Chapter 2
I watched in horror as two strong bodyguards grabbed my dad, one on each side, ready to snap his arms.
Suddenly, several figures burst into the room.
Someone shouted, "Stop!"
Benjamin Cole, the auction house owner, stormed in with his bodyguards, his face thunderous as he shoved through the crowd.
He said, "Ms. Summers, your violent actions have been fully recorded. I strongly advise you to stop right now. Every guest here is under my protection, and I have a duty to keep them safe."
Benjamin's voice was firm, but Stella just looked at him with pure contempt.
"Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?" she sneered.
"I'm Benjamin Cole, the organizer of this auction," he replied.
"So what?" Stella shot back, her arrogance undiminished.
She said, "This pathetic little auction? If it weren't for that one thing I wanted, do you really think I'd bother showing up? Believe it or not, one phone call from me and you'll be bankrupt."
With that, Stella dialed a number, her voice instantly turning sweet and syrupy. "Honey, that Benjamin Cole or whatever his name is at the auction just humiliated me in public. I can't swallow this. What do you think I should do?"
A man's voice came through the phone. "Honey, did you forget the authority I gave you? Anyone who dares to mess with you is messing with me."
Stella hung up, looking completely satisfied, and then shot Benjamin a smug look.
"Congratulations. You and your auction house are screwed. This is what happens when you go up against the financial queen," she sneered.
Suddenly, Benjamin's phone buzzed.
He picked it up, and his face went ghostly pale.
A voice said, "Mr. Cole, someone's reported you for illegal fundraising. The bank has frozen all your assets."
Another call came in. "Mr. Cole, you're suspected of major tax evasion over the past three years. You are hereby ordered to stop all financial transactions immediately."
Another person called, "Benjamin, I'm sorry, but I have to terminate our contract. Don't blame me, blame yourself for messing with someone you shouldn't have."
Benjamin was suddenly facing bankruptcy.
He dropped to the ground, his voice shaking. "What the hell did you do? What did you do to me?"
Stella gave a wicked grin. "Take him, too. Hold him down."
The bodyguards swarmed in, pinning Benjamin to the ground.
The auction house bodyguards who came with Benjamin just stood by, clearly under orders not to interfere.
Stella turned to my dad, her grin wild and triumphant.
"Old bastard, no one's coming to save you now. Keep going. Break both his arms," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," the bodyguards replied.
With the two bodyguards' faces twisted in cruel glee as they wrenched his arms, the sickening sound of bones snapping filled the air, and my dad let out a blood-curdling scream.
He writhed on the ground in agony, his screams echoing across the open sea.
After I saw all this happen, a cold calm washed over me.
My fingers kept spinning the wooden beads on my wrist.
Morris burst through the door. "Ms. Summers, I've got it. The one backing Stella is Victor Sterling, a financial baron."
His voice faltered as his eyes landed on my hand, a flicker of awe crossing his face. Anyone who knew me well would know that this action of mine meant I wanted to kill someone.
Morris hurried on, "Stella's all ambition and no skill. After she turned her back on the Summers family, she burned through her fortune and ended up as Victor's mistress behind the scenes.
"Then she used his connections to hook up with other powerful people.
"The people she hired are foreign mercenaries. They're all hardened criminals who've all killed before. They work for whoever pays them, no questions asked.
"And our people found out your fiancé, Mr. Lucas Gray, is at the bar on the third deck of the yacht."
A bloodthirsty smile curled on my lips.
I said, "Victor Sterling? Get in touch with him right now and tell him he'd better think long and hard. If he still dares to side with Stella, I'll destroy the Sterling family completely."
"Got it," Morris replied.
I added, "And reach out to Lucas through the Gray family. Tell him to get over here and help my dad, now."
The Gray family was loaded, and Dad set up my engagement to Lucas years back. If he managed to save my dad this time, maybe I'd consider giving him and the Gray family another shot.
My dad's screams snapped me back to reality.
He cried out, "Stella, what did I ever do to you?
"After Charlotte went missing, I should've never let pity get the better of me and taken you in. Who would've thought I'd end up raising such a backstabber?
"If you hadn't secretly stolen all the Summers family's money and helped others bring us down, the Summers family would never have gone bankrupt!"
Stella stormed over and slammed her foot into his chest.
She sneered, "You bastard, even with your arms and legs broken, you still can't shut that mouth of yours.
"Let me be real with you. I only came back for revenge.
"I'm not just going to kill you. I'm going to finish off your precious little darling, too."