Chapter 3
My entrance made the private room go dead silent for a few seconds.
Luke was the first to react.
He pointed at me with exaggerated flair. "Well, well. Isn't it that shameless poor relative? How did you sneak in here? Are the security guards blind or something?"
Sean's face instantly turned sullen when he saw me.
He pushed Lily off his lap and stood up. "Susan, what the hell are you doing here?"
Lily gave my plain trench coat a once-over and pouted. "Sean, is this that freaky relative you mentioned, the one who's always trying to leech you?
"She looks totally broke. What, here to ask for money again?"
Sean hurried to soothe Lily. "Lily, don't get upset. She's just a clingy leech I can't shake off."
He turned to me, eyes blazing. "Get out, now! This isn't a place for low-class trash like you."
I stood my ground, my eyes scanning the pile of luxury shopping bags stacked on the table.
There were Hermès bags, Van Cleef & Arpels necklaces, and Chanel perfume. Every single one was a gift Sean had bought for Lily, all paid for with my money.
"So this is what you did with the 150 thousand dollars of startup fund?" I stared him down.
Sean's expression darkened.
He lunged at me, voice low and through gritted teeth. "Shut up! It's my money, not yours to worry about."
Luke snickered. "Susan, since you're here, might as well make yourself useful."
He grabbed a half-empty bottle of liquor and shoved it into my hand. "There's no waiter around. Since you're a country bumpkin, serving people suits you perfectly.
"Go on, pour drinks for everyone here. If you make us happy, maybe Sean will throw you a couple hundred bucks for cab fare."
The room erupted in laughter.
I slammed the bottle down on the coffee table. The glass shattered, liquor splashing everywhere.
The laughter died instantly.
"How dare you!" Luke roared, about to charge at me. Sean held him back.
He locked his gaze on me, and then suddenly started unbuttoning his suit jacket.
It was the 20-thousand-dollar custom suit I'd had made for him during my business trip abroad two months ago.
He pulled off his suit jacket and, right in front of everyone, hurled it into the trash can in the corner.
"Wearing anything you gave me makes my skin crawl," Sean said, flicking his shirt cuff in disgust. "It reeks of poverty. No amount of washing can get rid of it."
Lily giggled, clearly enjoying the show.
She picked up a glass of red wine from the table, flicked her wrist, and splashed the crimson liquid right onto my high heels.
"Oops, sorry," Lily said, covering her mouth with a fake look of surprise. "The lighting's so dim. I thought it was a rag."
The room burst into laughter again. Sean was laughing the loudest.
He wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and kissed her on the cheek. "Lily is right. Someone like her doesn't even deserve shoes. Walking barefoot in the mud suits her best."
I glanced down at the wine-stained heels. Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone, pointed the camera at Sean and Lily, and hit record.
Right then, whatever pity I had left for Sean was gone. He just sickened me now.
"What are you filming?" Sean barked, panic flashing in his eyes.
He lunged at me, trying to snatch my phone.
As Sean reached out for my phone, he suddenly froze, his gaze locked onto the pocket of my trench coat.
There, the metal clip of a pen was peeking out.
It was the Montblanc limited edition pen Edwin had given me.
The air in the private room grew tense as I started recording.
Sean didn't manage to grab my phone. Instead, his attention shifted, eyes glued to that pen.
I turned and walked out of the private room, heading to the restroom at the end of the hallway to clean the wine off my shoes. Cold water splashed over my ankles as I scrubbed the stains away.
Outside the restroom, I heard the sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps.
As soon as I pushed the door open, Luke was standing right in front of me, blocking my path.
"Running away, are you?" Luke sneered.
Sean stepped out from behind Luke, staring straight at my pocket.
"Give me that pen," Sean demanded, holding out his hand.
He sounded like he expected me to obey, no questions asked.
I shielded my pocket and stepped back. "This doesn't belong to you."
It was something Edwin gave me himself, right before he died.
It cost 100 thousand dollars, but honestly, it meant way more than money to me.
"Bullshit!" Sean lunged at me. "That's Mr. Smith's pen, and you're just an outsider. What gives you the right to keep it?"
His eyes were full of fierceness. "A broke loser like you could never afford a limited edition like that.
"You must've stolen it from Joanna's car when she wasn't paying attention.
"I'm ridding Joanna's family of scum."
Sean shot Luke a look, and Luke immediately lunged at me, grabbing my arm.
I spent most of my time working at my office. There was no way I could stand a chance against two young men like them.
As they wrestled with me, Sean forcefully yanked the pen out of my pocket. The cold metal scraped across my fingertips.
"Give me that back!" I yelled angrily.
"Give it back to you?" Sean sneered, rubbing the pen on his shirt. "Lily seemed to like it earlier. It fits her style perfectly."
"As for you..." Sean nodded at Luke. "There's an old storage room over there. Toss her in and let her think about how a good relative should behave."
Luke shoved me hard, and I was forced into the dark storage room next to the restroom.
The iron door slammed shut with a heavy bang, and the sound of the lock clicking into place echoed sharply down the empty hallway.
Inside, it was pitch black, and a musty smell hit me at once.
I leaned against the cold wall. The blister on the back of my hand had burst from the struggle just now, and the pain stabbed through me.