I glared at the guards and yelled, "I'd like to see you try. Blake Murray from Prescott Group is on his way. When he gets here, he'll prove exactly who I am!"

Susan had no idea I had a tracker installed on my phone. When she smashed it, she had triggered the alert.

My assistant, Blake Murray, would be here any minute.

At first, Susan didn't believe me. But when the event coordinator confirmed that Blake was on his way with backup, her expression darkened.

Agnes tugged at Susan's sleeve. "Aunt Susan, Mr. Murray is Gladys' right-hand man. He's always going up against Jerome. Maybe we should drop this. In two days, Prescott Group will belong to Jerome anyway. Let's not complicate things."

Susan frowned, impatience flashing across her face. "Consider yourself lucky. Take your worthless sister and get out!"

"I'm not leaving," I shot back, enunciating each word.

The event coordinator panicked when he heard that. "What's wrong with you? Mrs. Simmons is sparing you! She's letting you walk out of here alive, and you still don't know how to be grateful?"

I couldn't help but snicker. "The great Mrs. Simmons—mother of the Simmons brothers—is afraid of a mere assistant? What a joke."

All at once, Susan's eyes blazed with fury.

Agnes, on the other hand, shot me a taunting look before handing Susan a crystal ball. The crystal ball was Mom's gift to Harper, and it contained her final recorded message before she died.

The guards had my arms pinned, so I couldn't break free. My eyes were red with rage as I shouted, "Don't you dare!"

But Susan misread my reaction as fear. Her smug grin widened as she smashed the crystal ball into my face.

Pain shot through me, and blood blurred my vision.

The shattered fragments on the floor took me back to the year our parents died in the car crash. I had gotten down on my knees before their coffins and sworn to protect Harper.

And now, I hadn't even managed to protect the things they left behind. Worse still, Harper was lying naked in the hall, stripped of all dignity.

My eyes stung with unshed tears. Gritting my teeth, I said, "Every last one of you will pay for what happened today."

Once Blake arrived, I'd make sure none of them got away with it.

Susan let out an exasperated laugh. "Who do you think you are, threatening me? Since you have a death wish, I'll show you exactly what I can do. Break her arms! I want her crippled for life!"

She waved, and the guards twisted my arms harder. The pain was so intense that I nearly collapsed.

Seeing me drenched in a cold sweat, Susan's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Wait… I've changed my mind."

In the next second, she had the guards drag Harper into a small room. Her eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as she said, "Take this bitch with you too. I want her to watch her sister get humiliated.

"Afterward, send the two of them to the black market auction. It'd be a waste if faces like theirs weren't used for men's pleasure."

Something inside me snapped at once. I glared at Susan. "I'll kill you, you monster! Let me go!"

"You bitch! Are you trying to outsmart me? The black market has plenty of ways to deal with you. They'll take their time, toy with you, and watch you die!" Susan sneered, her eyes glinting with malice.

Just then, a commotion broke out outside, and the doors swung open.

Susan's expression tightened, while the event coordinator stomped anxiously. "What do we do? Mr. Murray's here! If Ms. Prescott finds out, we're all finished! No one in Southford would dare cross her!"

But in the next instant, Agnes shouted excitedly, "Yes! Aunt Susan! It's Jerome, Logan, and Tyler!"