Chapter 5

Boom!

Another earth-shattering crash.

The old apartment building's front door, under the violent assault of these professional enforcers, proved incredibly fragile.

With a grating sound of tearing metal, the lock mechanism completely gave way. The heavy iron door burst open, slamming violently into the entrance wall, even creating a deep dent.

In a cloud of dust, several men, clad in black leather jackets and wielding steel baseball bats, stormed in menacingly.

Each was burly, with scarred faces, hideous tattoos on their necks and arms, and eyes that held unconcealed brutality and savagery.

"Ah!" My mom shrieked in terror, utterly terrified, instinctively shrinking into the furthest corner of the sofa, trembling uncontrollably.

My dad, though his face was pale and his legs shook, gritted his teeth, spread his arms, and fiercely shielded my mom and me. He stood like a fragile yet unyielding mountain.

"Who are you?! This is trespassing! If you don't leave now, I... I'll call the police!" My dad's voice, though trembling, still held a stubborn edge.

"Call the police?"

A lazy, contemptuous, slightly hoarse female voice drifted from outside the door.

Then, a woman in an expensive mink coat, click-clacking in high heels, leisurely walked in.

She looked to be in her late forties, well-preserved, with exquisite heavy makeup, and a slender cigarette held between her fingers. Her gaze, directed at our family, was like looking at insignificant ants.

This was the wealthy woman mentioned in the pop-up messages: Victoria.

She didn't even glance at my dad, her eyes locking directly onto Brandon, who was sprawled on the floor.

"Well, Brandon, running, are we? Why aren't you still running?" Victoria exhaled a puff of smoke, her tone chillingly calm. "Secretly embezzling funds from my company to gamble in Macau, using my black card to buy diamond rings, and even daring to infect me with that filthy disease..."

"Your guts are really getting bigger and bigger, aren't they?"

Hearing Victoria's words, Brandon trembled violently, as if he'd been electrocuted.

He scrambled, trying to cling to Victoria's leg, but was brutally kicked in the chest by one of the black-clad enforcers nearby, sending him tumbling several feet.

"Ms. Sterling! Boss Victoria! I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong!"

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Brandon scrambled up again, kneeling on the floor, frantically kowtowing like a pestle. His forehead quickly broke open, blood streaming down.

"The ring... yes! The ring is here! I didn't touch it! I'll give it all back to you! Undamaged, just as you gave it to me!"

He frantically pulled the velvet box, which he'd planned to propose with, from his coat pocket, holding it up high as if making an offering.

A bodyguard behind Victoria stepped forward, took the box, glanced inside, and nodded at her.

Victoria scoffed, not even glancing at the priceless diamond ring.

"The ring is a small matter. What about the money? The five million dollars in company funds?"

"The money... the money..."

Brandon's eyes darted wildly, cold sweat dripping onto the floor. Suddenly, as if grasping at a last straw, he spun around, his finger pointing accusingly at me.

"The money's all with her! It was her! This dirty woman seduced me!"

Brandon shrieked hysterically, his face distorted, as if I were his sworn enemy.

"Ms. Sterling, please believe me! I was tricked by her! This woman pretends to be an ordinary office worker, but she's actually a madam, setting up schemes!"

"She forced me to steal your money! She said if I didn't get money for her, she'd find someone to expose my relationship with you, post your photos online, and ruin your reputation!"

"I was only trying to protect your reputation, I was confused for a moment, and she got a hold of me!"

I stared, wide-eyed in disbelief, at this man spewing such vile lies.

The ugliness of human nature was on full display in that moment. To save his own skin, he could, without hesitation, pour all the blame onto a woman he had just been proposing to.

"You're talking nonsense! You're full of it!"

My dad trembled with rage, his eyes red, pointing at Brandon and cursing him: "Brandon! You utterly disgusting animal! When did our family ever ask you for a single penny?! Do you dare swear to God?!"

"Old man, do you have any right to speak here?"

The closest enforcer sneered, delivering a powerful backhand slap squarely across my dad's face.

Smack!

With a sharp crack, my dad was sent flying sideways, crashing heavily into the coffee table. Blood immediately welled from the corner of his mouth, and one side of his face visibly swelled.

"John!" My mom shrieked, rushing to him.

"Dad!"

My eyes burned with fury, and I shrieked, trying to rush at the enforcer to fight him, but another enforcer lifted his foot and brutally kicked me in the stomach.

The immense force instantly knocked the breath out of me. I curled up on the floor in agony, like a cooked shrimp, stomach acid churning.

Victoria watched all of this unfold with a cold indifference, not even a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

"I don't care who tricked who, or who seduced who. All I know is my money is gone, and today, I want blood."

She flicked ash from her cigarette, her tone as casual as discussing what to have for dinner.

"Break one of his hands first. Let him learn his lesson."

Two fierce enforcers immediately stepped forward, one on each side, seizing Brandon and forcibly straightening his right arm, laying it flat on the floor.

Another raised his steel baseball bat.

"No! No, please! Ms. Sterling, have mercy!"

Brandon let out a pig-like shriek, struggling desperately.

The strength humans can summon in extreme terror is astonishing. Suddenly, with newfound force, he broke free from one of the enforcers.

But he didn't run for the door, because there were even more enforcers outside.

He spun around, like a wild beast, charging directly at me, still recovering on the floor.

Before I could react, a thick arm clamped around my neck, pulling me up from the floor.

Then, a cold, metallic sensation pressed against my carotid artery.

It was a sharp fruit knife, one my mom had used to cut fruit and left on the coffee table.

"Don't come any closer! Nobody move!"

Brandon, hiding behind me, trembled violently, but the blade pressed relentlessly into the soft flesh of my neck.

"If anyone comes closer, I'll kill her!"

"Ms. Sterling! Let me go! Or I'll kill her! This is a life! There will be consequences for murder!"

"If someone dies, none of you will get away with it today!"

The sharp blade sliced through the delicate skin of my neck. Warm, metallic-smelling liquid instantly welled up, flowing down my neck and soaking into my white sweater, staining a large patch red.

Looking at the room full of thugs, feeling the madness and malice of the man behind me, I even forgot to blink, my mind a blank.

The pop-up messages on the virtual panel reappeared, filled with infinite sorrow:

"This is human nature. Faced with death, he's worse than an animal."

"Summer Hayes, don't be afraid, don't move. Stay alive, and you can slowly make him pay later."

"This man truly deserves a thousand cuts! To hell with him!"

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

"Brandon, even if you kill me today, you won't escape. You'll get what's coming to you," I said, gritting my teeth, each word distinct.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Brandon shrieked hysterically in my ear, spit spraying onto my face. "If anyone's dying, it's you first! We'll go to hell together!"