Meanwhile.
The night was deep, and the streets of the United Realmon States were ablaze with neon lights.
A pink supercar tore through the darkness, its engine roaring.
Inside the cabin, the bass of the stereo was deafening.
Anna drove with one hand on the steering wheel, waving the other excitedly as she laughed. "Isabella, you gave that hillbilly way too much credit! Did you see the stupid look on her face? She swallowed everything I said. She actually thought I'd accept some hick as my cousin!"
Her expression was twisted with undisguised mockery and disdain. "What an idiot. A few sweet words and she lost all sense of reality."
"A peasant who grew up in the sticks thinks she deserves to step into our social circle?"
Isabella sat in the passenger seat, offering soft words of caution. "Anna, don't say that. She's your cousin after all..."
"Bullshit!" Anna yanked the steering wheel, executing a flawless drift as the car glided smoothly into another lane. "I only have one cousin, and that's you! Who does that random woman from the middle of nowhere think she is?"
The revulsion in her voice was practically spilling over.
Isabella watched her blatant disgust with intense satisfaction, though she carefully maintained a worried facade. "Anna, you're too sweet to me... But she's actually quite clever. She might not have completely bought your act."
"Clever? Her?" Anna scoffed loudly. "How smart can a high school dropout be? She's been poor her whole life—she's trashy to her core! Now that she's finally wormed her way into a wealthy family, what do you think she wants most? Acceptance and validation, obviously! I butter her up a little, and tomorrow I'll toss her some out-of-season handbag I don't want. Just watch, she’ll be groveling for scraps and eating out of the palm of my hand."
Imagining the scene, she let out a triumphant, malicious laugh.

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