Chapter 3

"Do you have any conscience at all?"

"My dad treated you like his own son, raised you as his heir. Is this how you repay him?"

Back then, my dad saw he was alone and not only put him through school but also personally taught him how to appraise collections.

He even entrusted him with the core operations of the auction house without reservation.

Victor scoffed, tugging at his tie.

"His own son? Cassidy, don't you forget."

"When you secretly sold off collections to pay debts, who helped you keep it from your dad?"

"And that time you were cornered in an alley by creditors, who got you out of there?"

"It was me!"

He emphasized the words, as if taking credit. "But you? You turned around and forgot all my kindness, and now you're here slandering me!"

These twisted lies made my blood run cold, then boiled with fury.

Then, I abruptly pushed past the bodyguard next to me and lunged at Chloe.

"Give me back my dad's things!"

But Chloe seemed prepared. As I charged, she suddenly recoiled, raising her hand high.

Rip.

The crisp tearing sound was like a knife plunging straight into my heart.

The blue-bound log was torn clean in two.

Paper scraps fluttered to the ground, my dad's thirty years of painstaking work, destroyed just like that.

Immediately after, Chloe's legs gave out, and she clutched her stomach, collapsing to the floor.

"Ah! Victor, my stomach hurts..."

Victor, quick as a flash, caught her. His eyes, when they turned to me, were instantly filled with murderous rage.

"Cassidy! You dare push her?"

"I'm telling you, from today onward, I'll make sure you can't even get a meal in Starhaven City!"

I stared at the shredded fragments of the log on the ground, my mind blank.

The surrounding clamor faded, leaving only the sound of my own heavy breathing.

My dad's image, bent over his desk, writing in that log, still flashed vividly before my eyes.

He used to say, every word in this log was the root of our Preston family.

But now, the root was gone.

A wave of pure rage surged from deep within me. I bent down, snatched a ceramic shard from the floor, and lunged toward Chloe.

"I'll kill you!"

But after just two steps, security guards rushed up from behind, pinning my arms tightly.

I struggled desperately, the ceramic shard in my hand digging deeper into my palm. Its sharp edges bit into my flesh.

Blood streamed from between my fingers, dripping onto the floor, blooming into blinding crimson flowers.

Victor set Chloe down and slowly walked toward me.

His dress shoes crunched on the blood droplets I'd shed, making a sickening, sticky sound.

"Do you really think those collections can be recovered?"

He leaned down, whispering into my ear, his voice laced with venomous amusement. "I've already turned them into luxury cars and mansions, bought jewelry for Chloe."

"Your dad's life's work? Now it's just capital for me to spoil Chloe."

I trembled with rage.

"Victor, you ungrateful snake! You beast!"

"My dad never should have saved you, never should have pulled you out of that gutter!"

"You'll get your comeuppance! You will!"