planted herself right in front of the car.

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Her dress was still stained, her hair damp and sticky with soup. She looked a mess—yet wore the smug air of a winner.

Claudia could picture it: Lydia cooing sweet nonsense before she slipped out, making everyone at home believe she was the one suffering, yet still so generous, still trying to patch things up with Claudia. What a warm, harmonious tableau it must’ve been–dutiful daughter, loving parents, loyal brothers.

The sisters faced off beside the car.

“Claudia, I told you. Everything you have, I’m taking. One by one. You owe me.”

Claudia studied the adoptive sister who’d fought her for everything since they were kids and asked, genuinely curious, “Is picking up my leftovers really that satisfying? Do you hoard everything I’ve touched like it’s gold? Lydia, are you twisted–or just pathetic?”

“Hmph, keep mouthing off.” Lydia’s face went hard, then curved into a smirk. “You wanted Grandma’s house so badly. Funny, you didn’t throw this kind of fit when the family shares went to me. But what can you do? After my accident, Mom already promised me the house. The transfer’s in three days. A fortune–teller said my fate’s weak, full of hardship, and I need a heavy heirloom to ground me. A house was best. So my parents handed it over without blinking. Isn’t it hilarious? The place you cherished for years just dropped into my hands.”

Claudia’s fists tightened. She saw again her parents‘ evasive looks when she’d mentioned the house, and Wilson’s slip: “Give it to Lydia.”

It wasn’t an empty threat. They’d decided long ago.

Whether she agreed to the engagement or not, the house was never going to be hers.

Wilson’s ultimatum had been stalling, nothing more.

And she’d actually come tonight with the tiny hope that they’d honor Grandma’s last wish.

Laughable. Truly laughable.

Numb as she felt, her chest still throbbed. They knew what that house meant to her.

Maybe in Wilson and Lottie’s eyes, it didn’t matter if the deed said Lydia or Claudia. But to

Chapter 10 Claudia Is a Lunatic

Claudia, anyone else could have it–anyone but Lydia.

Her eyes went cold and sharp.

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Lydia kept prattling, bitterness twisting her mouth. “We were both her granddaughters. Why did she always favor you? If she wouldn’t give it to me, I’ll take it. Claudia, this is all your fault.”

She leaned in, voice a purr of triumph against Claudia’s ear. “You say I don’t deserve it? Too bad the world doesn’t bend to you. People–you can’t keep them. Houses–you can’t keep those either.”

A thunderclap went off in Claudia’s head, yanking her back to that summer when she was

seventeen.

Peach and apricot trees in bloom, cicadas shrilling. She’d skipped home with a basket of herbs, eager to share them with Grandma–only to find pills scattered on the floor, her grandmother limp and gone, and Lydia looking at her with a cruel, crooked smile.

That was when childhood ended. That was when the world stopped.

“Aah-” Lydia’s gloating cut off in a gasp.

Claudia’s hand locked around her slender throat and slammed her against the car, choking off her breath.

“Isn’t this what you came for? Poke the bear, run home and play the victim?” Claudia’s voice was cool, almost detached. “I can’t talk circles like you. But when people come begging for a beating, I never hesitate. Murder? That’s what I’m best at. You, of all people, know that, Lydia.”

Her face was composed; her eyes glittered with something close to madness. Her grip tightened.

Terror blew Lydia’s eyes wide.

She’d miscalculated. She should never have come alone to provoke her. She knew how sacred Grandma was to Claudia, and she’d still pushed.

She remembered that summer too.

Claudia could kill.

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Panic surged; she couldn’t force a word out–only slapped frantically at Claudia’s arm.

The gated community was dead quiet. No one around.

Just when Lydia was sure this lunatic was going to finish her, Claudia abruptly let go and asked something that made no sense. “You staged that little crash for me and all I got was a scratch.

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To Claudia is a Lunatic

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You and Julie have that dance competition coming up, don’t you? Big deal for you, right?”

“What are you planning?” Dread curled in Lydia’s gut.

A sickening crack–her head hit the car window. Glass spiderwebbed. Blood slid down her pale cheek as the world spun.

Psycho. Claudia really was a psycho.

“The cameras don’t cover this spot, do they? Otherwise you wouldn’t dare show me that ugly face.”

Claudia’s fingers brushed the red marks on Lydia’s throat. “Sneak out to ‘talk sense‘ into me, alone–you’ll go back bruised and bawling for them, won’t you? You’ve worked so hard at the act. How could I not give you a hand?”

For the first time, Lydia’s fear was pure. “Claudia, aren’t you afraid our parents will cut you off for good?”

“Does it matter anymore?”

A scream tore the night.

Her shin snapped. “It hurts! Oh God, it hurts! Claudia, I’ll never forgive you!”

By the time the Lancasters arrived, all they saw was Lydia collapsed in a pool of blood, calf twisted at a sick angle, head bleeding, out cold. Claudia’s car roared off without a glance back.

Lottie nearly fainted at the sight.

Wilson, with Clarence and Zane, scrambled to get Lydia to the hospital.

Lawless. Out of control.

Claudia’s car sliced through the night. She’d taken out Lydia’s leg, but the ice in her chest didn’t budge.

It had been next to impossible to pry the deed out of Lottie’s hands. Once it was signed over to Lydia, who knew what filthy games she’d play.

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