Chapter 4

The study door in the Russo Manor was kicked open with a bang.

Damian stormed in with Lily, ignoring the bodyguards who tried to block their way.

"Why did you suspend Lily's streaming privileges?" Damian rushed up to my desk, slamming his hands down. "That influencer media group is your biggest money-maker. I put Lily in as the top streamer. Who are you to meddle?"

I set down my pen and looked up at him. "Because on her very first stream, she called a fan she was talking to a broke nobody."

I threw a fine from the platform in his face. "And that's not all. She passed off defective goods as real ones. That got our main account banned for a week, and now we're looking at a massive lawsuit."

Damian snatched the fine, didn't bother to look at it, and ripped it to pieces. The scraps fluttered down onto my keyboard.

"It's only less than a million in losses," he roared, veins bulging in his neck. "I can pay for it. No one can make Lily unhappy."

Lily peeked out from behind Damian, her eyes full of defiance. "Yeah, Valerie. If you're really that upset about some money, Damian can pay you back. Why are you making such a fuss?"

I suppressed a cold smirk and leaned back in my chair. "Alright, I'll let the losses slide. But her streaming privileges are revoked, and that's non-negotiable."

That seemed to hit a nerve with Lily.

The next day, Lily showed up at the iron gates of the Russo Manor with a whole crew of her greedy relatives, blocking the entrance.

"This is outrageous. The rich are picking on us!" Lily's brother, who had a history of drug abuse, was rolling around on the ground, making a huge scene. "If Lily can't make money, how are we supposed to survive?"

A dozen elderly relatives unfurled banners, clogging up the gate.

I frowned as I walked up the steps, my bodyguards escorting me.

"Clear them out. Don't let them disturb Lawrence," I whispered to the head of security.

As the bodyguards moved in to clear them out, things instantly went off the rails.

Out of nowhere, Lily found some wild strength and broke through the security line. Her eyes were bloodshot as she charged up the steps madly.

"You venomous bitch! Who do you think you are, ruining my career?" she screamed, snatching a flowerpot from the porch table. "Go to hell."

The flowerpot flew at me, whistling through the air, and slammed into my lower back.

"Mrs. Russo!" one of the bodyguards shouted in panic.

I didn't have a chance to react. Agonizing pain ripped through my lower back, and I lost my footing, tumbling hard down the steps.

My knee smashed into the marble floor, but I barely felt it. Blood quickly stained the white cashmere carpet, pouring down my legs.

I clutched my pregnant belly, letting out a moan. My whole body was wracked with pain. "Call an ambulance. Hurry!" I screamed at the stunned servants.

Damian came down from the second floor when he heard the chaos.

He took one look at the blood everywhere and didn't spare me a glance. Instead, he booted the phone out of the servant's hand.

"Drop your phone, you damn fool!" Damian barked, holding Lily in his arms as she trembled. He pointed at me, his face twisted with fury. "You poisonous witch. Don't think I can't see through your tricks.

"You fell on purpose to frame Lily. You're trying to use that baby to get rid of the woman I really love."

"Damian... The baby..." I lay in a pool of blood, a piercing ringing filling my ears from the blood loss. My vision was going dark, but even through the haze, I could still see the madness in his eyes.

To make sure no one would spill the news, Damian rushed to the heavy wooden doors and shut them. "No one's leaving today," he said.

He shoved the key deep into his pocket and planted himself in front of the door like a madman. "Don't be scared, Lily. As long as I'm here, no one's gonna lay a finger on you."

Despair settled over me. Agonizing cramps tore through my lower abdomen, each wave worse than the last, and I could feel my life draining away.

I was about to lose consciousness.

But then, a deafening bang jolted me awake.

The doors were smashed open from the outside.

Lawrence stood in the doorway, leaning on his steel cane topped with an iron wolf head, with dozens of armed bodyguards behind him.