Betrayed Then Back For Blood (Briar Jennings) novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Like Mother, Like Daughter

It was September in Dasmieca. In the fancy Jennings family mansion in Shoneport, five people sat in the living room, the tension thick enough to choke on.

Briar Jennings, fresh off a flight from abroad, kicked back on a couch, legs crossed like she owned the place. The other four were crammed together on the other couch across from her, clearly uncomfortable.

Gunfire from a phone game kept blasting from Briar's phone, cutting through her father's voice every time he tried to speak.

"Briar, you just got back. You don't even know the first thing about running a company," Edgar Jennings said. "Why don't you hand your shares over to me? You'll still get your annual cut just like before."

Briar didn't even glance up. Her thumbs kept tapping.

Edgar continued, "Your brother's grown now. It's time he started learning the ropes. I could transfer him half your shares so that he doesn't have to start from scratch."

There was still nothing from Briar.

"And about that engagement to the Hargreaves boy," Edgar added. "You've been gone for years. You don't even know him anymore. Why not let your sister take your place?"

No matter what he said, Briar just kept playing, like he wasn't even there.

Edgar's patience wore thin. His face darkened, but before he could explode, Halle Jennings—his ever-graceful wife and longtime expert at playing the good stepmother—gently placed a hand on his chest.

"Edgar, she just got home," she said sweetly. "Let her settle in first."

But her eyes weren't so sweet. They flicked coldly toward her daughter, Beatrice Jennings.

Catching the signal, Beatrice jumped up and snatched the phone from Briar's hands. "Briar, Dad's talking to you! Where are your manners? You're upsetting him."

Briar's face turned stone cold. She shot Beatrice a look sharp enough to kill. "Give it back."

Beatrice froze like a deer caught in the headlights. The overwhelming pressure made a chill run down her spine.

Briar grabbed her phone back. The game was over. Her teammates were cussing her out in the group chat. Her mood soured even more.

She hadn't even had time for a drink since stepping off the plane. Her luggage was still sitting by the stairs. But none of that mattered to Edgar.

He didn't ask how she'd managed all these years alone overseas. He didn't care. All he wanted was her shares—and to dump her fiancé on someone else. Some father he was.

Then again, Edgar had never been much of a father to begin with.

Briar didn't care about that fiancé or the arranged marriage. But that didn't mean she'd let anyone take what was hers.

She wasn't like her mother—Rosalia—who gave up everything, even her life, for a man.

Her tone was flat, but every word cut deep. "So all those hundreds of calls, rushing me to come home, were just to trick me into handing over my shares so your idiot son can run the company into the ground, huh?

"You really think the company belongs to you now, huh? Did you forget who the majority shareholder is? That bastard son of yours isn't stepping one foot into my company."

Edgar's face twitched. "You ungrateful brat!"

Camden, who'd been quiet up until now, shot Briar a look like he wanted to tear her apart.

Briar didn't even flinch. She pointed right at Beatrice. "And you want me to break off my engagement just so this homewrecker can take my spot, right? Like mother, like daughter. I've never seen anyone so proud to be the other woman."

She turned her eyes on Beatrice and sneered, "Did your mom teach you that? Was that part of your well upbringing—how to steal someone else's man? Why are you so dead set on taking what's mine?"

Edgar's face went dark. His plan had been laid bare, but he still forced himself to speak calmly. "Briar, don't say things like that. Camden's the only boy in the family. Of course, he's going to take over the company eventually. You don't even want to work there, so what's the point of holding onto those shares?

"And about your engagement to the Hargreaves boy—that was just something your grandfather and Gavin agreed to years ago. Now that Zeke's gone, it doesn't mean anything. Beatrice and that boy love each other. Would you really want to break them up?"

Edgar only dared to pressure Briar now because he'd heard Zeke was dead.

With Zeke gone, the Grant family was like an unguarded pie—every outsider was trying to take a bite. Edgar believed that they were too busy protecting their own company to deal with him.