Gritting my teeth through the pain, I asked, "How much do you want? I'll pay, just let me go!"

They laughed.

"Money? Ha! Do we look like we're short on that? We don't answer to anyone but Ms. Knight. You just got unlucky."

They advanced, leering.

"If you don't want to learn this, we've got plenty of other things we can teach you," one said.

"Plenty of work here. Don't worry. You can do whatever you want."

The men clamped down on my limbs. In a panic, I tugged hard at the jacket of one of them.

That was when I saw the symbol on the man's left shoulder.

My eyes widened.

It was the emblem of my adoptive parents' company.

Although they weren't my real parents, they had raised me and treated me like a princess. They would fulfill my every desire.

However, they had promised me that they would never be involved in illegal business. There weren't even any company branches in this city.

What the hell was happening?

"You're with Winters Corporation?"

The men exchanged glances and raised their eyebrows.

"So you actually know about Winters Corporation? Impressive."

I blurted, "I'm the heiress of Winters Corporation! Let me go, or my brother will kill you."

They burst out laughing.

"Did you hear that? She's the heiress of Winters Corporation?"

"The lady you're talking about is Joanna Winters. Who do you think you are?"

"I am Joanna Winters."

I was about to reach for my passport when I remembered that Stella had already burned it.

Thinking fast, I said, "Call Eric Winters. He'll recognize my voice."

My gaze was unwavering. They hesitated, then reluctantly called Stella.

"What's the name of the woman you brought today?"

"Susanna Knight."

Hearing the name, I hurried to explain. "Susanna Knight is the name I was given after being acknowledged by the Knight family. My real name is Joanna Winters!"

After being accepted back into the Knight family, my parents added me to the family tree and gave me a new name.

The man spat in my face.

"You have the guts to lie to me? If I hadn't been cautious and called to check, you'd have gotten away with it!"

He grew angrier by the second and kicked me repeatedly, with each blow landing squarely on my stomach.

My stomach felt like it had been ripped apart, and my vomit was streaked with blood.

"Please, just call Eric. My brother will come save me!"

"Bullshit! You still think you're the heiress? You look more like a prostitute to me," he sneered.

The men dragged me painfully by the hair into a dark and damp shack. The floor was crawling with insects and full of sticky grime. It was utterly foul-smelling.

They tied me up in the corner, taking turns to strike me with sticks. Careful to avoid my face, each strike landed on some obscure part of my body.

Fear gripped me. If they left my face intact, there had to be a more sinister plan.

By now, blood had soaked through my clothes. Every inch of my skin throbbed with pain.

Suddenly, a phone rang. One of the men answered respectfully, muttered a few words, and hung up.

"Forget teaching her how to deal cards. Send her to do something else. We're short-handed at the back anyway."

"With a face this pretty, wouldn't it be a shame not to get her to be a dealer?"

"Shut up! Her face draws too much attention. If anyone recognizes her, we're screwed. Don't question me, or you'll regret it!"

I grabbed the man's leg. "Call Eric! Or you'll regret it. He will kill you!"

Eric cared about me more than anything.

The men looked at me with contempt, ready to tear me apart.

"Since she won't become the dealer, her face's useless then," one said, brandishing a knife.

The cold blade hovered over my face.

They laughed louder as fear flooded my eyes.

In an instant, I bit down hard on one man's hand. He screamed, stumbling backward.

At that moment, I screamed at the top of my lungs for help.

The other men rushed at me, but the door suddenly burst open.

"What the hell is going on? Why can't you guys handle a woman? Get it done now!"

The man whom I had bitten wiped the blood off himself and stomped his foot against my neck.

"How dare you bite me! I'm taking your teeth out today. Let's see how you'll bite then!"

He glared around him, and the others held me down. My strength was no match for theirs. I couldn't break free, but I refused to give up and thrashed desperately.

They groaned in frustration. "Why does this woman have so much strength?"

"Hurry up! The boss is here! He can't stand seeing filth."

The boss? That had to be Eric.

Somehow, I found more strength to bite into another man's hand, tearing a chunk of flesh from him. Then, I kicked another with my knee, shattering his nose.

As they cried out in pain, covering their injuries, I wrenched free from the others and ran.

On a nearby clearing, a car had just arrived.

It was Eric.

He was in the same car I had given him for his birthday. The car had fake eyelashes stuck on the headlights as a joke.

He never minded it, though; in fact, he loved it.

"Eric!" I screamed.

In the next second, someone grabbed me by the neck.

I could see Eric's eyes looking my way as the man yanked me out of sight, and blood from my body smeared across the ground.

"Damn it. She's strong as hell!"

"We can't let her off easy. Teach her a lesson."

While the men were cursing me, I struggled free from their grasp again. But they were ready for me. I hadn't even made it to the door before a stick slammed into my head.

I saw stars explode in my vision while blood streaked down my face.

A man stomped on my chest, crushing all the air from my lungs.

They tied me up and shoved a piece of torn rag into my mouth.

The stench of sweat from the rag made me gag, but they forced it in tighter.

Then, they pressed my hands down and clamped a set of pliers onto my fingernails.

I shrank back as far as I could, but it was useless.

Two nails were ripped out from my fingers as pain shot through my body in violent spasms.

Finally, I passed out from the agony.

When I woke up again, I was alone.

The other wounds on my body had dulled into numbness, but my fingers, stripped of their nails, throbbed painfully.

I stared at my bare fingers, trembling violently.

Darkness closed in as despair loomed over me.

But I couldn't give up. Not yet.

Through a crack in the door, I saw Eric and a few others walking away.

I crawled toward them as fast as I could, the chain around my neck tightening painfully.

"Eric!"

My voice was hoarse and barely a whisper.

I dug my fingers into my thigh, forcing my voice louder.

"Eric! Eric! Save me!"

Eric stopped in his tracks.

"Who's there?"

The man who had torn my nails out spoke with a sickly-sweet tone. "She's such a stubborn one. I gave her a taste of pain, yet she still refuses to behave."

Eric's brows furrowed. "Who are you talking about?"

"It's my wife. She's unhappy that I'm working for you as she's afraid I don't make as much money as before. She keeps giving me trouble."

Eric's gaze darkened slightly as he looked at the trail of blood at the door.

"Sir, sorry for the filth. She hurt her leg yesterday, and she tried running off just now, so…"

Eric didn't approve of their methods.

But since he had just arrived, he let it slide.

He was about to leave.

This was my last chance.

I summoned every ounce of strength left and ripped the other end of the chain free.

Then, I flung the door open and collided with Eric.

Before I could speak, he kicked me and sent me flying away.

Then, he stared at the blood on his leg with disgust. Eric had always been a clean freak and hated gore.

All these years, he had never done anything illegal.

Even though he saw that I was filthy, he still looked at me thoughtfully.

But I hadn't expected the man who claimed to be my husband to react faster than I did. He lunged, covering my mouth. Even as I bit him until blood ran from his wound, he didn't release me.

"Sir, she's mentally unstable. I'll take care of her immediately."

"Don't kill her."

"Rest assured, sir. We take care of everything in a legal way."

I shook my head violently, trying to reveal my face. I was so close.

Eric's gaze lingered on my face for a split second, then recoiled as if disgusted.

"Handle it quickly."

"Yes, we'll clean it up immediately."

The man dragged me back. His eyes were blood-red with frustration, probably because he had never known anyone as enduring as me.

"You're the first in all these years who almost got away. You like screaming? I'll cut your tongue out and see how you scream then! Hold her down!"

I felt utterly dejected. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

The men jeered at me, laughing at the fact that even a stubborn woman like me knew how to cry.

But they knew better now and didn't let their guard down.

They held my head, forced my mouth open, and yanked out my tongue.

A sharp blade was pressed against it, causing pain to explode through my mouth. All I could make was a low, miserable whimper through my throat.

The man sneered, "This is what happens when you bite me. I'd rather lose money than not get my fun with you!"

At the critical moment, Stella suddenly appeared.

She was dressed in a perfectly tailored outfit, looking completely out of place in the cramped, grimy room.

But she acted as if she didn't even notice the grime as she strode over and looked down at me. Her hand snaked around the leading man's waist, pulling him closer.

"Why haven't you sent her off yet, Luke?" she said, tugging at his belt.

Luke pressed a kiss to her lips. They clung together in front of me, kissing each other fervently. Only after a long moment did he pull his hands away from her.

"So, how do you want to handle her?"