Seeing the state I was in, Daniel and the others sucked in a sharp breath, terrified.

"Oh, my God… How did they do this to you?"

"This is insane! Don't you know this is illegal?"

At that, Ethan let out a short, amused laugh. He strolled over to me like he didn't have a care in the world. "Who are you guys even? How dare you interfere in my business?"

He scoffed. "And don't you know? In this city, the Judd family is the law! And I… I'm the fiance of the head of that family. Speak another word in his favor, and I'll make sure you and your lowlife family go down with him!"

His words sent chills down the spines of everyone else, but not Daniel's. He had watched Celeste grow up, so naturally, he wouldn't believe that she would ever marry a man like this.

So, he dialed her number. "Cece, Ozzy is being tortured here. You have to come to the office now!"

Seeing that, Simon snatched his phone and tossed it to the ground. Within a split second, the device was shattered into pieces.

He opened his mouth with a face full of mockery. "Who are you trying to fool? Just look at you, all poor and shabby! Which factory did you crawl out of? And you still dare pretend you're close with Ms. Judd."

Simon snorted, then bellowed, "Security, teach these broke punks a proper lesson! If you don't, starting tomorrow, every last one of you can pack up and get out of here!"

Once Simon, the revered executive, had spoken, the security guards didn't dare hesitate. Gripping their electric batons, they advanced toward us with hostile stares.

"Are you crazy? You'll spend the rest of your life behind bars if you lay that thing on us!"

My colleagues shielded me fearlessly, their eyes cold as they stared down at the security guards.

However, the guards assumed we were nothing more than powerless, ordinary folks, so the lead guard wielded the baton and swung it across the face of one of our colleagues.

An eerie scream tore through the air, and he collapsed to the ground, his face battered and bloody. The corner of his mouth was mangled, and his whole body twitched uncontrollably.

Despite that, the other colleagues stood their ground and protected me.

"Once I'm done teaching you useless trash a lesson, I'll report to Ms. Judd and tell her there are people out there pretending to know her, using her name to intimidate me! By then, just wait—your entire family will be driven out of this city!"

A few guards lunged toward us at once, seizing the colleagues who were shielding me. Daniel rushed forward to stop them, but a blow from the electric baton sent him crashing to the ground.

The foul smell of charred flesh wafted through the lobby. Those murderous bastards had actually cranked the electricity to the highest level!

I forced myself up while my consciousness fought to slip away, only to be grabbed by the neck from behind. Ethan stood before me with a wicked smile.

"Are you seeing this, broke ass? You, your father, and your loser colleagues are nothing against me. I can crush them as easily as I crush you."

I ground my teeth, glaring at him with utter reluctance and defiance. My vision swam with blood. I fought to break free but ultimately suffered a strike from the electric baton.

Immediately, I collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon. Due to the immense blood loss, I had long been deprived of any strength. I could see my vision blurring, my breath weakening.

All of a sudden, a wave of commotion broke out in the crowd. Celeste forced her way through the people, her face dark with anger and anxiety.

Ethan followed the direction of everyone's gaze. In an instant, the vicious look on his face vanished, replaced by a bright, ingratiating smile.

"Ms. Judd, you're finally back! This shameless man was trying to hit on you. I've already taught him a good lesson for you."