IMOGEN'S POV
I grabbed the pen, my grip tightening around it, and without thinking, I lunged, aiming straight for Valentine Sutton's skull.
The sharp cocking of a gun stopped me mid-air. My breath hitched, and my eyes snapped to the source of the sound. The henchman, the same brute who had thrown me into the car, now had his gun pressed against my mother's temple.
"Drop it," he ordered, his voice carrying the casual cruelty of someone who had done this before.
My heartbeat roared in my ears, but my hands shook as I slowly lowered the pen. The fluorescent lights overhead cast harsh shadows across the room, making everyone look more sinister, more grotesque.
Valentine, completely unfazed, chuckled. "The pen would hurt like hell, I'll give you that, but can your mother survive a bullet?" His perfectly pressed suit and manicured nails seemed to mock the violence of the moment.
