My brother’s secret girlfriend locked me in a storage room, accused me of seducing him, and ordered her guards to beat me. Lucas didn’t answer my calls. But he did throw a party— telling everyone he’d make me kneel and apologize. He forgot one thing: I built everything he owns. And I’m done protecting him. I was about to leave the upscale restaurant Lucas owned when the manager stopped me. “Excuse me, ma’am, you haven’t paid your bill.” I looked at the unfamiliar face, figuring she was new and didn’t recognize me. So, I politely explained, “Just put it on Lucas’s tab. He knows.” The female manager swept a disdainful glance over me. “Ma’am, our restaurant is a Michelin three-star. We’ve never had a policy of charging to an account.” She finished speaking, then handed me a printed bill. I glanced down, and my eyes widened. A single meal for half a million dollars. Cutlery Gleam Maintenance Fee: Thirty thousand. Exclusive Air Purification Fee: Fifty thousand. VIP Serenity Service Fee: One hundred thousand. And a bunch of other ridiculous charges. I had no idea my brother was running such a rip-off joint. I was so furious, I actually laughed. “I’m Sloan Cross, Mr. Cross’s sister. Tell him to come home and talk to me if there’s a problem.” But she wouldn’t back down. “Can’t afford it, huh? Don’t pretend you’re someone important, trying to mooch off Mr. Cross.” I immediately texted my assistant: *Tell Lucas. Either fire this woman, or I’m pulling all my investments. “Ma’am, don’t waste everyone’s time. Just pay the bill.” Her tone was utterly certain, cutting, as if she’d already branded me as a vain gold-digger trying to skip out on the bill. Several curious glances from other patrons were already turning our way. I frowned, not wanting to waste time on such a ridiculous matter. I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother’s number directly. However, only a cold busy signal answered, and repeated attempts yielded the same result. What the hell is that kid up to on a weekday? I put down my phone and faced the aggressive woman, enunciating each word carefully. “I’ll say it again. My name is Sloan Cross. I am your boss, Lucas Cross’s, older sister.” “His phone is unreachable right now, but you can check his company account. My picture and information are linked to it.” I thought this was the most direct and effective way to solve the problem. But when the female manager heard my name, instead of verifying anything, she burst into a sharp, grating laugh. She cackled, shaking with malicious glee, drawing even more attention. Then, she abruptly leaned in close to me, lowering her voice to a volume only we two could hear. “Still pretending? I’ve seen that face of yours in my husband Lucas’s Ins feed countless times!” “You shameless hussy, secretly seducing my man!” “Now you have the audacity to waltz into his restaurant and try to charge everything to his account? Do you have no shame at all?” I froze for a second, then glanced at her name tag—Madison Reed. An overwhelming sense of exasperation washed over me. Lucas’s girlfriend, the one he’d been keeping under wraps, not even a single picture he’d bothered to show me. It turned out to be this foolish, venomous woman in front of me. How could his taste be this bad? Suddenly, I understood. This half-million-dollar “exorbitant bill” today wasn’t a misunderstanding at all. It was a premeditated humiliation. Before I could even open my mouth, she’d completely lost her patience. “Since this woman wants to dine and dash, we’ll have to restrain her until the police arrive!” She waved her hand backward, and two burly security guards, who had been standing nearby, immediately stepped forward. One clamped his hand over my mouth, while the other wrenched my arms painfully behind my back, twisting them like rope. I struggled violently, but the sheer difference in strength between us made all my resistance futile. They ignored my furious glares and the horrified stares of the other patrons, roughly dragging me toward the back of the kitchen. Then I was thrown heavily into a storage room reeking of disinfectant mixed with stale food. The door slammed shut, cutting off all light and sound from the outside.
In the darkness, the female manager said nothing, but raised her high-heeled foot and brutally kicked me in the stomach. The excruciating pain instantly made me curl into a ball, my stomach churning violently. “That’s for spending my man’s money!” “That’s for trying to seduce him!” She shrieked, her voice distorted by jealousy and rage. She looked down at me, towering over me, and ordered the two brawny men: “Beat her! Beat her senseless!” The two security guards, clearly her loyal cronies, didn’t hesitate for a second. A barrage of punches and kicks rained down on me. I bit down hard, swallowing every cry of pain and groan. My bones felt like they were being shattered, my internal organs dislocated. Her shrieks continued. “What do you think you are? Nothing but a pathetic hanger-on!” “I told you I’m his sister! If you don’t believe me, ask Lucas! Call him right now, I’ll tell him myself!” I struggled to explain, but the woman in front of me was deaf to my words. Only when my head was swimming and my vision blurring did she raise her hand and call a stop. Her high-heeled foot pressed onto my shoulder as she smiled, looking down at me. “You’d better pay that bill today, and then fork over another five hundred thousand.” “That’s your punishment for seducing my man and spending his money.” “I’m not afraid of things getting messy. Lucas will have it all smoothed over for me.” I lay curled up in pain, weakly protesting, “That’s my own money. I told you, if you don’t believe me, ask him.” Her face twisted in anger, and she kicked me again. The two security guards immediately understood, and their fists and feet came down on me once more. I knew she wouldn’t listen to anything I said. If this continued, I might actually die here. After I coughed up a mouthful of blood, I used the last of my strength to fumble for my phone on the cold floor. “Stop… I’ll… I’ll pay.” She seemed pleased with my submission, motioning for the two security guards to stop. She knelt down and patted my swollen cheek. “See? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just do it the easy way? You had to learn the hard way, didn’t you?” “One million, not a penny less.” I lay on the cold floor, gasping for breath, my lungs burning. I ignored her and dialed my best friend Maya’s number. The call connected quickly. “Maya, bring two million to Lucas’s restaurant.” “I need it now.” Maya on the other end paused, then a note of alarm crept into her voice. “Sloan? What’s wrong? Your voice sounds…” “Don’t ask. Just hurry.” I cut her off and hung up. When Madison heard “two million,” her eyes instantly lit up, a flicker of avarice in her eyes. She probably thought I’d been beaten into submission and was voluntarily increasing the payment to beg for mercy. The smug triumph on her face was now impossible to hide. “Smart move.”
Maya’s speed was astonishing. Soon, the storage room door was violently pushed open from the outside. Maya stormed in, flanked by two bodyguards. When she saw the blood at the corner of my mouth, my disheveled clothes, and my pathetic form curled on the floor, she gasped in shock. She rushed forward and helped me up. I shook my head, signaling her not to speak, then took the bank card with the sticky-note password from her hand and tossed it to Madison. Madison took the card and didn’t bother me further, waving her hand dismissively. “If that’s a fake card, I have plenty of ways to find you. Now get out.” I endured the excruciating pain that pierced my bones, and with Maya’s help, I limped out of that disgusting place. Once at the entrance, I thanked Maya. “Thanks, Maya. I’ll pay you back as soon as I sort this out.” She looked at me worriedly. “Don’t worry about the money. But what happened to you?” I let out a bitter laugh. “My brother’s found himself quite the girlfriend. I’ve got a score to settle with him.” I pulled out my phone and found the number for the restaurant’s Vice President. This VP was the actual manager of the restaurant, someone I had personally headhunted, and he was fiercely loyal to me. The call connected. I didn’t waste a single word, my voice devoid of emotion. “You have ten minutes. Fire a manager named Madison Reed.” “Otherwise, the Cross family will withdraw all investments from the restaurant, every last penny.” The VP on the other end was scared him witless the moment he heard my voice. He must have heard the weakness and the unsettling tone in my voice, as he frantically agreed, not daring to ask a single question why. I hung up, not pausing for a second, and hailed a cab directly to the police station. Using the clearest, most logical reasoning, I explained everything that had just happened to the officer who received me. After giving a detailed statement at the police station, I went to the hospital for a medical examination. Holding that thin report, the fury of betrayal in my heart felt like it had been doused with hot oil, burning even more fiercely. I needed an explanation. I needed Lucas Cross to give me an explanation himself. My assistant located Lucas at his own house. My driver and bodyguards were already en route to Lucas’s villa. That villa, too, was a gift from me. However, when I arrived, I was greeted by deafening heavy metal music. And the boisterous sounds of men and women emanating from the doors and windows. He was throwing a party. No wonder he hadn’t answered my calls. The villa’s front door was ajar. On a whim, I didn’t push it open immediately. Soon, I heard a familiar female voice, choked with tears. It was Madison. She was crying to everyone in the house, painting herself as a poor victim bullied by an arrogant mistress, who was then falsely accused. “…I just asked her to pay her bill, and she threw a million dollars in my face, and then had me fired…” “Lucas, she’s too much. She has absolutely no respect for you!” “She just wants to humiliate me, she just wants to break us up!” Inside, Lucas’s group of fair-weather friends all indignantly echoed her sentiments. Lucas, meanwhile, was loudly comforting Madison in his arms, his voice full of tenderness and indulgence. “Madison, don’t worry, I won’t let you suffer this kind of injustice!” Then, as if to prove his resolve, he confidently promised everyone: “When I catch that woman, I’ll make her kneel and apologize to you!” Inside, the group of spoiled brats continued to champion Madison, shouting about how they would make me pay. “Lucas, just say the word, and we’ll drag her out right now!” “Yeah! Let her know who really runs things here!” I couldn’t listen anymore. I raised my hand, and a bodyguard kicked open the villa door. The party music screeched to a halt, and the boisterous laughter instantly vanished. Dozens of stunned eyes collectively turned toward the doorway. “No need to drag me out. I’m right here. Who wants to teach me a lesson?”
The air seemed to solidify, leaving only the sharp click-clack of my heels on the floor. Step by step, I walked toward the embracing couple in the center of the living room. Lucas Cross’s expression was nothing short of spectacular. First, shock, then an uncontrollable terror, his face instantly paling. He instinctively let go of Madison Reed, as if to stand up. But his gaze caught Madison’s tear-streaked face, and he hesitated, a struggle in his eyes. Finally, that fear was replaced by a ridiculous, blustering defiance. He remained seated, just staring fixedly at me, as if that could mask his inner panic. As for Madison, the moment she recognized me, her pupils constricted violently. But she quickly regained her composure. This was Lucas’s territory, surrounded by all his friends. Instead, she burrowed deeper into Lucas’s arms, crying even louder. “Lucas, it’s her… she’s the one who bullied me…” She cried, casting me a malevolent, triumphant look, as if to say, See? He still protects me. I ignored her, my gaze fixed solely on my dear brother. “Lucas Cross, I’m talking to you.” “Weren’t you just saying you’d make me kneel and apologize to your girlfriend?” Lucas’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his lips trembling, but not a single word escaped him. He was afraid of me. He had always been afraid of me, ever since we were kids. He knew who truly called the shots in this family. His friends exchanged confused glances, clearly not understanding the situation. A rich kid with bleached hair, probably wanting to impress Madison, stepped forward. “Who are you? How dare you talk to Lucas like that?” “If you know what’s good for you, apologize to Madison right now, or else…” He didn’t finish his sentence. Because the bodyguard behind me had already stepped forward, standing impassively in front of me. That invisible pressure instantly silenced the blonde kid. I walked past the bodyguard, stood before Lucas, and looked down at him. “It seems you’re not going to give me an explanation.” Lucas finally mustered his courage, stiffened his neck, and stood up. He pulled me aside, lowering his voice, his tone a mix of pleading and a hint of impatience. “Sloan, what exactly do you want?” “Do you really have to humiliate me in front of my friends?” “Madison didn’t mean it, she just has a short temper. Can’t you just let it go?” I looked at him and suddenly found it incredibly laughable. Let it go? After she had her goons beat me half to death, after she extorted a million dollars from me, he wanted me to *let it go*? “Lucas Cross.” I called him by his full name. “Are you kidding me?” “I…” He was speechless for a moment, his eyes darting away. Just then, from outside the villa, the sound of police sirens grew louder and clearer. The sharp, piercing wail cut through the party’s false festive atmosphere. Everyone froze. Soon, several uniformed police officers, their expressions serious, walked in. The lead officer scanned the room, then his gaze settled on me. “Excuse me, are you Ms. Sloan Cross?” I nodded. “Yes, I am.” The officer pulled out an arrest warrant and turned toward Madison Reed. “Madison Reed, you are suspected of assault and extortion. You are now under arrest. Please cooperate with us and return to the station for questioning.”
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