Kenny's face darkened instantly. "What did you just say?"

He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look at him. "Lucas, I suggest you think carefully before you speak."

A sharp pain shot through my scalp, but I clenched my teeth. "I said I won't do it. What you're doing is a crime, and I'm calling the police."

A vicious slap landed across my face. My vision went black, my ears rang, and I even tasted blood in my mouth.

Kenny snarled through clenched teeth. "You ungrateful piece of trash! Who the hell do you think you are? You're just a violinist! Being able to pay off my debt is your damn honor!"

Teresa joined in, kicking me hard. "Exactly! Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? Kenny choosing you is a privilege!"

Gina warned from the side, "Don't hit his face! If you mess up his face, we're all screwed!"

Only then did Kenny let go, and I collapsed onto the cold floor, gasping for air.

Gina crouched down again, gripping my chin. "Lucas, I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you going to cooperate or not?"

I stared at her, enunciating each word. "Absolutely not."

Gina let out a cold laugh and stood up. "Fine. Very well. Aren't you a violinist? Weren't you going to fulfill your father's dying wish?"

She lifted her foot and stomped her high heel down hard on my hand.

I screamed in agony.

She ground her heel down with force as she continued, "If this hand gets broken, how are you going to play the violin? I heard your dad's greatest wish before he died was to see you perform on the international stage. What a shame!"

Terror flooded through me instantly. Dad was one of the top musicians in the country, but he passed away from illness at the peak of his career. I practiced the violin relentlessly since childhood, all to carry on his legacy.

My voice began to shake. "No, please. Don't hurt my hand!"

"Scared now? Weren't you acting all tough just a minute ago?" Teresa mocked from the side.

Gina finally lifted her foot and crouched down again. "Then be a good boy and behave. Put on a good show later. As long as you clear Kenny's debt, I'll still marry you, and we can go back to how things were before."

I closed my eyes and let out a heavy breath.

Teresa smirked with satisfaction. "That's more like it. Go clean him up. He looks like a mess. How can he meet anyone like this?"

Kenny roughly hauled me up from the floor and dragged me toward the bathroom attached to the sitting room.

"I can do it myself," I said as I tried to resist.

He shoved me into the bathroom and hissed, "Shut up! Your face is a mess!"

He grabbed my hair and forced my face under the running faucet. The cold water made my whole body shudder.

Gina picked up the hand soap from the counter and smeared it directly onto my face.

"Mmph, stop!" I choked and coughed.

Kenny said, "Get him clean. We need Ms. Sanders to get a good look at this face. Damn, he really does look like him. The only reason I had Gina go after you in the first place was that your face looks like Ms. Sanders' man."

My heart sank completely as I realized that was it. These three years of our relationship had been nothing but a scheme from the very beginning.

Kenny rinsed the soap off my face and roughly dried it with a towel. After that, he started tearing at my clothes.

I clutched my chest in panic. "What are you doing?!"

He replied flatly, "Those clothes are too conservative. You need to wear something sexier."

Then, he pulled a tight black sleeveless shirt from the bag he brought. "Put this on."

"I won't!"

Kenny's eyes turned cold. "You won't? Then don't blame me for doing it for you."

With that, he yanked open the buttons on my cashmere coat.

I fought back desperately, only to receive another slap across the face.

"Stay still!"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the bathroom door. Teresa's voice came through. "Kenny, hurry up! Ms. Sanders' people are here!"

Kenny paused, glaring at me viciously. "Lucky you."

He dragged me out of the bathroom and shoved me back down onto the carpet in the sitting room.

Soon, the door opened. Several men in black suits walked in, led by a guy in his early 30s with a scar on his face and a cold, intimidating gaze.

"Ms. Sanders will be here shortly." The scarred man glanced at me. "Is he cleaned up?"

"All cleaned up!" Kenny quickly forced a smile. "Mr. Harding, take a look. Doesn't he look just like him?"

The man called Mr. Harding stepped closer and crouched down to examine my face carefully.

My heart pounded wildly as I wondered if he was Rex Harding, the one who just joined Aunt Carmelia. She only mentioned him to me once, saying he was with her for six months, that he was ruthless in his work, but still unfamiliar with family matters.

I silently cursed at my bad luck because he had no idea who I was.

Rex stared at my face for a good half minute, his expression shifting from scrutiny to something disturbingly odd.

"Damn, the resemblance is uncanny," he muttered.

His rough fingers traced across my cheek as he continued, "You look exactly like the guy in the photo."

My whole body went rigid as I forced out the words, "Are you Rex Harding? I'm-"

Another slap landed, even harder than the one Kenny gave me earlier. My head whipped to the side, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"Who told you my name?" Rex grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced me to look at him. "You're just collateral, and you think you can get close to me like that?"

"No. I'm actually-"

He clamped his hand around my throat. "Shut up! Say one more word, and I'll rip out your tongue."

The suffocating pressure hit me instantly, and I clawed desperately at his hand but could not break free.

Gina and her family stood nearby, not daring to breathe too loudly, their faces plastered with ingratiating smiles as they watched Rex.

"Mr. Harding, about this," Kenny ventured cautiously. "What about Ms. Sanders?"

"Ms. Sanders is upstairs handling business. She told me to come check things out first," Rex said, releasing my throat and standing up. "But this guy doesn't seem too cooperative."

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, then crouched back down and flicked the ashes onto my face.

Gripping my chin, he said, "Looking like someone Ms. Sanders is into should be a blessing for you, but don't think that face gives you a free pass. Ms. Sanders hates it when people try to use her connections, so you'd better know your place."

I coughed violently, tears streaming down my face. "I'm actually her nephew. You have to believe me!"

"You're still lying?!" Rex exploded in rage and kicked me hard in the stomach.

I doubled over in pain, feeling like everything inside of me was burning.

Rex sneered. "Don't you think I'd know whether Ms. Sanders has siblings? Where the hell would a nephew come from? You'll say anything to climb the social ladder, won't you?"

He gestured to his men. "Bring me some liquor."

One of his guys immediately handed him a bottle of vodka.

Rex twisted off the cap, grabbed my jaw, and started pouring it down my throat. The burning alcohol seared my throat as I choked, my face turning bright red while the liquid spilled down my chin onto my neck and clothes.

Rex's expression turned vicious. "Drink it! Finish the whole damn bottle! If you dare spit any of it out when Ms. Sanders gets here, I'll throw you into the underground arena and let all the guys there have a taste!"

He only let go after forcing most of the bottle down my throat.

I collapsed on the floor, dry heaving, my throat burning, my voice completely wrecked and unable to form proper words.

Gina looked uneasy. "Mr. Harding, what if he can't talk when Ms. Sanders arrives?"

Rex shot her a glance. "It's better that way. Saves him from spouting more nonsense."

He crouched back down and grabbed my right hand. "Nice fingers you've got there."

I stared at him in horror.

"Too bad!" He grinned wickedly and suddenly twisted hard.

The cracking sound echoed loudly, and my agonized scream pierced through the entire parlor. My index finger bent at a grotesque angle, and the excruciating pain nearly made me black out.

"That's just one. If you don't behave, I'll break all ten of your fingers," Rex said casually.

I convulsed from the pain, tears and snot covering my face.

"Ms. Sanders is here!" one of the guys at the door suddenly announced.

Rex immediately straightened up, adjusted his suit, and put on a respectful expression."

Gina's family quickly stood at attention, heads bowed, not daring to look around.

Soon, the door opened, and a tall figure walked in wearing a black coat, looking striking and commanding. The person radiated an aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.

It was my aunt, Carmelia. She swept her gaze across the parlor, and her brow furrowed immediately.

"What's going on? Why is it such a mess in here?"

Rex hurried forward. "Ms. Sanders, these people came to settle a debt and brought some guy with them."

Carmelia said coldly. "I told you not to bring just anyone here. Clean this up."

She turned to leave as soon as she finished speaking.

I silently screamed, 'No! Don't go!'

I used every ounce of strength I had left, struggling to get up. However, my legs gave out, and I collapsed again. I could not make any sound from my ruined throat.

Aunt Carmelia was getting further away. In desperation, I yanked off the necklace my father left me. Then, with my still-functional left hand, I hurled the necklace toward her feet with all my might.

The metal hit the marble floor with a clear, ringing sound.

Aunt Carmelia's steps halted. She looked down, her gaze moving from the necklace on the floor to my face, covered in tears and bruises.

Her eyes instantly widened.