Chapter 3

Eric grabbed the rope tied around my wrist and dragged me into a different private room. A handwoven rug was laid on the floor, and the entire room was decorated with blinding gold and gem-encrusted fixtures.

Sasha, Whitney and Lara were stunned, their eyes widening.

"Oh, my God. Who would've expected a criminal boss to be richer than the Carters?" Whitney muttered jealously.

"Once we earn Mr. D's regard, we'll have our pick of these fine things, too!" Lara said, swallowing hard. Then, she leaned in and threatened me, "You'd better put on your best act and satisfy Mr. D later, Samuel! If you dare ruin his fun and cost us our money, I'll skin you alive!"

My gaze calmly swept over the familiar photos hanging on the wall. One of them was me at six years old, building a snowman. It'd been taken from behind.

The photo frames were all spotless. Evidently, they were dusted and wiped every day.

When Eric noticed me staring at the photos, he yanked on the rope and snapped impatiently, "What do you think you're looking at? If you continue wasting my time, I'll dig your eyeballs out and eat them for supper!"

Behind him, Sasha suddenly gasped. Pointing at an old photo on the cabinet, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Why does that boy in the photo… look so much like him when he was little?"

Taken aback, Eric looked at the photo Sasha was pointing at. Once he saw which one it was, his face twitched, and his expression grew strange.

Just as he was about to ask a question, a whiny, domineering voice rang out. "Eric, is this the surprise you prepared for Danny?"

A woman in a fitted red dress strutted into the room. I recognized her. She was Amelia Reed, Daniel's favorite lover and the only one who had unrestricted access to this floor of the club.

Her haughty gaze flitted over Sasha, Whitney, and Lara, as if she were surveying a bunch of sewer rats. Then, her eyes landed on my face.

The moment our gazes met, her expression shifted. Jealousy and insecurity burned in her eyes, the way a woman reacted when she sensed she'd met her romantic rival.

"I guess you're not too bad looking." She strutted forward in her 4-inch heels and propped up my chin with the tips of her fingernails disdainfully. "Too bad you've got a dick. Do you think Danny would want a filthy manwhore like you? Even if you strip naked in front of him and offer yourself up, he'll only find you disgusting!"

The drug inside my body was taking effect again, the burning desire drowning out my rationality. But as I took in the mix of jealousy and desire in her expression, I chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" Amelia demanded angrily.

Eyeing her coldly, I said evenly, "I'm laughing because you're so jealous that you're acting like a feral bitch. Even though you dress like a slut, I bet you haven't even gotten in bed with your precious Danny yet, huh? That's why you're standing here, taking it out on another man. How pathetic."

Obviously, since Daniel was impotent, there was no way he'd touch Amelia. My words struck a raw nerve, and she slapped me right away.

"How dare you!" she screamed.

I twisted my body and slammed my shoulder into her chest. Caught off guard, she fell to the floor with a loud shriek.

"Stay the hell away from me. Even if Daniel Carter were the one standing here right now, he wouldn't dare to touch a single hair on my head, so who do you think you are?"

A dead silence filled the room. Eric's eyes widened as he stared at me as if I'd lost my mind.

Sasha carefully helped Amelia back on her feet before glaring viciously at me. "This punk here is just a slut who needs to be taught a lesson, Ms. Reed."

She then kicked the back of my knee. "How dare you offend Ms. Reed, you filthy piece of trash! Get on your knees and apologize right this instant!"

My vision darkened as I was forced down into a kneeling position.

After finally coming to terms with what had just happened, Amelia went mad and started screaming at me. "Hold him down! I'm going to kill that filthy bastard today!"

The others immediately swarmed me, pinning me in place.

Amelia pulled a sharp blade from her handbag and pressed the cold metal against my cheek.

"How dare you hit me? What makes you think a lowly manwhore like you, who relies on selling his body, is qualified to call Danny by his first name? Let's see whether he even bothers looking at a filthy slut like you once I carve your face up!"

The blade cut into my skin, and the stinging pain shot through me.

Swallowing the blood in my throat, I used the last of my strength to howl, "Daniel Carter! Get your ass here now!"