Chapter 4

For a moment, my vision went black. It took me a long while to steady myself, and when I finally looked up, all I saw in Daniel's eyes was hatred.

"Wasn't it enough that you killed my child with Chloe?" he asked coldly. "Now, you're trying to kill her, too? This time, the gloves are off."

He turned to his bodyguards. "Go drag a few more of these vagrants over here. Then tip off the local media. Today, I'm going to make sure Olivia's reputation is ruined for good."

Ignoring the agony throbbing in my skull, I scrambled to my feet, desperate to run. But there was no way I could overpower his bodyguards on my own.

They forced me to my knees before Daniel and Chloe.

Daniel took out a disinfecting wipe and carefully cleaned the dust from Chloe's body, yet he looked so disgusted by me that he couldn't even bring himself to glance my way.

"Chloe, I'm going to make her pay right now."

Tears welled in her eyes as she grabbed his hand and gently shook her head. "I don't blame her. As long as I can be with you, I'm willing to put up with anything."

I was so sickened that I spat at her. "You must've pulled this move on men all the time. Tell me, where exactly does Daniel rank on your list of back-up options?"

Back when I used to visit Daniel at the company, I'd seen her getting handsy with other men more than once. That was exactly why I had never suspected that she and Daniel were having an affair.

Chloe went completely ballistic, but the tears came instantly, falling as if she could turn them on whenever she wanted.

"Daniel, she keeps humiliating me. I can't live with this shame!"

She made a theatrical break for the concrete wall as if to smash her head against it, but Daniel caught her in time and pulled her into his arms.

He glared at me, rage flickering in his eyes. "It looks like I've been far too soft with you," he said. "If you like this place so much, you can spend the rest of your life in this slum."

Then, he ordered, "Break her arms and legs."

Terror seized me, and I struggled with everything I had, screaming at the top of my lungs, "You'll regret this, Daniel Hayes. As long as I'm still breathing, I won't let you get away with this!"

Daniel let out a disdainful scoff. "Sure. I'll be waiting. I recall a certain university classmate of yours who has stayed single all these years for your sake.

"I wonder if he'll still be able to stomach a meal after he sees the video of you being pinned to the ground by those vagrants, begging for mercy. By then, the campus beauty everyone used to admire will be nothing but a joke."

I couldn't believe that he would go this far just to help Chloe vent her anger.

By then, I had already been maimed, but the throbbing ache in my body was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

My tears hit the ground as the memories from the past came rushing back. Every romantic moment we once shared now felt like a bitter mockery.

I lay on the ground, crippled, my eyes fixed on Daniel with nothing but hatred and resentment. He held Chloe in his arms, gazing down at the mess I had become.

The vagrants crowded toward me. Their sour stench hit me first, followed by the naked greed glinting in their eyes.

The sight of them made my stomach twist so violently that I could barely breathe. Terror forced tears into my eyes, but it only seemed to feed the evil in them.

Chloe huddled in Daniel's arms, her voice soft and sweet. "Daniel, I can't bear to watch this. I'm scared."

He shielded her eyes with his hand as he comforted her gently, "I'll watch her punishment in your stead. She'll never be as pure and kind as you."

At that moment, a wave of disappointment washed over me. I gritted my teeth and wriggled away, trying desperately to avoid their touch. But eventually, I was driven into a corner.

With nowhere left to go and the men looming over me, I squeezed my eyes shut. I would've rather died than live through such profound humiliation.

Just as I braced myself to take my own life, police sirens suddenly tore through the air.

A convoy of seven or eight local police cars led the way, and in the midst of them was a luxury car bearing the license plate W—a blatant symbol of wealth and power.