Chapter 4

Liam Blackwood and Daniel King's eyes widened.

They hadn't imagined that a girl who seemed so pure and innocent would get such a disturbing word tattooed.

Chloe Miller quickly snatched an jacket to cover herself.

Her eyes were red, and she pursed her lips. A tear *plinked* down.

"I... I don't know why Aria would get someone to tattoo me like that on my lower back..."

"What?"

Liam Blackwood grabbed her by both shoulders.

"Are you saying Aria Hayes tattooed you?"

Chloe Miller just bit her lower lip, her red eyes silent.

*Smack!*

A slap landed unexpectedly on my face, Daniel King's hands trembling with rage.

"I remember now... You and Chloe went to the same university! She was your junior!"

"I don't even know her!"

I roared.

Liam Blackwood, however, seemed to recall something, his expression grave.

"Chloe, you mentioned before that you were bullied in college. Was it Aria Hayes?"

Chloe Miller said nothing.

She just cried harder.

"You hussy!"

Daniel King grabbed my collar and delivered another slap to my face.

My forehead hit the wall, instantly leaving a bloody print.

Before I could even speak, his leather shoe kicked my abdomen.

I collapsed to the floor, curling up, coughing up a mouthful of blood that splattered on his shoe.

With each subsequent kick, it clung to my dress.

"I swore I'd make anyone who hurt Chloe pay!

"I can't believe the culprit was you!

"Do you respect Mom's teachings?! Do you respect her memory?! Are you fit to take over her legacy?!"

My breathing was ragged, and I lay weakly on the floor, panting and gritting my teeth.

"I... I didn't!"

But Daniel King's eyes were bloodshot. He turned to the bodyguards, roaring.

"What are you waiting for?! She's your chance to prove yourselves!"

The bodyguards, seasoned pros in the elite circles, knew that having just broken away from me, they needed to earn the new master's trust.

So they swarmed forward, kicking my stomach and body with all their might.

The dress in my hands was torn. I could only curl up, clutching the dress tightly.

But I couldn't prevent the other half from being ripped, and I let out a desperate cry.

"Stop! Don't... don't touch the dress Mom gave me!"

Tears mixed with blood, forming a puddle. The dress was torn, and I looked at Daniel King for help.

He frowned.

"Now you feel pain?

"But this is just returning what you did to Chloe.

"And even this isn't a fraction of the harm you caused her."

My teeth were almost shattered from clenching them, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. "I didn't!"

Liam Blackwood gave me a triumphant look, then raised a hand to stop the lead bodyguard.

"Mr. King, that's enough."

Daniel King glanced at him.

"Is it? Do you want to watch her keep crying?"

Liam Blackwood froze.

He turned, and Chloe Miller's tearful eyes unexpectedly met his gaze.

Seeing Chloe Miller's half-exposed shoulder and tear-streaked face, Liam Blackwood's heart clenched.

He ultimately let go of the bodyguard.

Chloe Miller's tears immediately streamed down.

"Aria was always so mean. Back then, I wasn't just beaten up, I was stripped naked and thrown onto the street..."

"You're lying... Ah!"

Daniel King brutally kicked my chest. He eyed the bodyguards coldly.

"Drag her to the car, and take her away!"

"What are you doing?! Stop!"

I struggled frantically, but those bodyguards, eager to prove their loyalty, forcibly threw me into the car.

It was already dark. Liam Blackwood parked the car on a deserted street.

"Consider yourself lucky," Daniel King sneered.

"There aren't many people on this street. Let's give her a little punishment to start with."

"No! I don't want this!"

My clothes were mercilessly ripped. I grabbed Liam Blackwood's arm.

"Liam Blackwood! If you still care about all the help I gave you, just help me this one time!"

Liam Blackwood frowned.

In those countless lonely nights, we had sworn eternal devotion.

But Chloe Miller's tears fell again.

He looked back at her, and despite my tearful headshake, he pried my fingers off one by one.

"But this is what you owe her."

*Thud!*

I was pushed naked out of the car.

Before I could even get up, the car sped away.

Rumbling noises came from a nearby trash can.

A few homeless men's eyes lit up.

"Free? And what a body."

"No!"

I slapped away a homeless man's rough, dirty hand, only to have a slap land on my own face.

"Damn it! Dressed like this, and you're still playing hard to get with me!"

I tumbled onto a pile of foul-smelling trash.

My hand brushed against a slippery brick.

The homeless man's pants were already unzipped.