Chapter 4

Smack!

A loud slap landed heavily on my face.

“What the hell do you think you are, pitying me?”

Adrian Foster had come back, and he stood in front of me with his chest rising and falling violently.

He glanced at the bodyguards beside him.

“You two get out first.”

The iron door closed again, leaving only the two of us in the basement.

Adrian Foster suddenly stepped forward, grabbed me by the collar, and lifted my whole body up.

“Lily Carter, do you think you understand me that well?”

His face was very close, close enough that I could see the bloodshot veins filling his eyes.

“Do you think a few vague little comments can get my attention?”

I was forced to tilt my head up and look at the face so close to mine.

“I wasn’t trying to get your attention.” I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

“I just think you’re like a dog chained by the system.”

Adrian Foster’s fingers instantly tightened, choking me until I could barely breathe.

“You’re asking to die,” he said through gritted teeth.

But I did not miss the trace of panic that flashed through his eyes.

“You stopped paying for my brother’s medical treatment.” I spoke with difficulty.

“Half an hour ago, the hospital called and said that if the bill wasn’t paid, they would stop my brother’s targeted therapy.”

Adrian Foster’s movements paused slightly.

“That’s your own fault,” he said coldly.

“Who told you to touch Chloe?”

“Touch her?” I laughed softly, laughing so hard tears almost came out.

“Adrian Foster, do you dare say you didn’t know she never twisted her ankle? Do you dare say you didn’t know how she crushed the only little bit of hope I had?”

Adrian Foster fell silent.

He loosened his hand and let me fall to the ground.

“So what?” He looked down at me from above, without a trace of warmth in his tone.

“As long as she’s happy, what does it matter if she crushes a few of your paintings?”

I looked at him, and my heart turned cold.

This was the level-two abuse point, and he had precisely grabbed hold of my greatest weakness.

“How much money do you want?”

I closed my eyes and hid the despair in them.

“I only want you to kneel and admit your mistake to Chloe.”

Adrian Foster’s voice sounded above my head.

“As long as you kneel and say you were wrong, I’ll have someone send your brother’s medical fees over immediately.”

Kneel!

In the previous lifetimes, I had knelt before this man for all kinds of reasons.

I knelt until my knees bled, and I knelt until I had no dignity left.

I opened my eyes and slowly climbed up.

Then my knees bent, and I knelt heavily on the cold concrete floor.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have pushed Miss Bennett, and I shouldn’t have made her unhappy.”

The basement was deathly silent, and Adrian Foster did not speak.

I could even feel his gaze falling on me, carrying some kind of scorching heat.

“Not enough.” After who knew how long, he finally spoke.

“I want you to bow your head to the floor.”

My fingers clenched suddenly, and my nails sank deep into my palms, drawing blood.

I took a deep breath, bent down, and pressed my forehead to the cold floor.

“Miss Bennett, I’m sorry.”

One.

Two.

Three.

Each time I bowed, I could hear the sound of my dignity shattering.

But I did not stop, because for my brother, I could endure anything.

Just as I was about to bow for the fourth time,

Adrian Foster suddenly crouched down, grabbed my hair, and forced me to raise my head.

His gaze was extremely complicated.

There was anger, pain, and even a trace of… pity.

“Lily Carter.” He leaned close to my ear, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

“Do you think I would use such a low-level method to force you?”

I froze.

The corner of Adrian Foster’s mouth curved into a strange arc.

“Your brother’s medicine.”

“Last night, I already replaced it with glucose.”