Chapter 2

Kenny's face darkened instantly. "What did you just say?"

He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look at him. "Lucas, I suggest you think carefully before you speak."

A sharp pain shot through my scalp, but I clenched my teeth. "I said I won't do it. What you're doing is a crime, and I'm calling the police."

A vicious slap landed across my face. My vision went black, my ears rang, and I even tasted blood in my mouth.

Kenny snarled through clenched teeth. "You ungrateful piece of trash! Who the hell do you think you are? You're just a violinist! Being able to pay off my debt is your damn honor!"

Teresa joined in, kicking me hard. "Exactly! Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? Kennychoosing you is a privilege!"

Gina warned from the side, "Don't hit his face! If you mess up his face, we're all screwed!"

Only then did Kenny let go, and I collapsed onto the cold floor, gasping for air.

Gina crouched down again, gripping my chin. "Lucas, I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you going to cooperate or not?"

I stared at her, enunciating each word. "Absolutely not."

Gina let out a cold laugh and stood up. "Fine. Very well. Aren't you a violinist? Weren't you going to fulfill your father's dying wish?"

She lifted her foot and stomped her high heel down hard on my hand.

I screamed in agony.

She ground her heel down with force as she continued, "If this hand gets broken, how are you going to play the violin? I heard your dad's greatest wish before he died was to see you perform on the international stage. What a shame!"

Terror flooded through me instantly. Dad was one of the top musicians in the country, but he passed away from illness at the peak of his career. I practiced the violin relentlessly since childhood, all to carry on his legacy.

My voice began to shake. "No, please. Don't hurt my hand!"

"Scared now? Weren't you acting all tough just a minute ago?" Teresa mocked from the side.

Gina finally lifted her foot and crouched down again. "Then be a good boy and behave. Put on a good show later. As long as you clear Kenny's debt, I'll still marry you, and we can go back to how things were before."

I closed my eyes and let out a heavy breath.

Teresa smirked with satisfaction. "That's more like it. Go clean him up. He looks like a mess. How can he meet anyone like this?"

Kenny roughly hauled me up from the floor and dragged me toward the bathroom attached to the sitting room.

"I can do it myself," I said as I tried to resist.

He shoved me into the bathroom and hissed, "Shut up! Your face is a mess!"

He grabbed my hair and forced my face under the running faucet. The cold water made my whole body shudder.

Gina picked up the hand soap from the counter and smeared it directly onto my face.

"Mmph, stop!" I choked and coughed.

Kenny said, "Get him clean. We need Ms. Sanders to get a good look at this face. Damn, he really does look like him. The only reason I had Gina go after you in the first place was that your face looks like Ms. Sanders' man."

My heart sank completely as I realized that was it. These three years of our relationship was nothing but a scheme from the very beginning.

Kenny rinsed the soap off my face and roughly dried it with a towel. After that, he started tearing at my clothes.

I clutched my chest in panic. "What are you doing?!"

He replied flatly, "Those clothes are too conservative. You need to wear something sexier."

Then, he pulled a tight black sleeveless shirt from the bag he brought. "Put this on."

"I won't!"

Kenny's eyes turned cold. "You won't? Then don't blame me for doing it for you."

With that, he yanked open the buttons on my cashmere coat.

I fought back desperately, only to receive another slap across the face.

"Stay still!"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the bathroom door. Teresa's voice came through. "Kenny, hurry up! Ms. Sanders' people are here!"

Kenny paused, glaring at me viciously. "Lucky you."

He dragged me out of the bathroom and shoved me back down onto the carpet in the sitting room.

Soon, the door opened. Several men in black suits walked in, led by a guy in his early 30s with a scar on his face and a cold, intimidating gaze.

"Ms. Sanders will be here shortly." The scarred man glanced at me. "Is he cleaned up?"

"All cleaned up!" Kenny quickly forced a smile. "Mr. Harding, take a look. Doesn't he look just like him?"

The man called Mr. Harding stepped closer and crouched down to examine my face carefully.

My heart pounded wildly as I wondered if he was Rex Harding, the one who just joined Aunt Carmelia. She only mentioned him to me once, saying he was with her for six months, that he was ruthless in his work, but still unfamiliar with family matters.

I silently cursed at my bad luck because he had no idea who I was.