Page 199 of Chosen Beta

At least not until she grabs Brooke’s arm and yanks her to the ground.

“Marianne!” I cry out, rushing forward.

The petite girl has a steak knife in her hand, and she’s got it pointed at Brooke’s throat.

“Don’t fucking move,” she hisses.

I go still, petrified that Brooke’s about to be stabbed.

“Please,” I start, holding my hands up. “Whatever this is about …”

She laughs. “Like you don’t know.”

“I don’t. So, tell me. Please. I need to know.”

I also need to know why John didn’t run in here the second I yelled out her name, but I’ll have to deal with that later since he’s still not in the room.

“You think you can waltz into Geraldine’s job and just start changing all the rules? Are you fucking mental? Do you not understand the shitstorm you’ve created? The rich rule theworld. They’ll always rule. You’re nobody. You’re worth nothing. You can’t change a damn thing!”

“Why do I feel like I’m speaking to Warren Corvina?”

“So, youdoknow,” she sneers. “Good for you. But it’s not going to save either of you. I’m going to kill you, and I’ll kill everyone else I can get my hands on before someone comes along and puts a bullet in me. You know what that’s going to show the world? It’s gonna show them that you failed. That change is bad, and we’d best all go back to the way things were before something else terrible happens.”

Fuck. This girl isn’t just brainwashed.

It’s almost like sheisWarren Corvina.

I glance at Brooke.

She looks pissed as hell, but she’s stuck in a position she can’t move from without risking death.

It’s up to me to end this, and I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve.

“Let her go, and I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Lana!” Brooke hisses.

The Marianne puppet rolls her eyes. “Fuck that! This little bitch put me in prison. I’ll put her in the ground if it’s the last thing I do.”

My hands clench into fists.

If I want that knife away from Brooke, I’m going to have to take it from Marianne.

I move forward and Marianne presses the blade tighter to Brooke’s throat.

“I told you.” She growls. “Don’t fucking move.”

“If you’re going to kill me, do it,” I goad her, waving my arms, trying to get her focus off Brooke.

She stares me down, and then she lifts the hand with the knife, and punches Brooke in the head.

The sound the impact makes is so loud I feel sick to my stomach.

Marianne smiles as she points the knife at me. “Now, you get to die.”

She rushes toward me, and I get ready to fend her off.

The crack of a gunshot is followed by another, and another.

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