Chapter 4

I looked down at my wrist and checked the time. There was an important international video conference that afternoon, one that would shape the next five-year strategic plan for my company, the Titan Group. I could not waste any more time on this idiot.

"Since you don't believe me, wait until Nathaniel gets here and let him explain it himself. I have business to handle. I don't have time to play along with this drama." I picked up my bag and turned to leave.

"Stop!" Scarlett screamed. "You hit me and think you can run? Dream on!"

She shot a look at the two sales associates.

They immediately rushed to the entrance and blocked my path with their arms spread wide. "Ma'am, you can't leave until this is resolved."

"Move." I looked at them coldly. "This is unlawful detention. I have urgent work to handle. If you delay my business, you won't be able to afford the consequences."

"Oh, work?" Scarlett walked over with a sarcastic laugh. "Off to your next affair? I think you're just guilty and trying to run!"

She turned to the crowd and shouted, "Don't let her leave! A woman who destroys other people's families deserves to be taught a lesson! I'll give 10,000 dollars to whoever stops her!"

Money talked. Several onlookers who had been enjoying the spectacle immediately surrounded me, forming a human wall that trapped me in the middle.

"Do you people understand what you're doing?" I swept my gaze across the crowd, my eyes sharp. "Restricting someone's freedom is illegal."

Some people hesitated under my stare and started to back away.

"Don't be scared!" Scarlett shouted. "I'll take responsibility if anything happens! My fiancé is Nathaniel Cole, the future successor of the Titan Group! In Briarwood, there's nothing the Coles can't handle! Teaching a mistress a lesson is justice!"

The moment they heard the words Titan Group, those who had wavered immediately stiffened their resolve.

The two sales associates even locked the glass doors to prove their loyalty. The sharp click of the lock echoed through the enclosed space.

As I stared at the sealed exit, an absurd feeling rose in my chest. In my own company's shopping mall, I was being locked inside by my future daughter-in-law and treated like a trapped animal.

"You can't run now, can you?" Scarlett sneered as she approached me. Her face, still swollen from the slap earlier, looked even more vicious. "Which hand hit me just now? This one?"

She grabbed my injured right hand.

I tried to resist, but two men eager for the reward rushed over and pinned my shoulders from both sides.

I couldn't move.

Scarlett slapped me across the face with all her strength.

My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

A slap followed.

"This one is for my fiancé!"

Another slap followed.

"This one is for your shamelessness!"

She delivered three slaps in a row. My ears rang, and my vision blurred. My hair hung in disarray, and humiliation burned through me. In 45 years of life, I had never suffered such disgrace.

"What? Still not convinced?" Scarlett grabbed my hair and forced my head up. "You're still glaring at me? Since you love seducing men so much, I'll let everyone see your true face."

She turned and shouted at the sales associates, "Bring me scissors! I'm going to cut off her clothes, strip her, film it, and post it online! Let everyone in Briarwood see what this old mistress really looks like!"

One of the sales associates actually handed her a pair of scissors.

A cold glint flashed.

Scarlett raised the scissors and aimed them at my collar.

"No…" I struggled desperately, but the two men held me down like iron clamps.

Despair and rage flooded through me.

The instant the cold blade touched my skin, the locked glass doors were kicked violently from the outside. The tempered glass shook so hard it nearly shattered.

Everyone froze.

Scarlett's hand jerked, and the scissors sliced across my collarbone. Sharp pain tore through me.

"Who is it? Are you courting death?" Scarlett shouted impatiently as she turned around.

Outside the door, Nathaniel stood drenched in sweat, panic written across his face as he shouted, "Mom!"