Chapter 4

Mabel didn't respond. She couldn't hear Lucille.

But Lucille suddenly seemed to find a target for her anger.

She lunged forward and violently ripped the hearing aid from Mabel's ear.

"Can't hear me? Fine. Then maybe you'll learn to listen!"

The hearing aid came away with enough force to leave Mabel's ear slightly bleeding.

Mabel staggered but quickly steadied herself. She clenched her teeth and refused to give Lucille the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Lucille tossed the hearing aid onto the floor and brought her heel down hard.

The hearing aid Mabel had relied on for years shattered beneath her foot.

And the comments section before my eyes exploded.

"The female lead is finally putting the side character in her place! I love it!"

"Good for Ms. Kirk! Maybe now she'll finally learn her place."

"The male side character finally learned who he shouldn't mess with."

My blood boiled at the sight.

I strode forward and kicked the back of Lucille's knee.

Caught completely off guard, she crumpled to the floor. Her knee landed on the shattered pieces of the hearing aid, and a small amount of blood immediately began to seep from the cut.

The entire crowd fell silent.

I looked down at her, my expression cold.

"Stay on your knees. I'd hate for you to stand back up and forget your place again."

Lucille stared up at me in disbelief. "Clement, did you really just do that?"

"So what if I did?"

Without hesitation, I kicked her again, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"Don't you love stepping on things? Now you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end."

News of the incident reached the Kirk family almost immediately.

Less than 20 minutes later, Lucille's parents, Bryce Kirk and Melissa, stormed into the school with several people in tow.

The moment Melissa saw her daughter sitting on the ground, she shrieked at me. "Clement, have you lost your mind? How dare you lay a hand on Lucille!"

Bryce's expression was just as grim.

"Is this how your father raised you? Did he teach you to put your hands on a woman?"

My parents arrived shortly after.

The moment my mother saw the mess on the floor, she hurried over and grabbed my arm.

"Clement, apologize to Lucille. Now!"

I pulled my arm free and stood my ground.

"Apologize for what? She was the one who started it."

Lucille clutched her knee and glared at me before turning to Sawyer with a wounded expression.

"Dad, Sawyer, you can't let him get away with this! He hurt me today. What's stopping him from walking all over the Kirk family tomorrow?"

Bryce fixed me with a cold stare.

"Clement, you'd better get on your knees and apologize right now. Otherwise, your family can forget about the South City project."

I pulled a black card from the inside pocket of my suit and held it between two fingers.

"The South City project? You mean the one that depends on overseas support for its core algorithms?"

A flicker of unease crossed Bryce's face.

I made a call and put it on speakerphone.

"Notify Legal to terminate all of Star Holdings' business dealings with Kirk Holdings."

A calm, professional voice came through the speaker. "Understood, Mr. Carnegie."

Bryce's face turned ashen. He stared at me as though I'd completely lost my mind.

I ended the call and turned around.

Taking a clean tissue, I gently wiped the blood from beside Mabel's ear.

Since she couldn't hear me, she could only watch my movements carefully.

I slowed down my speech so she could clearly read my lips.

"Does it hurt?"

Mabel shook her head.

I reached out and gently touched her cold earlobe.

"Remember this," I said slowly. "I won't let anyone hurt the people I protect."

Mabel's breath caught. A storm of emotions flickered across her eyes.

Lucille, however, completely lost her composure when she heard that.

"Clement, do you really think cutting ties with one supplier is enough to threaten the Kirk family?" she snapped.

"You're nothing more than a spoiled rich kid living off your family's name. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Before I could respond, my father's phone suddenly rang.

After a brief pause, his face drained of color. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled with urgency.

"Clement, look at what you've done! The Kirk family has made their move! Timothy's been fired, and they've joined forces with the Chamber of Commerce to freeze our company's funds!"

My mother immediately turned to me.

"You'd better apologize to Lucille. Right now!"

Meanwhile, Bryce stood off to the side, looking completely at ease, a confident smile playing on his lips.

With Sawyer's help, Lucille pushed herself to her feet and slowly turned to face me.

"Clement, you have two choices."

She held up one finger.

"First, make Mabel get on her knees and bark like a dog."

Then she raised a second finger.

"Or you can spend the next month working as Sawyer's driver."

Her smile widened.

"Choose either one, and I'll leave your family alone."

The comments immediately flooded my eyes again.

"This is what real money and power look like!"

"The male lead is completely screwed this time!"

"Finally, the tables have turned! This is going to be so satisfying to watch."

I was about to respond when a deep rumble suddenly echoed in the distance.

Ten Rolls-Royce Phantoms came speeding toward us, all bearing matching license plates.

The convoy pulled up in front of the school, completely blocking the entrance.

Then, as if on cue, the doors opened simultaneously. Dozens of men in black suits stepped out and formed two perfectly straight lines on either side of the driveway.

Finally, the door of the last car opened.

An elderly man with silver hair stepped out. He wore an impeccably tailored black suit and carried a polished cane.

Though he was well into his 60s, his presence was so commanding that everyone nearby seemed to instinctively hold their breath.

The old man didn't look at Lucille. He didn't even spare the Kirk family a glance.

Instead, he walked straight toward Mabel.

Then, in front of the stunned crowd, he stopped in front of her and bowed his head deeply.

His voice trembled with emotion, yet it carried clearly across the entire school entrance.

"Ms. Hearst, we've finally found you."

He slowly straightened.

"Mr. Hearst Sr. is gravely ill. Please return home and take your rightful place as heir to the Hearst family's trillion-dollar fortune."