Penny sat quietly at her dressing table, her reflection barely recognizable. A fresh bandage covered her cheek, the pain dull now, but her thoughts sharp as knives. Hughes worked in silence, tending to her wounds with careful hands.
Penny was grateful for the silence. She didn't want pity. She didn't want questions.
But suddenly, Hughes spoke.
"You shouldn't let her speak to you like that."
Penny blinked. "Who?"
"Ariana," Hughes said after a pause, her voice low. "She shouldn't be allowed to humiliate you like that. None of them should." Hughes said. Penny was the key to their wealth, though she was still a little skeptical about whether to tell Penny about it or not.
Or maybe she'd just let Penny find out on her own.
"I knew they'd try something," Hughes whispered. "I should've never told them."
"Told who what?" Penny asked, her eyes narrowing.
Hughes hesitated, her fingers trembling as they hovered over the bandage. And then, quietly, she confessed.
