Chapter 4

Mr. Graham clutched the back of his hand, where blood was seeping out. "You fucking bitch!" he howled. "How dare you hurt me!" He spun around and roared at Julian, "Is this how you treat your guests?" Julian was startled, and his shock quickly turned into humiliated rage. Being humiliated like this in front of an investor was probably worse for him than being dead. "Guards!" he shouted. "Hold this crazy bitch down!" The two guards closed in again, rubber batons raised high. I tightened my grip on the broken wine bottle, ready to fight to the end. Suddenly, Bianca let out a sharp scream beside me. She deliberately took a step back, and her high heels "accidentally" knocked over a crystal vase about waist-high, placed next to the entryway cabinet. The vase smashed heavily onto the floor, shattering into pieces. Bianca immediately pointed at me, her voice jumping an octave higher. "You lunatic! Are you out of your mind? Just to get back at us, you smashed my husband's favorite antique!" I watched her pathetic performance coldly. That vase wasn't extremely valuable, but it had some age to it. It was an object my grandfather had cherished when he was alive. Julian froze for a second, then instantly caught on and followed suit. "That crystal vase was over a thousand years old!" he shouted. "It was auctioned for five million dollars!" He strode over, the anger on his face morphing into calculating greed. "Vivian, I was going to let you go with just a warning, but now? Looks like that's not happening. "Five million in damages, plus another million for Mr. Graham's medical expenses. Pay every penny, or I'll make sure you rot in prison." At those words, Mr. Graham suddenly stopped wailing. He didn't even bother with the blood on his hand anymore. His lustful gaze slid over me again as he cut in with a grin. "Julian, don't scare the young woman here." He leaned closer to me, chuckling. "Five million dollars might be an astronomical number for you. If you had to pay it yourself, you'd never finish paying it off in this lifetime. But to me, it's pocket change. "How about this? You come with me tonight and make me happy, then I'll cover the five million dollars for you. I'll even forget about you hurting me earlier. What do you say?" Julian's eyes lit up instantly. It would be killing two birds with one stone. He'd get the money and suck up to the investor. With that thought, he immediately put on a patronizing smile. "You hear that, Vivian? Mr. Graham is giving you a chance. You should consider yourself fortunate. Why don't you hurry up and thank him?" I nearly gagged from disgust. This shameless couple was willing to sell me off like an object to a revolting man just to gain a little advantage. "Five million dollars, huh? To sleep with him?" I laughed, shaking with rage, and hurled the broken bottle at the floor. Glass shards exploded across the tiles, making Mr. Graham recoil in fear. "Oh, we're settling the score, alright," I said coldly. "But you're the ones paying." I took my phone out of my pocket and called the estate butler, Darren Smith. The call connected almost instantly. "Ms. Brooke?" Darren sounded surprised. "You've arrived? I'm still on my way. The traffic's a little hea—" "Darren, bring our men over," I cut in flatly. "There are intruders here. They're extorting money and trying to force me to entertain their people. Bring a lawyer, and also—" Before I could finish, my hand suddenly went empty. Bianca had rushed forward and snatched my phone away. Seeing the call was still connected, she sneered and hit the speaker button. "Hey, old man!" she barked viciously into the phone. "You're one of the extras this bitch hired, right? You're quite the actor. "We're now in Skyville Manor, and everything here belongs to the Gray family! I'm the mistress of this house! "No matter who you are or how many men you brought, you've got 20 minutes to deliver six million dollars in cash for this bitch's ransom! Otherwise, I'll strip her naked and livestream her parading through the streets! Understand, you old bastard?" On the other end, the noisy background suddenly vanished. After a few seconds of silence, Darren's voice came through again. But it was no longer gentle. Instead, it carried a chill that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "Very well," he said. "The mistress of Skyville Manor, is it? I hope that in 20 minutes, you'll still be able to stand on your feet when you speak to me."