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.

Shawn laughed as he hooked an arm through Eva's and stood affectionately beside her. "Why are you wasting your breath on trash like him, Eva? Just have them thrown into a cement mixer. We can't let them soil a good piece of land like this."

Melissa immediately nodded ingratiatingly, paying no mind to her wounded leg. "Mr. Eckhart is right. Penniless trash like them should just be wiped from this world."

"Precisely." Shawn kicked at the pebbles on the ground. "I'm going to build the most luxurious private horse ranch in the entire continent here. I can't let them jinx the place."

"Are you sure you want to resort to such extremes with me, Eva?" I asked her one last time.

"Resort to such extremes?" Eva snorted. "You think too highly of yourself. Killing you is just as easy as squashing a fly."

Shawn lifted his chin smugly. "Do you even know who I am? I'm the most famous celebrity in the entire country of Dartland. I'm the king of the entertainment industry. Beggars like you aren't even worthy of kissing the ground I walk on."

My chest tightened, and I nearly lost my balance, but I drew myself up tall and stood defensively in front of Lucy.

"Get on with it, Melissa," Eva ordered coolly. "It doesn't matter if he dies."

"Wait a second," Shawn called out with renewed interest, his eyes gleaming with malice. "I've changed my mind. Tell this lunatic to get on all fours and bark like a dog. If he does it well, I'll consider letting them die a less painful death."

Eva nodded at him with a look of adoration. "Whatever you say, Shawn."

"You'll regret this, Eva," I declared, my jaw clenched.

"I'll regret this, you say?" Eva burst into laughter. "I've never regretted a single thing in my life. You're the one who's about to die, Henry. Yet here you are, trying to act tough."

Melissa swiftly handed Shawn a dog collar and a riding whip. "You can use this to train him, Mr. Eckhart."

Shawn took the whip and swung it around a few times in excitement. "It's been ages since I've found a game this amusing."

"You have one last chance," Eva said as she checked her watch. "Either get down and bark like a dog, or die."

"I look forward to seeing how you end up, Eva," I replied, sneering. "I hope you can maintain this arrogance when the time comes."

I'd calculated the timing. Based on my knowledge of General Hudson's temper and the efficiency of the special forces, I knew they were about to arrive.

True enough, a thunderous roar erupted from the sky. A forceful wind swept across the area as several camouflaged armed helicopters approached from afar, circling low overhead.

At the same time, a bodyguard came running frantically up the hill, almost stumbling as he did.

"Ms. Fuller! Ms. Abbott! Something's happening! There's a whole convoy of military vehicles charging up the hill as we speak. I recognized the military license plates!"