Chapter 3

The three of them froze instantly. Carter and Ethan turned pale; they had never seen me in such a terrifying, murderous state before.

But Cynthia suddenly stood up, rushing toward me. She grabbed my sleeve, her eyes welling with tears. "Dad, please don't blame them. It’s all my fault..."

"My brothers were just too worried about me, that's why they spoke without thinking..."

I had survived countless battlefields. Her cheap "innocent victim" act was so transparent it made me sick to my stomach.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You are not my daughter! Lily is my only child! Get the fuck off me!"

I violently threw her hand off.

*SLAP!*

A heavy backhand landed squarely on her face. The force sent her spinning, crashing onto the marble floor. Half her face swelled instantly, and blood gushed from her nose.

The two brothers went wild with rage. "Marcus Vance! You’ve gone too far! Beating your own daughter—are you even human?!"

Roaring, they lunged at me, but Cynthia threw herself forward to hold them back.

"Carter, Ethan, no! You can't fight Dad because of me!"

"Dad must have some misunderstanding about me... that’s why he doesn’t like me..."

She looked utterly devastated, crying so pitifully it made me want to vomit. But the two idiots fell for it completely.

"Dad, look at how sensible Cynthia is! Lily is a toxic, malicious brat who doesn't deserve a single drop of your affection!"

"Cynthia is a thousand times—no, ten thousand times better than Lily! Why can’t you just accept her?!"

"Shut your mouths!"

Hearing them insult Lily again set off my final fuse. I lunged forward, instantly slamming all three of them to the ground. A brutal, relentless beating commenced, and the villa was filled with their agonizing, bone-chilling screams.

"Marcus! Why are you doing this to us?!"

"Stop! If you touch Cynthia again, we will disown you!"

"When that happens, even if you beg us on your knees, we will never come back!"

I laughed from sheer absurdity.

"Threatening me? You’ve lived in my house for ten years, and you've already forgotten your real names? Let me remind you: you are just two stray mutts I picked up from the streets!"

The two ungrateful bastards kept screaming, having completely forgotten the oaths they swore when they knelt before me years ago.

Back then, they were dressed in rags, looking like starved stray dogs. I was the one who gave them a life of luxury.

"You swore back then that you would love and protect Lily as your own sister. But what did you do?!"

"I sent you tens of thousands of dollars a month, and you let Lily starve and suffer while you gave all her things to Cynthia!"

"And if that wasn't enough, you actually sold her to The Velvet Lounge!"

Ethan shrieked, "Lily brought that on herself! She constantly bullied Cynthia and almost broke Cynthia's leg! She deserved to be punished!"

Carter chimed in, "Cynthia has suffered so much already, yet Lily kept bringing up her past! She needed to be put in her place!"

Those words completely snapped my last thread of sanity. I stared at them, my voice dripping with pure venom.

"But Lily was brutally raped because of you! She is lying in the ICU right now! Is this what you call 'putting her in her place'?!"

Carter and Ethan gasped, their eyes widening in sheer terror. They had never imagined things would go that far. Realizing the gravity of what they had done, they began to shiver uncontrollably.

Thinking of Lily’s broken body, my heart bled. She was at an age where she should have been enjoying her youth, but she was destroyed by these two vipers. I felt a crushing wave of regret.

My kindness in adopting them had brought wolves into my home. Even if I tore these three to pieces, it would never cure the pain in my heart.

As I wallowed in agonizing regret, my eyes suddenly landed on Cynthia's arm.

There, right on her forearm, was a distinct red birthmark.

In an instant, my blood ran cold, then boiled with absolute fury.

"It was you!"

I lunged and grabbed her throat with one hand, lifting her off the ground. Her feet dangled in the air as she thrashed frantically like a fish out of water.

"Cynthia! You vicious snake!"

"What did my daughter ever do to you that you had to hire someone to destroy her?! You deserve to die!"

The mastermind behind Lily’s nightmare was standing right in front of me. I felt an uncontrollable, murderous urge rise from the depths of my soul!

Suddenly, loud sirens wailed outside. Several police cruisers screeched to a halt right in front of my villa!

"Abusing your kids, and now you want to murder your own daughter? Marcus Vance, do you think you are above the law?"