Chapter 4

The searing pain tearing through my body kept jolting my mind back to consciousness.

The sight of the broken watch pieces scattered across the asphalt pierced my heart like a thousand needles.

In that moment, every last shred of love and attachment I still held for Winona crumbled to ash alongside it.

I fixed my gaze on her, my voice weak but unwavering. "Have you ever thought of the consequences of your actions, Winona?"

But she acted as if she hadn't heard me. Instead, she grabbed my collar and began dragging me from the wreck.

"Ah!" The jagged metal pipe pinning me in place tore into my thigh as she pulled, and a scream ripped from my throat.

But her grip didn't relent. With a sudden, vicious yank, she wrenched me free.

A rush of cold air hit the wound as a horrifying gash immediately split open along my thigh. The next second, agony, indescribable and searing, exploded through me. Blood gushed out in thick spurts.

Winona's gaze swept over my wound. For a moment, something that might have been a flicker of concern crossed her features. But when she spoke, her voice was icy. "Apologize! Apologize to Henry for everything you did!"

Beside her, Hendrick had already propped up his phone, filming my pitiful state with a gleeful smirk.

I clamped one hand over the wound, spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, and raised my head to stare straight at Winona. I enunciated each word loud and clear. "Do you remember what my father said when we got married, Winona?"

She blinked, momentarily thrown. She had clearly forgotten.

Of course. To the Winona standing before me, nothing mattered except Hendrick. Everything else, including me, was irrelevant.

A bitter smile twisted my lips as I repeated what my father had said, word for word.

"He said, if you ever betray his son, the Yard family will make you pay a hundredfold."

Winona's confusion only deepened. An expression of utter absurdity flickered across her face.

But beside her, Hendrick let out a dismissive snort. "The Yard family? What Yard family? Didn't your old man already—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the night turned blindingly bright. A chorus of screeching brakes filled the air, and more than a dozen black Rolls-Royce Phantoms materialized like ghosts, encircling us completely.

The door of the car at the very front of the entourage opened. Out stepped a middle-aged man in a black suit—Seamus Ringler, my father's butler.

He didn't spare Winona so much as a glance. Instead, he walked straight up to me and got down on one knee with reverence. "Mr. Jeffrey, Mr. Yard Senior sent me to bring you home. The acquisition of Grahm Corporation has already commenced."

Winona's arrogant laughter rang out, dripping with contempt. "Mr. Yard Senior? Acquisition? Jeffrey, did you hire these people to put on a show? Using my money, I assume?"

But in the next second, a shrill ringtone cut through the night. Winona answered with casual indifference.

"Ms. Grahm! The company's stock price is plummeting! The board members are dumping their shares! It's… it's Yard Corporation making their move!"

The arrogance on her face froze solid. It was replaced by raw, disbelieving shock.

Beside her, Hendrick stood paralyzed. His phone slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the sidewalk.

I leaned on Seamus for support and slowly rose to my feet. As I wiped the blood from my temple, my gaze turned glacial.

I looked at the wretched pair before me and summoned every last ounce of strength left in me to make my voice carry through the silent street.

"Mr. Ringler, I want Grahm Corporation erased from Provenia completely within three days!"