Chapter 3

The creditors pinned my face to the cold, hard table. They also held my arms down so that I could not move.

I could not see Lily’s face, but I could easily picture her smug expression in my head.

Milo picked up the document from the floor and spread it out in front of me. “Dear, Lily is right. Since everyone is waiting for me to clear the debts, why don’t you make a bit of sacrifice and give up on the house and car to help me get through this? I’ll buy another house and car for you in the future.”

I scoffed. Before I could answer, the creditors pressed me harder and nearly broke my arms.

“Hear that?! Listen to your husband and sign the agreement, or we’re cutting off your fingers!”

The pain nearly made me bite down on my tongue. I gasped for breath and forced these words out. “H-How dare you…”

“I advise you to stop being stubborn, Mrs. Cardillo.”

Lily crossed her arms and walked over to me while she snickered. “These creditors are thugs and will do anything for money. You’re only a housewife with no power. It’s better for you not to make them angry. Hand over the house and the car. Once they have the money, they’ll let you go.”

“Exactly, wench! Sign the agreement, or we’re going to hurt you!”

One of the men grabbed my hair and yanked my head up.

The searing pain on my scalp made me struggle and tremble. My phone fell out of my pocket and onto the floor. The screen lit up at that very moment. It was my father!

The moment he saw my message, he called me many times. When he noticed that I was not answering, he immediately sent a message to me telling me that he was going to arrive ten minutes later.

Regret, gratitude, sadness…

This complicated mix of emotions made me tear up. I held my tears back and bit down on my lip as I stared at the people standing in front of me.

“My father is about to arrive. You have ten more minutes to let me go and run.”

The creditors exchanged a glance before laughing. “What gave you the guts to threaten us into letting you go?”

Milo feigned kindness and persuaded me to stop lying. “Dear, you’re an orphan. Stop lying. They won’t buy this. I can’t believe you’re so heartless. Didn’t you say that you’d do anything for me? It’s just a bit of money. Just sign the agreement. If these creditors get angry, Lily and I will get into trouble too.”

Lily even stopped pretending and shoved a pen into my hand. “Mr. Cardillo is the one who bought the house and car. Why should we get into trouble just because of your selfishness? Sign it!” She grabbed my wrist to try and force me to sign the agreement. Her long fingernails dug into my flesh.

I fought back and bit down on her wrist.

“Ah!” Lily screeched, and Milo nervously went forward to check her hand. He did not even care about the implications behind his actions.

“How could you bite Lily, Stella? She only wants you to sign for our sakes!”

I stared at Lily’s wound and sneered.

“How dare you laugh, you witch!”

Lily discarded all her pretenses and pushed Milo away. Then, she picked up the printer by the side and smashed it against my head. Blood instantly gushed out of me and splattered on the carpet.

The actors were stunned.

The office spun, and I heard ringing in my ears as I collapsed on the floor. Blood flowed out from my head like water, like my life was flowing out of my body.

“Stella!”

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.

Before I lost consciousness, I saw a tall man rush in.

That was my father, Leo York, the Don of the Rosa Family.