"Touch her and you're dead!" I roared.

The bodyguards had me completely pinned down; I couldn't move an inch. Still, I shot them a look that could kill.

Everyone present was stunned.

But the next second, Chelsea slapped me hard across the face.

"Even if we add your miserable life to the tab, we Blanchards can still cover it. So what's there to even say about your little brat's life? You still want to fight me? Fine. Go ahead and call that jock over.

"Oh, wait. That's right—He was just a gigolo I hired for 1,000 dollars for you. That lowlife took the money and ran, so why would he care about you and your daughter?"

Chelsea laughed smugly and called over her daughter.

"Ella, however this little brat has been bullying you, you go ahead and pay her back. Don't you worry. Even if you beat her to death, Daddy and Mommy will cover for you."

"Okay, Mommy. I'm gonna beat her to a pulp!"

Ella had the same cruel look on her face as Chelsea. She aimed the sharp tip of her shoe at Violet's back and stomped down hard.

Violet, curled up on the ground, twisted her face in pain and hugged her small body even tighter.

"My clothes are not for the likes of you to wear, you little brat!"

My eyes, burning with fury, were locked on Chelsea and Ella.

"Violet is the daughter of Jeremiah Atkinson, the richest man in the country! If anything happens to her, ten generations of you Blanchards still wouldn't be able to afford the consequences!"

The moment I finished speaking, Chelsea spat a thick glob of phlegm onto my face and smirked contemptuously.

"She looks exactly like the gigolo, and you're telling me she's Jeremiah's daughter? Tammy, do you think we're blind?"

A few yards away, Violet convulsed a couple of times and then suddenly went still.

My heart seized instantly. Glaring viciously at Colin, I said, "Violet really is Jeremiah's daughter. Isn't your family still waiting for an investment from the Atkinson family? If something happens to her, you'll be ruined by tomorrow!"

Colin furrowed his brow and said with disgust, "So, you've been digging into me this whole time. Tammy, you make me sick. You're the one who cheated first, and now that you're flat broke, you're trying to scheme your way into winning me back?"

Chelsea kicked the back of my knee, forcing me to kneel. "Seducing Colin and teaching your daughter to steal dresses—Tammy, do you think I'm dead? What are you all standing around for? Strip that little brat's clothes off!"

At Chelsea's command, the bodyguards immediately moved to act.

Violet's dress was torn into strips and thrown to the ground. Even the crown on her head was stomped out of shape by Ella.

Not a single person on site helped us. Instead, they all took pleasure in our misery.

"Serves them right. They've got some nerve stealing from the Blanchard family. Everyone knows Mrs. Blanchard isn't someone to mess with."

"Last time, some clueless college girl tried to seduce Mr. Blanchard. When Mrs. Blanchard found out, she stripped her naked that same night and threw her onto Bar Street. By morning, the girl had gone insane."

Chelsea looked at the naked Violet triumphantly. "She's not bad-looking. Don't you think crippling her now would count as a good deed?"

With a casual wave of her hand, the bodyguards reached for Violet's arm.

Rage burned in my chest, and my eyes turned red.

"If any of you lay another hand on her, you'll regret it! I can prove she's Jeremiah's daughter!"

Chelsea scoffed and slammed her high heel down on my hand.

The sound of bones breaking echoed in the air.

While I howled in agony, she just said contemptuously, "You honestly think you've got what it takes to be the wife of the richest man in the world? A pathetic pauper like you only deserves to be trampled under my feet."

The pain of my finger bones breaking made my whole body tremble. I glared at her with nothing but hatred.

"I have Jeremiah's number in my phone. Call him, and you'll know if it's true!"

Chelsea was about to retort, but Colin sent someone to search my bag for the phone.

Chelsea stormed over angrily. "Honey, Tammy is obviously lying to you. How can you believe her?"

"I have Jeremiah's number. It was given to me by a joint venture partner. We'll know once we compare the numbers."

Colin took out his phone and scrolled to Jeremiah's number. After comparing the two different sets of numbers, Chelsea gave a cold laugh.

"I knew it. How could that little brat possibly be Jeremiah's daughter? You hussy! How dare you lie to me?"

Chelsea strode over and kicked me hard in the gut. She put all her strength into that kick, and it hurt so badly that I coughed up blood.

"This is what you get for lying to me!"

I swallowed the blood in my mouth and looked at Colin. "Jeremiah has two numbers—one for public use, one private. Call the other one, and you'll know."

Someone in the crowd egged him on. "Mr. Blanchard, what are you afraid of? Just call and shut this liar up for good!"

Amid the crowd's goading, Colin reluctantly dialed the number.

Chelsea whispered in his ear," Honey, you've never met Jeremiah, right? How will you even tell if it's really him?"

Colin snorted disdainfully. "A broke loser like Tammy could never catch Jeremiah's eye. I'm just going through the motions so people don't think we're bullying the weak."

Just as he finished speaking, the call connected.

Jeremiah's voice came through. "Tammy, there's traffic. I'll be there soon."

Colin recognized immediately that it was the jock. Enraged, he smashed the phone.

"Tammy, how dare you play me? How could he be Jeremiah when he's clearly the gigolo we hired to test you!"

Before I could even speak, I watched my phone shatter into pieces.

My only hope was gone. Only then did fear begin to set in.

Violet was going to die from her asthma attack if things continued like this.

"He really is Jeremiah. Colin, use your phone to call him back. He really is!"

Chelsea grabbed me and slapped me twice more. My face instantly swelled up.

"You lying snake! You're just trying to make Jeremiah hate Colin so that our deal with the Atkinson family falls through tomorrow."

Colin kicked me in the chest, and I nearly blacked out from the pain.

Just then, Violet weakly opened her eyes and saw me being attacked. She reached out her hand toward me.

"Don't bully my mommy," she choked out.

My heart twisted into a knot. I hadn't cried through all the abuse, but now the tears wouldn't stop falling.

"Monsters! You're all monsters!"

Colin strode over to me triumphantly and lifted my chin.

"You got any more tricks left?"

I stared coldly at him, wishing I could tear him apart.

"Colin, you will regret everything you've done. Jeremiah posted a photo of Violet on Instagram the day before yesterday. Compare it, and you'll know the truth."

Colin sneered contemptuously and grabbed my hair hard. "I'll give you one last chance just to shut you up for good."

With that, he opened Jeremiah's Instagram on his phone.

A frown appeared on his forehead.

Just as I'd said, Jeremiah had indeed posted a photo of Violet. But her face was blurred out in the picture.

"You must be joking! How dare you screw with me!"

Colin slammed his phone into my forehead, and blood immediately gushed out.

This was the only photo that Jeremiah, the whipped excuse for a father, reluctantly posted, and only because Violet asked him to. It might have saved Violet from this ordeal, but instead, it led to another dead end.

Desperate and powerless, I gave up all resistance.

Just then, Chelsea found Violet's inhaler in my bag and waved it smugly.

"You want me to save your daughter? Fine. Take off your clothes. One piece of clothing for one puff of the inhaler."

Before I could even speak, Chelsea raised her chin and someone immediately started recording with their phone.

"Get a load of this, folks—a live strip show! Don't miss this free show. You claim to love your daughter so much, yet you won't even do this one tiny thing for her?"

Violet's face had turned purple from suffocation, so I had no choice.

Biting back the humiliation, I took off my jacket with trembling hands.

Chelsea, beaming with satisfaction, pressed the inhaler into Violet's mouth.

Violet frantically clutched the inhaler and gasped greedily, but that only enraged Chelsea.

"Don't touch me, you filthy brat!"

Before her slap could land, I quickly took off my top.

"Stop! That's the second piece of clothing!"

Chelsea resentfully pressed the inhaler again.

"Continue!"

With a cold expression, I took off the third piece, leaving only my skirt.

The onlookers stared at me like wolves. Just as I tremblingly reached behind my back to continue undressing, a jacket was suddenly draped over me.

"Enough! Tammy, are you really that cheap? You'd throw away all dignity for a brat?" Colin roared angrily.

I looked at his darkened face and replied icily, "I'd let myself die if it meant keeping Violet alive."

Colin whispered in my ear through gritted teeth, "I don't need you to die. Be my mistress, and I'll give you 30 thousand dollars a month. How about that?"

I stared him down without saying anything.

I really wanted to see if he could still keep that smug, superior attitude when Jeremiah arrived or if he'd be on his knees begging for mercy.

He secretly slipped me a key card. "Wait for me at Imperial Hotel, Room 1208, tonight."

I looked toward Chelsea, who was standing not far away, and deliberately dropped the key card.

Chelsea's eyes turned red instantly. She lunged and hit Colin.

"Colin, how could you do this to me? How dare you seduce this cheap whore right in front of my face?"

Colin, however, tried to pin it on me. "That's not my card. Tammy gave it to me, but I didn't take it. She set me up on purpose. Why would I ever look twice at some washed-up whore?"

This was the man I once loved?

How utterly repulsive!

During the three years I was with Colin, he was so scared I'd leave that he put me through 99 tests. Even though I passed every single one of them, he still questioned my love for him.

He even took Chelsea's suggestion to drug me and put me into bed with another man.

I was willing to let bygones by bygones, but they'd let their small victory go to their heads and wouldn't stop hounding me.

"Your daughter is about to die, and you're still fooling around? I'll destroy that face of yours today. Let's see how you seduce men after that!"

Chelsea came at me with a pocket knife. But halfway there, Violet—now awake—wrapped her arms around Chelsea's leg.

"No! Don't hurt my mommy!"

Violet might be weak, but her grip was strong.

Chelsea's face twisted with rage as Violet clung to her leg.

"How dare you stop me!"

She kicked Violet's hands away violently.

Violet screamed in pain.

That one kick from Chelsea left Violet's wrist mangled and deformed. I felt like my heart was being ripped out, but the bodyguards had me pinned down from behind. All around me was the sound of Violet wailing.

"Come at me if you want, but Violet has nothing to do with this!"

The next second, the sharp blade cut across my face. Blood trickled down my cheek, but I felt no pain. All I could see was Chelsea's twisted face.

She was about to cut me a second time when Colin stopped her.

"Enough. We have a business meeting with Mr. Atkinson tomorrow. If word of this gets out, it'll hurt my image."

"So what if she dies? Would they dare say anything?" Chelsea shrieked, sweeping her gaze across the crowd one by one. "Would any of you dare?"

Just then, the doors to the competition hall swung open.

The crowd buzzed with whispers.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock, "It's Jeremiah Atkinson! The cold-faced king who terrifies all of Baywich! Jeremiah is here!"

Chelsea quickly tucked away her pocket knife and lifted her chin arrogantly.

"Colin, watch closely. Today I'll prove to you that I'm the only woman worthy of being yours."

She pushed me forward eagerly toward Jeremiah. "Mr. Atkinson, someone here actually has the nerve to impersonate your wife and daughter! But don't worry, I've already taught them a lesson."

She waited smugly for praise. "It was my pleasure. This is my husband, Colin Blanchard. He helped teach that mother and daughter a lesson too."