Chapter 3

My eyes were bloodshot as I begged, "I'll pay. No matter how much you want, I'll give it to you."

"You should have said that earlier. Could've saved us both some time," Seth said. "The treatment fee is 38,000 dollars. Adding in my emotional distress and lost wages, let's round it up to 100,000 dollars."

It was an absurd amount, but I had no choice. I told him my payment passcode without thinking twice. With a single chime, the money was transferred.

I'd assumed that after the payment was made, this nightmare would end.

But Seth had no intention of giving me the medicine.

"You want the pills? Fine. Crawl over here," he said.

I froze.

"Get on all fours and crawl to me. Bark like a dog with every move forward. And make sure everyone in the live stream can hear you admit you're a scamming piece of garbage who fucked up. Do that, and I'll give you the medicine."

The demand was sick, but I had no choice. I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood.

Looking at Dad lying there unconscious, I swallowed my humiliation and begged, "Please, don't do this…"

"My dad… He really is Fiona's father and the husband of Silverbrook's wealthiest woman. If something happens to him here, none of you can handle the consequences."

Seth doubled over laughing.

"Still pretending to be related to Silverbrook's richest woman? Who do you think you are? Some random nobody who married into wealth?"

One employee immediately rushed forward to flatter him.

"Exactly. Everyone knows that our boss is the future son-in-law of the Miller family. Ms. Miller is madly in love with him."

Another chimed in, "She even said that if we killed you both today, she'd cover it up."

Seth's satisfaction grew with every word of praise.

"Guess I haven't taught you enough of a lesson. Guys, give him something extra to remember. Show him what happens when he crosses me."

The two employees grinned wickedly as they cracked their knuckles menacingly.

Dad's breathing grew fainter by the second. By now, all the color had drained from his face.

I knew time was running out.

I unclenched my fists and lowered my head, choking out the words.

"Fine. I'll do as you say."

Like a zombie, I crawled mechanically toward Seth and barked.

"I'm a scamming piece of trash. I was wrong."

In the room, Seth and his employees howled with laughter. Even the live stream exploded with jeering comments.

When I finally reached him, I looked up at him.

"The medicine… Can I have it now?" I asked.

Seth should have had his fill of watching me degrade myself. But he lifted his foot and kicked me hard in the chest.

The impact sent me flying backward, and my head slammed hard against the floor. I tasted blood in my throat. And a moment later, it came pouring out.

My vision kept blurring in and out of focus. It felt like all my organs had been knocked out of place.

I could only watch in despair as Seth unscrewed the medicine bottle and dumped every last pill into that bucket of dirty water.

The medicine was gone, and with it, Dad's last hope.

Something inside me snapped as I watched Dad convulse one final time before going completely still.

I screamed, "Seth! I'll kill you."

I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth, snatched a metal ornament from the floor, and swung it at his head.