I lunged forward and slammed my elbow straight into Digby's nose.

There was a sharp crack as bone gave way, and blood burst out instantly. Digby screamed and staggered back, clutching his face.

I rushed to Jerry, pulled him up, and lifted his thin shirt.

Jerry's bony back was covered in whip marks and cigarette burns, layers of old and fresh scars stacked over each other. It was horrifying.

Some of the burns were still oozing pus, giving off a sour, rotten smell. The cuts on his arms had scabbed over but were swollen and infected.

Jerry was autistic, but he had been a gentle and obedient kid since he was little.

And this was what they had done to him.

"Who did this?" My voice was ice-cold.

Jerry trembled all over. He hugged his head and whispered, barely audible, "Don't hit me… I'm a good boy… I'll move rocks…"

I couldn't even imagine what my brother had been put through.

Marshall, that heartless piece of trash… I was still alive, and he couldn't wait to cheat, let his people and his mistress abuse my family, and even desecrate the dead!

I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood, barely holding back the rage boiling inside me.

I pulled out my phone and was about to call 911 when Digby snatched it away and smashed it on the ground.

"Calling the cops?" he sneered. "It's pointless! Mr. Gray will make the matter disappear."

He pointed to a large pit nearby, which had been dug out for an artificial lake on the golf course. The bottom was filled with broken rocks and rusted steel bars sticking out at odd angles.

"You want your idiot brother to stop suffering?" he said with a vicious grin. "Fine. Crawl in there and use your mouth to pick out every rock. Then I'll let him go. Go and fetch stones for Ms. Lawson like a good dog."

The crowd whispered among themselves. Some of them even took out their phones and started recording.

I looked at Jerry's terrified face, and my heart felt like it was being carved open.

He was shaking, but he recognized me now. His hands clutched my clothes tightly, as if he was afraid I would really jump into that pit.

"Tiff, Tiff… I'll do it…"

I was about to move when Jerry suddenly broke free from my grip and stumbled toward the pit.

"I'll do it… Don't hit us…" he kept repeating as he tried to jump down.

Something inside me snapped completely.

I grabbed half a brick from the ground and smashed it into the back of a guard's neck, then ripped the stun baton from his hand.

I drove it straight into Digby's thigh.

The baton crackled loudly. Digby screamed and collapsed, convulsing on the ground.

"Are you all dead or what?" Digby howled. "Get her! Cripple that tramp!"

The moment he finished speaking, more than ten guards rushed in. No matter how good I was at fighting, I couldn't take on that many trained men alone.

A baton smashed into my back. I stumbled, and the rest seized the chance to pin me down with riot shields and steel forks until I couldn't move.

Batons rained down on my back. It felt like my organs were being shaken loose. My throat filled with blood, and I spat it out.

"You crazy chick," someone yelled. "How dare you hit Mr. Wolfe! You're dead!"

A steel fork pressed against my neck. I couldn't breathe. My vision darkened.

Jerry cried nearby and tried to rush over, only to be kicked away. He crawled back up and grabbed Digby's pant leg.

"Don't hit her… I'll fetch the rocks… I'll do it… Don't hurt Tiff…"

Poor Jerry. He could barely get the words out, but he didn't care about the pain as he begged them to stop.

"Then hurry up, idiot," Digby sneered. "Stop talking. Go finish it, and I'll let her go."

"Okay…" Jerry stammered.

Jerry struggled to his feet and jumped into the deep pit.

Exposed rebar sliced into his skin. Blood dripped down, staining the gray dirt a dark red.

He clenched his teeth and tried to grab the rocks with his mouth, but they were bigger than his jaw. There was no way he could bite them.

He forced his mouth open anyway. His jaw dislocated from the strain, and blood mixed with saliva as it poured down his chin.

"Jerry! Stop!" I screamed until my throat tore, tears blurring everything.

But Jerry kept going.

Digby watched him suffer, not with pity, but with growing impatience.

"Hurry up! How long is this supposed to take?" He started barking at the guards. "I've changed my mind. Tie that crazy woman and that idiot together and set them in front of the bulldozer. Mr. Gray said this land has to be flattened today."

My blood went cold.

Several guards roughly bound Jerry and me with thick wire and strapped us to the front of the massive bulldozer. The steel treads pressed against my back.

The engine roared to life. Black smoke swallowed us whole.

Jerry shook violently, terrified, but he wrapped his arms around me, trying to steady me instead.

"Tiff… Don't be scared… Don't be scared…" he mumbled, his words slurred.

Then, all of a sudden, he pointed at my grandfather's body.

"They fed… Grandpa… medicine…"

My entire body jolted.

My grandfather had always been strong. How could he have died so suddenly? Had his death been tied to Marshall and the rest of them?

That thought detonated something inside me. I forced my wrist out of alignment, using a joint-dislocation technique.

The pain was blinding, but the wire slipped loose. I snapped the joint back into place with my other hand.

I reached my ankle, pulled out the Swiss Army knife strapped there, and cut through the restraints. I grabbed Jerry and rolled away just as the bulldozer lunged forward.

The steel tread scraped past my head, tearing out a chunk of my hair. Blood seeped down my scalp.

I ignored the pain, charged the cab, and kicked the driver out of the seat.

He screamed as he hit the ground.

Digby's face twisted in shock. He shouted at the guards, "All of you, go! Kill her! Mr. Gray will cover it. Mr. Gray wants her dead!"

More than ten guards rushed toward us, steel pipes and batons raised.

I held Jerry tight as we were swallowed again by the crowd.

A steel pipe slammed into my back. I collapsed.

That was when my hand brushed against the satellite phone at my waist. The call connected automatically to the private line of my commander, Henry Kinsman.

"Tiffany," he said. "What's going on?"

I coughed up a mouthful of blood and pulled Jerry tightly under me, my head spinning.

Right then, a flashy red Ferrari tore down the road, its tires shrieking as it braked hard.

The door swung open. Marshall stepped out in a custom suit with the glamorous movie star Gina Lawson beside him, dressed to turn heads.

Marshall glanced at me, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, then walked past like I wasn't even there.

Gina pinched her nose, disgust written all over her face. "Marshall, these people are covered in blood. It's disgusting. Have someone get rid of them already. I don't want my golf course delayed."

"Marshall, I dare you…" I hissed.

The words came out hoarse and weak, but my eyes stayed locked on him.

Marshall finally stopped and looked at me again. This time, recognition hit.

"Tiffany? Is that you? You're still alive? I thought you'd died years ago."

"My family treated you well," I growled, my voice raw. "This is how you repay us?"

I pointed at the flattened graves behind me.

Marshall let out a short laugh. "Give me a break. Everything I have, I earned myself. What does your family have to do with it? You vanished for seven years. Now you come back, trying to take a cut? Dream on!"

He gestured toward Jerry behind me, his tone full of contempt.

"I'll give you a chance. You and your precious brother had better get down on your knees and lick Gina's diamond heels clean. Lick until she's satisfied, and maybe I'll spare your miserable lives."

Gina stretched out her foot. The diamonds on her heel flashed blindingly in the sun. "Hurry up. I don't have all day."

Jerry looked at me, fear filling his eyes. Then, he took a small step forward anyway.

"No!" I screamed and reached for him.

Gina kicked him impatiently. "Trash like this doesn't deserve to live."

I stared at the two of them, teeth clenched so hard that my jaw ached.

That was when I heard the faint crackle at my waist. I had forgotten about the satellite phone. Through the static, I caught heavy breathing on the other end, and my heart steadied just a little.

"Marshall," I said, laughing coldly through my rage. "Do you really think you call all the shots in Joule?"

He snorted. "In Joule, I'm number one. No one dares challenge me. And who are you to question that?"

"Do you remember who paid your tuition seven years ago?" My voice shook, not from fear, but fury.

"So what?" Marshall brushed dust off his suit. "I paid it all back. Principal and interest."

Back then, he had been dirt poor, and my family supported him. Everything he had now came from us.

And he actually thought he had made it on his own.

After all these years in business, he was still so damn naive.

Gina laughed softly and looped her arm through his. "Marshall, why waste your breath on people who don't matter? Just throw them into a cement mixer. It'll keep the place clean."

Digby nodded eagerly. "Ms. Lawson's right. Trash like this should disappear."

"Exactly," Gina said, nudging a rock with her heel. "I'm building the most luxurious golf course in the region here. I don't want any bad press."

"Marshall," I asked one last time. "Are you really going to wipe us out completely?"

"Wipe you out?" He laughed. "You give yourself too much credit. Crushing you is like stepping on an ant."

Gina lifted her chin smugly. "Do you even know who I am? I'm the queen of Axytria's entertainment world! Beggars like you aren't even fit to breathe the same air as me."

My chest tightened, and I nearly lost my balance.

"Ms. Lawson, should I give the order now?" Digby asked eagerly.

"Wait," Gina said, suddenly amused. "I've changed my mind. Make this crazy woman get on all fours and bark like a dog. If she sounds good, I might give them a quick death."

Marshall nodded. "Your wish is my command."

"Marshall, you'll regret this," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Regret?" He burst out laughing. "I've never regretted anything in my life. You're the one about to die, and you're still acting tough."

Digby handed Gina a collar and a riding crop. "Ms. Lawson, use these to train her."

Gina took the crop and swung it playfully. "I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

"Last chance," Marshall said, glancing at his watch. "Get down and bark, or die right now."

I smiled coldly. "Marshall, I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends for you. I hope you live by your words."

I counted the seconds in my head. Knowing Henry, it was about time.

Sure enough, a deep roar rolled across the sky. Several dark green military helicopters thundered in from the distance.

At the same time, a security guard came sprinting up from the base of the hill, panic all over his face.

"Mr. Gray, Mr. Wolfe, something's wrong! A federal convoy just rolled in from the mountain. Black SUVs, sequential plates!"