Gina had just changed into a pair of slacks and a cashmere sweater when the door to her bedroom flew open.

Mrs. Higgins marched in without knocking. She held a ring of brass keys in her hand.

"Mrs. Burris," Higgins announced, her nose in the air. "Old Mrs. Berger has instructed that, for your own safety given your... mental state... I am to hold the keys to your room. You are not to lock your door."

It was the beginning of the imprisonment. In her last life, Gina had handed them over, weeping.

Gina sat at her vanity, brushing her hair. She watched Higgins in the mirror.

"Get out," Gina said calmly.

Higgins scoffed. "This is the Burris house. You do as you are told."

Gina spun around on the stool. She picked up her phone and tapped the screen.

"Mrs. Higgins," Gina said. "You've been employed here for twenty years. Your salary is $150,000 a year."

Higgins frowned. "What of it?"

"I have your tax returns here," Gina lied smoothly, though she knew the facts from the future audit that had happened in her previous timeline. "And I have the invoices from the catering company you use. You've been inflating the costs by 30% and splitting the difference with your nephew, who owns the company. That's about $500,000 in embezzlement over five years."

Higgins' face drained of color. The keys jingled in her shaking hand. "That's... that's a lie! Mrs. Elberta trusts me!"

Gina stood up and walked toward her. "Also, the three cleaning staff you hired last month? They are undocumented. You're paying them below minimum wage and pocketing the rest. That is a federal felony, Higgins. Human trafficking, tax fraud..."

Gina stopped inches from the woman's face.

"If I call the IRS and ICE right now, do you think Hansford will protect you? Or will he throw you to the wolves to save his campaign?"

Higgins backed away, hitting the doorframe. Sweat beaded on her upper lip.

"Vesper," Gina called out.

Vesper stepped out of the walk-in closet, holding her phone. "911 is dialed, ma'am. Shall I press send?"

Higgins' knees gave way. She slumped against the wall. "No! Please, Mrs. Burris! Don't!"

The commotion had drawn attention. Two maids were peeking down the hallway, eyes wide.

"I can be generous," Gina said, her voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "Pack your bags. Leave the estate within the hour. Tell Elberta you have a family emergency and you are resigning effective immediately."

"But..."

"One more word," Gina hissed, "and you will spend your retirement in federal prison."

Higgins dropped the keys on the floor. She scrambled up and ran down the hall, sobbing.

Gina looked at the maids down the hall. They quickly lowered their heads.

"Vesper," Gina said, loud enough for them to hear. "Pick up the keys. You are in charge of the household staff now."

"Yes, ma'am." Vesper bent down and retrieved the keys. "Effective leverage. Legal threats are cleaner than violence."

"Violence has its place," Gina said, turning back to her room. "But fear is sustainable."

From downstairs, Elberta's voice shrieked up the stairwell. "Gina! Get down here this instant!"

Gina checked her reflection in the mirror. She looked perfect.

She opened the top drawer of her vanity and took out a small glass vial. It was a relic from her past, a concentrated caffeine extract tucked into the lining of her emergency medical kit-a gift from her doctor father she'd always carried. Harmless to most, but to an elderly woman with a known heart arrhythmia, it was chaos in a bottle.

She slipped the vial into her sleeve.

"Showtime," she whispered.

Gina descended the grand staircase with the grace of a queen approaching the guillotine.

In the main living room, Elberta sat on the brocade sofa. But she wasn't alone.

Sitting next to her, pouring tea, was a young woman with platinum blonde hair and a dress that was too tight for a Tuesday afternoon.

Delisa Park. Hansford's mistress.

Elberta slammed her teacup down. "You fired Higgins! Who gave you the right?"

Gina walked over and sat on the opposite sofa. She crossed her legs. "She was a criminal, Mother. I saved the family from a lawsuit."

Elberta sputtered. "Nonsense! Well, since we are short-staffed, Delisa here has graciously offered to stay in the main house and assist Hansford with his... late-night campaign work."

It was a slap in the face. A mistress living under the same roof.

Delisa smirked at Gina. "I hope I won't be in your way, Mrs. Burris. I know you need your rest."

Gina didn't get angry. She smiled. It was a bright, terrifying smile.

She reached out to Vesper, who handed her a blue folder.

"That's lovely, Delisa," Gina said. She opened the folder. "However, according to the Prenuptial Agreement between Hansford and myself, specifically Clause 14, Section B of the revised agreement-the one Hansford signed last year when he needed my family's trust to bail out his 'charity' foundation: 'The cohabitation of any non-familial female in the primary residence for more than three consecutive nights constitutes Malicious Emotional Infliction.'"

Elberta froze. She knew the original contract. But she had forgotten the addendum she'd dismissed as a desperate wife's foolishness.

"This clause," Gina continued, tapping the paper, "triggers the 'At-Fault Divorce' provision. If Delisa stays, I file for divorce tomorrow. And I take 50% of Hansford's voting shares in the Burris Group."

The room went dead silent.

Elberta loved money more than she hated Gina. Her eyes darted between the girl and the document.

"You wouldn't dare," Elberta whispered.

"Try me," Gina said. "Imagine the headlines. 'Senator Burris Loses Family Fortune to Mistress Scandal.'"

Elberta turned on Delisa with the speed of a viper. "Get out."

Delisa's jaw dropped. "What? But Hansford said..."

"I said get out!" Elberta shrieked. "Go to a hotel! You are not staying here!"

Delisa stood up, her face flushed with humiliation. She grabbed her purse and stomped toward the door. As she passed Gina, she hissed, "You think you've won?"

Gina leaned in, sniffing the air. "Your perfume is cheap, Delisa. Hansford hates vanilla. He'll get bored of you in a month."

Delisa gasped and fled the room.

Elberta was shaking with rage. "You are a snake, Gina. You think you can control this house?"

"I'm just looking out for the family assets, Mother," Gina said soothingly. She stood up and walked to the tea service. "Here, let me pour you a fresh cup. You look flushed."

Gina turned her back to Elberta. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she uncorked the vial in her sleeve and let three drops of the caffeine concentrate fall into Elberta's Earl Grey.

She turned back, her face a mask of dutiful concern.

"Drink this," Gina said, handing over the porcelain cup. "It will settle your nerves."

Elberta snatched the cup, glaring at her. She took a long, angry sip.

Gina watched the liquid disappear. Checkmate.

The effects took twelve hours to manifest fully.

By the next afternoon, the Burris estate was buzzing. Elberta was hosting the D.C. Ladies' Charity Tea in the garden. It was the social event of the season, a pit of vipers in silk hats.

Gina circulated among the guests, wearing a modest grey dress, playing the role of the submissive daughter-in-law.

Elberta sat at the head table, looking pale. Her hand trembled as she reached for her water glass. The caffeine concentrate was interacting with her blood pressure medication, causing palpitations and heightened anxiety.

Clink.

Elberta's hand spasmed. The glass tipped over, soaking the tablecloth.

"Dammit!" Elberta shouted. The profanity was shocking coming from the matriarch.

Heads turned.

"Mother?" Gina rushed over, grabbing a napkin. "Are you alright?"

"Get away from me!" Elberta swatted at Gina. "You pushed the glass! I saw you!"

Gina was three feet away. Everyone had seen that.

"I didn't touch it, Mother," Gina said gently, loud enough for the table to hear. "You're shaking."

"I am not shaking!" Elberta held up her hand. It was vibrating visibly. "Stop doing this to me!"

Dr. Sayer, the family physician who was attending as a guest, stepped forward. "Elberta, calm down. Your heart rate is elevated."

"She's trying to poison me!" Elberta screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Gina. "She's a witch!"

Gina looked at Dr. Sayer, her eyes wide with concern. "Doctor... she's been like this all morning. Extreme paranoia, tremors, moments of intense confusion where she seems to be hallucinating... Is it... could it be something neurological? Like Lewy Body dementia?"

She used the medical terms precisely, planting the seed.

Dr. Sayer frowned, looking at Elberta's dilated pupils and erratic behavior. To a doctor not looking for poison, it looked exactly like a neurological break.

"I'm not crazy!" Elberta tried to stand up but stumbled. She grabbed the tablecloth, pulling plates and tiered cake stands crashing to the ground.

The garden went silent.

"I think we need to get her inside," Dr. Sayer said gravely. "Gina, you might be right. These are classic symptoms of aggression associated with cognitive decline."

"No!" Elberta shrieked as two waiters helped her up. "Let me go!"

As they dragged the screaming woman away, the guests whispered behind their fans. Poor Gina. Dealing with a senile mother-in-law. How tragic.

Gina stood amidst the broken china. She watched Elberta disappear into the house.

Vesper appeared at her elbow. "That was ruthless."

Gina picked up a white rose from a centerpiece. She crushed the petals in her fist.

"She called me a barren mule when I miscarried in my last life," Gina said, her voice devoid of emotion. "A little public embarrassment is mercy."

"Hansford is on his way home," Vesper warned.

"Good," Gina said. "I need to comfort my grieving husband. After all, his mother is 'sick.' Someone needs to take over the family accounts."