Like an enraged lion, I charged forward and smashed my elbow straight into Melissa's nose. The sound of cracking bone was unmistakable, and blood gushed out at once.

Clutching her nose, Melissa screamed as she staggered back. I seized the chance to pull Lucy up and roll back her dirty sleeves, then inspect other parts of her.

Her skeletal back was covered in whip marks and cigarette burns. New wounds were inflicted right on top of all the old scars, making it a rather horrifying sight. Some of the burns were still oozing pus and blood, giving off a rancid stench. The cuts on her arms had already scabbed over and become infected.

Lucy had autism, but she had always been gentle and sweet-natured, even as a child. She was our family's princess. I couldn't believe she'd been tortured to this extent.

"Who did this?" I asked, my voice heavy and murderous.

Lucy was trembling in fear. She covered her head and curled up in my arms, her voice barely a whisper as she cried out, "...No hitting… Lucy will behave… Move rocks…"

I couldn't imagine the kind of abuse she had suffered.

The nerve of Eva, that vicious and ungrateful woman! Even when I was still alive, she couldn't wait to cheat on me. She even allowed her subordinate and her boy toy to abuse my sister. Even my deceased family members couldn't be left in peace!

I clenched my jaw so hard that my mouth filled with the taste of blood, yet it still couldn't suppress the fury raging inside me.

Pulling out my phone, I was just about to call 911 when Melissa snatched my phone and threw it to the ground. She stomped on it with her heel, shattering it immediately.

"Calling the police, huh? I'll give you a little hint—it's pointless. Ms. Fuller rules over Joverton City."

She pointed to a deep pit nearby, which had been dug out to build an artificial lake for the horse ranch. It was filled with rubble, shards of glass, and rusty steel bars.

"You don't want your halfwit of a sister to suffer, right? Sure thing," Melissa said imperiously, her smile cruel. Her carefully dolled-up face couldn't hide her vicious heart. "Climb over to that pit and carry all the rocks out with your mouth. Do it, and I'll let her go. You should be the dog you are and use your mouth to clear the place for Mr. Eckhart."

The spectating residents whispered among themselves. Some had even pulled out their phones and started recording the situation.

I saw the terror in Lucy's eyes, and it felt as though my heart was being ripped to pieces. She was still shaking, but now that she'd recognized me, she gripped my camouflage uniform with those bony hands of hers, fearful that I would jump into that pit.

"H-Henry… I'll be good… Don't hit Henry…"

Just as I was about to move, Lucy suddenly broke free from my grip and stumbled toward the pit herself.

"I'll do it… Don't hit Henry… she mumbled as she was about to jump into the pit.

I saw red.

Grabbing a broken brick from the ground, I smashed it into the back of a bodyguard's neck. I snatched the stun baton from his hand and proceeded to swing it right against Melissa's thigh.

The crackling of electricity filled the air. She screamed in agony before collapsing onto the ground and convulsing, her makeup completely smeared. She looked miserable as she shrieked, "Are you people dead? Get him! Beat up that bastard!"

As soon as her words fell, more than a dozen bodyguards rushed forward. Even though I was a top special forces soldier with elite combat skills, I had to defend Lucy as well. In a battle against so many professional bodyguards armed with weapons, it was inevitable that I was at a disadvantage.

One bodyguard seized an opening and smashed a stun baton hard against my back. I let out a muffled grunt and stumbled. The rest of them seized this opportunity to pin me to the ground with the help of their riot shields and metal batons.

The batons began raining down on my back and waist. I felt as though my organs were being crushed. place. A metallic tang rose in my throat, and a mouthful of blood spilled from my lips.

"How dare you attack Ms. Abbott, you lunatic! You've got a death wish!"

One of the bodyguards pressed a baton against my neck, making it hard for me to breathe. My veins popped, and my vision started growing hazy.

Lucy wailed as she tried to help me, but they kicked her away.

Wincing in pain, she struggled over to Melissa. She dropped to her knees and grabbed onto Melissa's pant leg. "Don't… hit… I'll carry the rocks… I'll be good… Henry is in pain…"

My poor sister couldn't even speak properly, but she kept begging desperately in any way she could, just so that the bodyguards would stop hitting me.

"Then hurry up, dimwit. Why are you wasting your breath here? I'll tell them to let him go once you carry all of the rocks out with your mouth."

"Okay."

Lucy struggled to her feet and jumped into the deep pit. The exposed steel rebars sliced through her thin skin. Her blood dripped steadily, leaving a patch of dark red on the ground. She clenched her jaw and tried to pick up the rocks with her mouth, but their sharp edges tore her lips.

She forcefully tried to open her mouth wider, and her jaw dislocated from the strain. Blood and saliva both dribbled down her face.

"Lucy! Stop!" I howled, my eyes filled with anguish and tears.

But Lucy kept going. She was determined to save me, her brother.

Not only did Melissa feel no pity despite Lucy's pain and suffering, but she also grew impatient. "Why are you so slow? When are you ever going to finish carrying out the rocks? Mr. Eckhart will be here any minute!"

She barked at the bodyguards, "I've changed my mind. Tie up the madman and the halfwit. Throw them down together in front of the bulldozer. Ms. Fuller has said that we must flatten this plot of land by today. Their bodies can serve as fertilizer for the rest of the land as well."

My blood froze.

Several bodyguards brutally bound Lucy and me with steel wire to the front of the massive bulldozer, beneath the raised bulldozer blade. I could feel the icy metal pressing against my back.

As the engine roared to life, we were enveloped in a cloud of black smoke. Lucy trembled violently in terror, yet she still buried her head against my chest, trying to comfort me.

"Don't be scared… Henry… Don't be scared…" she mumbled indistinctly.

Just then, she suddenly pointed toward Grandma's exposed body in the distance and said in fear, "Pills… Grandma… ate… bitter…"

My entire body felt shaken to the core.

Grandma had always been in good health. How could she have abruptly taken ill and died? Could it be that Eva and the lot of them had something to do with her death?

The thought unleashed a burst of strength in me. Recalling the escape training I'd received from the special forces, I forcibly dislocated the joint of my thumb.

The pain was unimaginable, but I didn't make a sound. I slipped my hands free of the steel wire and quickly used my uninjured hand to reset the joint.

I swiftly reached for the dagger hidden in my combat boot and cut through the rest of the wires. Just a second before the bulldozer blade slammed down, I rolled to the side with Lucy cradled in my arms.

The huge blade crashed onto the ground, grazing my scalp and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ignoring the pain, I charged into the cab of the bulldozer, shattering the glass with a kick, and yanked the driver out of the high seat. He screamed as he fell to the ground.

Alarmed, Melissa commanded the bodyguards, "Beat him up! Even if he dies, Ms. Fuller will take care of things. She wants him dead!"

More than a dozen bodyguards, armed with steel pipes and metal batons, charged toward us.

Holding the terrified Lucy, I was once again trapped with the men surrounding me.

A steel pipe slammed heavily into my back. I dropped to one knee, but I didn't fall to the ground. At that moment, my hand brushed against the satellite phone at my waist, which immediately dialed the emergency number of my immediate superior, General Liam Dunley.

"What's going on, Henry? Your vital signs are fluctuating all over the place!"

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, I pulled Lucy closer and shielded her within my arms, my gaze savage.

Just then, a flashy pink Lamborghini came screeching in, its tires shrieking against the road.

The car door swung open. Eva stepped out in a custom business suit, her bearing icy and commanding. Beside her was the gaudily dressed Shawn.

When Eva saw me, her eyes flashed in shock, but it was only for a moment. The coldness returned to her expression as she walked right past me.

Shawn pinched his nose, his face full of disgust. "Eva, look at these people. They're covered in blood. It's such a disgusting sight. Hurry up and have someone get rid of them. They had better not cause any delays with the construction of my horse ranch. I can't wait to take pictures of us riding on a horse together."

"Eva… How dare you…" I forced the words out through clenched teeth, my voice hoarse. I was staring fixedly at her.

Eva had to stare at me for a while before she finally recognized me. "Henry Stewart? Is that you? You're alive? I thought you'd dropped dead in some forgotten alley somewhere."

"The Stewarts have been nothing but good to you, Eva. Is this how you repay us?"

I pointed at the graves of my family members that had been razed to the ground, my voice harsh and bitter.

Eva simply snorted, her eyes filled with contempt. "Why do I need to repay you? Everything I have right now is the result of my own efforts. What does it have to do with you and the Stewart family? You went missing for seven years, but now that you're back, you're trying to get a piece of the pie? Dream on!"

She pointed at Lucy, her tone cruel as she declared, "I'll give you a chance. You and your idiot sister can get on your knees and lick Shawn's limited-edition sneakers clean. If you do it until he's satisfied, I might consider sparing your worthless lives. I'll even throw you some money and let you get on your way."

Shawn stuck out his foot. The priceless sneakers gleamed in the sunlight. "Hurry up. I'm on a tight schedule. These are limited edition, you know. You're lucky that you even get to lick them!"

Lucy looked at me, her eyes filled with fear. Nevertheless, she was so desperate to protect me that she took a step forward.

"Don't!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I pulled her back.

Shawn kicked Lucy impatiently. "What makes trash like her fit to be a part of this world? Just the sight of her makes me sick."

Gnashing my teeth, I glared at Eva and Shawn, the evil and disgusting couple.

Only then did I hear the static crackling from the satellite phone at my waist. I could make out faint shouts from the other end, mixed with the roar of helicopter blades. Once I realized what it meant, I regained my cool.

"Eva, do you really think you call the shots in Joverton City?" I scoffed in anger.

Eva snorted back at me. Tugging on her sleeves, she said, "Here in Joverton City, what I say goes. Who do you think you are? How dare you question what I'm capable of!"

"Have you forgotten who gave you your first startup capital seven years ago, Eva? Who helped you crush your competitors?" My voice was shaky, but it was out of anger, not fear.

"So what?"

Eva brushed her sleeves and declared, "I've long since paid it all back, and then some. I'm now the queen of Jovernton City, you're nothing but trash."

Seven years ago, Eva had been nothing more than the daughter of a once-wealthy family who'd fallen from grace. Her family had been on the brink of bankruptcy. She only ever managed to rise back up again because of the help she received from the Stewarts, but openly and in secret.

Did she truly think she could have built up her business empire with her own meager talents?

Even after spending so many years in the business world, she was still so naive and conceited.