Chapter 4

Once again I was brought back to the Stephens family's old estate.

This time they locked me in a pitch-black basement.

This was the Stephens family's confinement room, and the soundproofing inside was excellent.

Uncle Lionel was holding a club.

"Jessica Stephens, don't blame us for being heartless. We can't let the old man take all the benefits for himself. If he's eating the meat, the least he can do is let us have some of the broth."

As soon as he finished, he slammed the club hard into my back.

"Ah—"

I curled up on the ground, letting out a cry of pain.

He raised the club, ready to strike again.

Marilyn spoke up to stop him.

"Honey, isn't one club enough? The two from the first branch only laid hands on her once each."

Lionel shot her a glare.

"Use your head. Haven't you noticed that the worse her injuries are, the greater the benefits?"

"Zoe cracked her head open, and the project we had only doubled its profits."

"That Quinn kid stabbed her arm, and the multi-million-dollar deal we could never close suddenly fell into our hands."

As he spoke, he brought the club down hard on my back again.

Blood surged into my mouth in an instant, and I couldn't even make a sound.

He kept talking to himself.

"The old man said whoever can bring the Stephens family benefits can become the heir."

"Our second branch has been held down by the first branch for so many years. We have to fight for that heir's position for our son."

Marilyn said nothing, but she picked up a club too.

The two of them beat me without a shred of mercy.

I don't know how long it went on, but they finally stopped.

By then my whole body was stained red with blood. I pressed my lips tightly together and made no sound.

Even as I felt the pain,

I could also feel the power of the binding contract weakening.

Marilyn checked my breathing.

"Good, she's only passed out, not dead."

Lionel couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"A message just came in!"

"Do you remember that piece of land we bought three years ago, the one the old man scolded us for buying at a loss?"

"Today, out of nowhere, we got word that there's something buried under it."

"They want to partner with us, and they say we could walk away with a figure comparable to half the Stephens family's wealth."

Marilyn's face flushed with excitement.

"If this goes through, then the Stephens family is ours."

Before they could bask in it for long, the basement door was kicked open.

Zoe and Quinn rushed in with their people.

"That message you just got—we know about it too."

Quinn was clutching a small knife.

"Don't think that's enough to take the Stephens family. We still have a chance."

Zoe glanced at me on the ground and frowned.

"You went way too far. Wait until the old man gets back and see how you explain yourselves."

Lionel sneered.

"What do I need to explain? Once my project goes through, the old man will have to hand the Stephens family over to our second branch."

Before the words had even faded, Quinn charged at me with the knife.

"You're dreaming."

Lionel immediately ordered his bodyguards to block him.

The people Quinn and Zoe had brought jumped into the fight at once.

The three groups tangled together.

Zoe roared.

"I'm the one who discovered this secret first. The biggest share is mine!"

Quinn laughed.

"You're just a girl. Your only value is a marriage alliance. The heir's position is mine."

Lionel and Marilyn's faces darkened.

"Only our son is worthy of being the Stephens family's heir."

In the middle of the chaos,

I slowly opened my eyes.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but none of them had noticed what was happening to their own bodies.

The skin on Lionel's and Marilyn's hands was rotting, starting at the palms and spreading outward.

Something was wriggling beneath the skin of Zoe's forehead.

The hand Quinn held the knife in was twisting uncontrollably.

And still they argued over who would be the next to strike me.

At that moment, Lucius Stephens's furious roar came from the basement stairwell.

"You bunch of bastards, stop this right now!"

"Are you trying to destroy the entire Stephens family?!"

While everyone froze, Quinn tightened his grip on the knife and stabbed at me.

In that instant, I saw a spread of crimson blossom from my chest.

Lucius rushed in, his gaze landing on the knife buried in my chest, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"It's over. It's all over!"