Chapter 2

When Ian got home, he did not see his mother, Gloria Gibson. His heart tightened abruptly.

"Alfred, where's my mom?"

The butler, Alfred Hedger, was anxious. "Mrs. Gibson heard that Mr. Shaw seduced Ms. Selena and forced you to break off your engagement to marry someone else. She was so angry that she went to settle the score with him."

Ian got extremely worried and rushed to the private club. When he arrived, Gloria was in the middle of punishing Anthony.

"Your mom just died not long ago, and you're already learning from her evil ways to seduce people? Drink up all this alcohol, or don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll make sure the whole world sees just how low you can sink."

Anthony knelt on the ground, looking broken and pitiful. "I-I'll drink it."

He picked up the wine glass and drank one glass after another.

Seeing this, Ian's face paled instantly.

In his previous life, he had witnessed Selena and Tammy's cruelty. Anthony was the person they cherished most. If they knew Anthony suffered such humiliation...

Ian could not think any further and hurriedly stopped her. "Mom! Don't make him drink!"

Gloria sighed, tears welling in her eyes. "Ian, don't be afraid. I know you like Selena. I'll get you justice!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Anthony suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Two figures rushed in quickly from outside.

Tammy held him, her tone tense. "Anthony! Are you okay?"

Selena glanced over the scattered liquor bottles and glared at Gloria. "Anthony is allergic to alcohol! He can't touch a single drop. You forced him to drink all that liquor?

"Are you trying to kill him?! Mrs. Gibson, apologize to Anthony immediately!"

Gloria sneered. "He's a low-class homewrecker. I'd sooner die than apologize to him."

"A homewrecker?" Tammy looked up with a cryptic smile. "Since you're insulting Anthony like that, why don't I let you experience what it really feels like to have a homewrecker son?"

A sense of foreboding washed over Ian. "What are you gonna do?"

"Treating my future mother-in-law to a show, of course." Tammy sneered. "Someone, strip Ian's clothes off and drag him out onto the street."

Ian was filled with disbelief. The woman who had been insatiably passionate with him just last night had turned on him without a shred of mercy!

"Don't touch me!" He struggled desperately but was pinned down hard by the bodyguards. Gloria was also pressed to the ground, unable to move.

Rip!

With his pants torn off forcefully, Ian was dragged out onto the street, where a curious crowd quickly gathered. His face flushed crimson with instant, overwhelming shame as he clutched his body in a futile attempt to cover himself.

Women giggled and snapped photos, even deliberately brushing up against him.

"Isn't this Ian Gibson? Tsk, tsk, tsk! Pale skin, long legs, and a butt perky enough to balance a bottle of soda on it!"

"Selena never touched him, yet he's covered in fresh hickeys and bruises. Did he get caught playing homewrecker?"

Selena frowned and tried to intervene, but Tammy scoffed softly. "Ian is the type to hold a grudge. If we don't teach him a lesson, the next thing we see will be Anthony's corpse."

Selena paused and withdrew her hand. "He's stubborn. He needs to be taken down a peg or two so he learns his lesson."

"No! Don't touch my son!" Gloria broke free from her restraints and rushed forward to hug Ian tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Ian, I dragged you into this! I won't let them hurt you again."

A look of ruthlessness flashed across Anthony's face, and he signaled to his bodyguards.

The next second, Gloria was sent flying. She hit the ground hard like a kite with a severed string, and a pool of blood quickly spread beneath her.

"Mom!" Tears burst from Ian's eyes as he screamed in anguish. "Take your anger out on me! Please spare my mom!"

Tammy was stung by the sight of Ian's tears. It felt as though her heart had been pricked. She instinctively raised a hand to wipe them away, but then snapped back to reality and withdrew her fingers. She felt a sudden, inexplicable irritation.

"When you forced Anthony to drink, did you ever consider sparing him? Mrs. Gibson, I'm giving you one last chance. Apologize to Anthony, or your son will face a fate far worse than just having his clothes stripped off."

Mrs. Gibson, a woman who had lived a life of dignity and prestige, knelt with a long trail of blood behind her. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to say those things! Please just put a coat on my son... He hasn't even been married yet..."

Tammy's gaze softened slightly, and she began to take off her suit jacket. Just then, Anthony suddenly fainted.

Selena and Tammy immediately rushed him to the hospital, completely forgetting about Ian and Gloria's punishment.

No one came to their aid, let alone called an ambulance. Everyone looked like they were enjoying the show and happy to revel in someone else's suffering.

Panicked, Ian pressed his hands against Gloria's bleeding head, his heart wrung with anguish. Braving onlookers' strange stares, he bought a pair of trousers from a store and returned with bandages and medicine.

When he got back, Gloria was already gone.

He panicked, searching frantically in every nook and cranny, yet found nothing.

Just then, Anthony called and snickered. "Stop looking. After the way your mom humiliated me, how could I possibly spare her?"

Ian had a mental breakdown. "She apologized to you! What more do you want?"

Anthony laughed maliciously. "I want to make her wish she were dead, of course. Didn't she love calling me a homewrecker? So, I sent her to a nightclub.

"And guess what? Your mother was assaulted by more than a dozen men for five hours. Unable to bear the trauma, she jumped from the 17th floor and died instantly.

"Don't worry. I had her body sent to a Mastiff breeding center to feed the dogs, saving you the trouble of having to collect her remains."