Chapter 4

"Call the police? Are you insane?!"

Hearing the words "call the police," Brandon reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly exploding.

But his eyes darted around, and he immediately changed tactics. His legs went weak, and he actually dropped to his knees in front of my parents, switching to a heart-wrenching sob:

"I'm so sorry! It's not about work at all... it's my dad!"

Crying, he pounded his chest: "My dad just had a sudden heart attack and was rushed to the hospital! The hospital has issued a critical condition notice; the doctors say he might not make it through the night!"

"I was afraid Summer would worry, afraid of ruining her birthday, so I didn't dare to tell the truth earlier. Please, let me go! If I'm a minute late, I might not see my dad one last time!"

As he spoke, he crumpled to the floor.

I watched his Oscar-worthy performance coldly, feeling nothing but a wave of nausea.

But for my kind, honest parents, a dying parent at a birthday dinner was an absolute catastrophe.

Sure enough, my mom burst into tears, her heart aching, and quickly tried to help him up: "Oh, you silly boy, why didn't you say something sooner about such a big matter! Who cares about a birthday now!"

My dad also panicked, rushing over to forcefully pry my hands away: "Summer! Let go! How can you be so insensitive! This is a matter of filial duty, a life-and-death situation, not a second can be wasted!"

"Brandon, hurry! Do you have enough money? The hospital needs a deposit for emergency treatment, I'll get you some!" My dad even fumbled for his phone in a rush.

At that moment, in the entire living room, I felt like the only one who was clear-headed. Because before my eyes, on that blood-red panel, the pop-up messages were scrolling at an even more frantic pace:

"He's lying! His dad died ages ago, his ashes were scattered!"

"He's just trying to use your sympathy, use your family as a shield, so he can sneak away!"

"The enforcers are upstairs! One minute left!"

"Summer Hayes, don't believe him! The moment he steps out that door, your whole family will be scapegoats, and those gangsters will beat you all to death!"

If those enforcers were as vicious and cold-blooded as the pop-up messages said, and Brandon ran, my parents and I, old, weak, and injured, would be like fish on a cutting board, to be slaughtered at will.

"He's lying! Dad! Mom! Don't believe him!"

I shrieked, clinging to Brandon's waist like a limpet, using my full weight to pull him down.

"Get out your phone! Call your relatives! Or call the hospital's nursing station directly! I want to hear!"

"Call now! Put it on speaker! As soon as the call connects and proves your dad is really in critical condition, I'll let you go immediately!"

I cried, tears and snot streaming down my face, completely losing all composure, but I didn't care anymore.

Brandon, entangled by my desperate struggle, couldn't move an inch. He glanced at the wall clock; with every tick of the second hand, his face grew paler, and his eyes became more frantic.

"Get lost! You crazy woman!"

He finally completely dropped his pretense, suddenly spun around, grabbed my hair, and with his other hand, seized my left index finger, bending it sharply backward.

A chilling crack echoed.

Excruciating pain, like an electric current, instantly shot through my entire body, piercing to my very core.

My index finger was brutally broken!

"Ah!"

I screamed. The pain, ten times worse than any other, instantly sapped all my strength, and my hands involuntarily let go of his clothes.

Brandon seized the chance, shoving me hard in the chest.

"If you want to die, die alone! Don't drag me down with you!"

He pushed with all his might.

I lost my balance, stumbling backward like a kite with a snapped string, my back slamming heavily against the front door.

But instinctively, I grabbed the doorknob with my hand, enduring the searing pain, and fiercely engaged the last deadbolt.

"Summer!" My mom shrieked in horror, rushing over to help me.

My dad was also utterly stunned by Brandon's sudden violence. The phone he was holding clattered to the floor.

"Brandon! You animal! What are you doing! How dare you hit my daughter!" My dad's eyes widened, and he roared, trying to rush forward and fight him.

But Brandon completely ignored my dad. He frantically tried to twist the doorknob, only to find the door was locked tight.

Just then, a dull thud came from outside the door, followed by the grating scrape of a metal baseball bat dragging against the wall.

The sound echoed in the silent hallway, like a death knell.

Then, a rough, menacing voice with a heavy accent sounded from outside the door, seeping through the thin metal:

"Brandon, open the door. I know you're in there."

"Hiding behind a woman's skirt? What kind of man are you? Weren't you running pretty fast a minute ago? Why stop now?"

The moment Brandon heard that voice, he looked like his spine had been removed, his legs instantly going weak with terror.

His earlier arrogance, the one that had just hit me and broken my finger, vanished completely. He slumped to the floor like a rag doll, his face ashen white, trembling like a leaf.

"You... you bitch..."

He stammered, his ashen lips cursing me in a low voice.

"It's all your fault... if it weren't for you, you crazy woman, stopping me, I would've gotten away..."

"You ruined everything for me... if I get caught, I'll haunt you even in death..."

I leaned against the cold front door, cradling my index finger, which was already completely deformed and swollen like a carrot. I sucked in ragged breaths, enduring the agonizing pain.

Looking at this man, who just half an hour ago was in a suit and tie, kneeling and proposing to me, spouting sweet nothings, now collapsed on the floor like a stray dog, cursing me.

My stomach churned with revulsion.

Soon, the sound of the baseball bat hitting the wall outside stopped.

On the virtual panel before my eyes, the frantically scrolling pop-up messages suddenly all disappeared, replaced by a deadly silence of stark white:

"They're here."

"Summer Hayes, cover your head, protect your parents."

The next second.

Boom!

A deafening crash.

The front door was brutally kicked from the outside with terrifying force. The entire wall vibrated violently, and dust sifted down from the ceiling.

I was thrown back from the door by the immense impact, slamming heavily onto the living room floor.