Chapter 4 The Truth Caught on Camera

Kieran stood to one side with his arms crossed, a contemptuous sneer curling his lips. "Mason, can't you be smart for your own good? I'm about to marry Everly, and you're still clinging to her like a lovesick fool. Do you really think you're still the precious heir of the Schaefer family?"

Before I could react, the warehouse doors swung open, and two thugs strode inside.

I struggled desperately against the coarse hemp rope binding my wrists and roared, "Have you lost your mind, Kieran? Go ahead. I dare you to lay a finger on me!"

To my dismay, he slapped me across the face. The force sent my head snapping to the side, and blood immediately seeped from the corner of my mouth.

"Me, losing my mind? You only have yourself to blame for standing in my way!"

He crouched down and gripped my chin painfully between his fingers, his eyes brimming with venomous hatred.

"From the day you brought me into your family, everything you had should have been mine. Everly belongs to me, and so does your family's fortune! A worthless piece of trash like you doesn't deserve to keep breathing and getting in my way!"

With that, he straightened and nodded toward the two thugs, his voice as cold as ice. "Break his legs. Make sure he can never stand again. That way, he won't be able to compete with me for anything ever again!"

The two men immediately lunged at me. One pinned my shoulders down while the other pressed my legs firmly against the ground. I twisted and struggled with all my strength, but the rope dug painfully into my wrists, leaving me unable to break free.

"Shut up, you fucking rascal! Mr. Jorgensen said breaking your legs is just the beginning. Never forget who's really in charge of the Schaefer family!"

The man holding me down slapped me viciously across the face. The other only increased the force of his blows, the wooden club striking with such brutality that it felt as though it would crack my bones.

I closed my eyes, convinced I was going to die there that day.

Suddenly, the warehouse doors were kicked open with tremendous force.

Mackenzie stormed in with several people behind her. The moment she saw what was happening, her eyes widened, and they turned bloodshot. She rushed forward and screamed, "Stop!"

Hope flared in my heart.

But Kieran reacted even faster. He threw himself at my sister's feet, wailing hysterically. "Mackenzie! Thank goodness you're here! Mason has gone crazy! He accused me of stealing Everly from him and threatened to have my legs broken. I fought desperately to escape!"

The two men who had been restraining me immediately released their grip and bowed to Mackenzie. "Mason forced us here, Ms. Schaefer! He said Mr. Jorgensen had stolen his fiancee and ordered us to break Mr. Jorgensen's legs. We didn't dare disobey him!"

I went rigid, staring at the scene unfolding before me in utter disbelief. How dare Kieran do this? How could he pin all his own crimes on me?

"Mackenzie, it wasn't me! They're lying! Kieran was the one who hired them to break my legs! Look at my knees!" I struggled to lift my legs, but the moment I moved, such excruciating pain shot through me that my vision went black.

Yet, Mackenzie wouldn't even look at me.

She helped Kieran to his feet, then glared at me with undisguised disgust. Kicking a wooden crate beside her, she screamed, "How could you be so vicious, Mason? I should have realized when Mom died that you were heartless! Now, you're breaking Kieran's legs over a woman—are you even human? Since you're so fond of using violence to solve your problems, you'll stay here today and find out for yourself what it's like to be at someone else's mercy!"

With that, she helped him leave. Before departing, she even ordered her men to lock the warehouse doors behind them.

The heavy bang of the doors slamming shut cut off the last trace of light from outside.

I collapsed onto the cold floor. The agony in my knees mingled with the pain tearing through my heart until I could barely breathe.

She was my sister. How could she keep falling for Kieran's lies, again and again, and keep driving the knife into the deepest wounds in my heart?

…

That night, I passed out from the pain several times. Every time I regained consciousness, I felt as though I had fallen into an endless hell.

Eventually, I dragged my broken legs all the way back home, crawling and limping along the way. I knelt outside the gates, begging Mackenzie to hear my explanation and believe me just once.

Yet, she refused to open the door. Instead, she sent the butler outside with a message. "Someone as vicious and treacherous as you will never be allowed to set foot inside the Schaefer Residence again."

Torrential rain drenched me as I stared at the tightly shut gates. At last, I understood that I had already lost the sister who had once spoiled me beyond measure.

…

Mackenzie's face had turned deathly pale. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word. Almost instinctively, she turned to look at Kieran beside her.

He was trembling all over, his face as white as a sheet.

Just then, the phone in Mackenzie's pocket began vibrating frantically.

With trembling fingers, she answered the call. Her assistant's urgent voice came through the receiver. "Ms. Schaefer! We've found it! The surveillance footage from the staircase at the old family residence eight years ago has been recovered. It shows Kieran pushing Madam Schaefer down the stairs from behind!"