Chapter 3

I lifted my gaze through the searing pain in my stomach, locking eyes with Rex and Eloise.

“You dare treat me like this?” My voice came out raw, barely above a whisper. “I will make you both suffer for what you’ve done to me. ”

“The Grant family runs this city. What can a broke nobody like you possibly do to fight us?” Rex threw his head back and laughed—loud, ugly, echoing off the marble floors. “You just hit me. Today, I’m going to teach you exactly what happens when you cross the wrong people.”

Then he raised his foot and stomped hard on my right hand.

The world exploded into searing agony. I felt bones grind beneath his heel. My breath caught in my throat, a choked gasp that wouldn't come out right. My vision blurred at the edges.

A murmur rippled through the onlookers.

“Told him not to mess with the Grants,” someone whispered. “He just wouldn’t listen—now he’s paying the price.”

Another voice sighed, “Oh no, his hand—it must be broken. He may never be able to use his right hand again.”

The other shook his head. “Us ordinary folks? Best to keep our heads down and swallow our pride when we’re out here.”

I was a professional racer. My hands meant everything to me. My career, my dream, my entire life—they all depended on these hands.

Rex raised his foot again, ready to bring it down on my left hand.

I bucked against the guards holding me, panic clawing up my throat. I couldn’t let him do it again.

“Wait—I’m sorry!” I said desperately. “Take the suit, it’s yours! I was wrong, okay? Just let me go!”

Rex’s smirk widened, dripping with smug satisfaction. “Now you want me to let you go? Well, too late for that.”

His foot lifted and crushed down on my left hand. The pain stole my voice for a second, then tore a scream out of me. “Ahh!”

I could barely feel my fingers anymore. Numbness spread through my palms, and I knew they were broken.

I twisted toward Eloise, desperation bleeding into my voice. “Elois,Aren't you afraid of who I am? You Letting him do this—you’re going to regret it. Both of you will.”

She laughed—a crisp, brittle sound that cut through the air like shattered glass. “Who are you? The brother of some promiscuous woman who seduced my father into this ridiculous arrangement! Why should I be afraid of you?”

Rex joined in, his voice dripping with contempt. “Yeah, stop acting like you’re someone special. Compared to the Grant family, you and your sister are just dead meat—easy to crush. You’re so desperate to get close to Eloise because you’re after her money. Pathetic. Really pathetic.”

He crouched down to my level, his face inches from mine, eyes glittering with malice.

“Since you messed with me and craved something you shouldn’t,” he said slowly, savoring every word, “I need to give you a lesson you’ll remember for the rest of your life. I’ll have them break your hands completely and you’ll Just be a cripple.”

My eyes went wide with horror. “No!”

I thrashed against the guards, but their grip was iron. One of them grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.

Just then, my phone shrieked from my pocket. Loud, insistent, cutting through the tension like a siren.

Rex paused. He reached into my pocket, swiped the screen, and hit speaker with a smirk.

“Ethan? How’s the suit hunting going?” Isabella’s calm voice filled the space.

I lunged forward, but the guards yanked me back.

“Bella!” I screamed into the phone. “Help me! They're going to destroy my hands !”

Her tone turned cold. “What? Who is this?”

Rex leaned in close to the phone, cocky and riding his high. “This is Rex Norris, you old hag. Your brother got what he had coming. If you dare come over here, I’ll break your hands too. Maybe take your tongue while I’m at it. How does that sound?”

Isabella’s reply cut through like a blade. “Release my brother right now. And maybe I’ll spare your life.”

Rex laughed, loud and dismissive. Then he hurled the phone against the floor. It shattered into pieces, plastic and glass skittering across the marble in every direction.

He slapped me again, a casual backhand that sent my head snapping to the side. “If your sister comes, I’ll add her to the pile. Two for the price of one.”

He turned to the guards. “Show him what you’ve got. Teach him a hard lesson. Make sure he remembers this day.”

The two guards moved in. Fists and boots came at me from all directions.

I curled into a ball, shielding my hands as best I could, tucking them under my chest. A kick to my ribs. A punch to my jaw. Another kick to my back. I tasted blood, thick and copper, filling my mouth.

Minutes crawled by. Ten of them, maybe. Each second stretched like an eternity.

At last, a familiar stretch Lincoln limousine rolled to a stop outside the boutique. The air itself seemed to tighten.

Isabella stepped out of the car.

Her eyes were cold with fury as she pushed the boutique doors open. Her voice rang out like thunder, carrying a murderous glint that made the onlookers shrink back. “Who dares to threaten to break my brother's hands?”