Chapter 6

**Claire Vance POV**

The news of what happened at the auction house reached Arthur's ears almost instantly.

"You greedy snake!"

In the grand living room of the Sterling estate, Arthur threw the damp, forged will directly at Chloe's face, shaking with rage.

"How dare you forge Lucas's will to steal family assets! Bring me the whip!"

The butler stepped forward holding a heavy leather whip soaked in brine. Chloe turned pale and fell to her knees.

"Grandpa, I didn't! This was Lucas's real wish! Julian can prove it!"

"Still lying!" Arthur raised his cane to strike her.

"Stop!"

Lucas rushed in like a gust of wind, shielding Chloe in his arms and taking the blow from Arthur's cane on his own back. He grunted in pain, then looked up, his eyes proud and cold.

"Grandpa, the will is real. Before Lucas died, he explicitly told me to leave everything to Chloe. If you want to beat someone, beat me. I'm your only grandson left!"

Arthur looked at the young man, his heart nearly giving out from rage. He pointed his trembling finger at Lucas, unable to find his voice. "You... you two..."

Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

The air was thick with the smell of iron and mold.

I was suspended from a wooden beam, my hands tied securely behind my back. My thin trench coat had been shredded to pieces, and blood was dripping from my clothes onto the cold concrete floor.

A phone was propped up on a crate in front of me, live-streaming the chaos in the Sterling living room.

*Crack!*

Another heavy lash landed on my back.

"Ah..." I bit my lip hard, refusing to scream. Cold sweat and blood blurred my eyes.

"How many is that?" a heavy-set man sitting on a ragged couch asked, puffing on a cigar.

"Ninety-eight, boss," the thug swinging the whip panted.

"One more to go. Miss Vance, don't blame us," the boss said, walking over and patting my pale cheek with his smoky fingers. "Blame yourself for crossing Miss Chloe. She said however much humiliation she suffered at the estate today, she wanted it paid back on you tenfold. Ninety-nine lashes. Not one less."

I slowly opened my eyes, my gaze hollow, devoid of any signs of life.

So that was it.

Chloe suffered Arthur's anger, and because Lucas couldn't bear to see his precious Chloe upset, they had me kidnapped so they could take out their frustration on my "useless" body.

*Crack!*

The final lash landed, tearing open another wound.

My vision went black, and I passed out completely.

When I woke up again, I was greeted by the blinding white lights of a hospital.

"The patient has multiple severe soft tissue lacerations with a high risk of infection. Combined with her recent miscarriage, her body is extremely weak. Her condition is critical," the doctor's voice drifted in from the hallway, laced with frustration. "She cannot handle any more trauma. Otherwise, even God won't be able to save her."

The door pushed open, and Arthur walked in, his eyes red and swollen.

Seeing me wrapped in heavy white bandages with only my eyes exposed, tears poured down his face.

"Oh... what did I do to deserve this!"

With trembling hands, Arthur slipped a manila envelope under my pillow.

"Claire... this is your new identity. Passport, plane ticket, and a Swiss bank account. The PIN is your birthday. A car will pick you up tomorrow morning at 3:00 AM. I'm going to arrange your transfer paperwork now. You must hang in there!"

I blinked weakly, a tear slipping down my temple.

"Thank you... Grandpa."

Arthur wiped his eyes and hurried out to finalize the documents.

But barely minutes after he left, the hospital door was violently kicked open.

Lucas burst in, his eyes bloodshot like a rabid beast. Ignoring my bleeding bandages, he grabbed my hospital gown and dragged me off the bed.

"Claire Vance, stop playing dead! Chloe slit her wrists because of you! She's in the ER right now! If anything happens to her, you're going to pay with your life!"

The violent pulling tore my back wounds wide open. Blood quickly seeped through the white hospital gown. I gasped in sheer agony, lacking even the strength to struggle as he dragged me down the corridor like a broken doll.

***