Chapter 2

My bodyguards and I kicked open the door to Tori Hayes' office.

Lucas Miller was on his knees by her feet, his clothes a mess. The scene reeked of something intimate, but I ignored it. I roared, "Tie him up!"

My bodyguards immediately gagged Lucas and dragged him out.

Behind me, Tori’s piercing shriek followed, "Alex Thorne! Where are you taking Lucas?!"

In the center of the old boiler room, the massive heating unit was already roaring, churning out waves of scorching heat. The temperature was horrifying.

I pointed at the monstrous heater. "Throw him in!"

My bodyguards ignored Lucas’s desperate struggles, shoved him into the chamber, and quickly retreated. Even they couldn't stand the blistering heat and steam.

I watched coldly as the chamber shook violently, Lucas trapped inside, his struggles futile.

Tori rushed in on her heels, screaming into her phone.

"Alex Thorne! Let Lucas go, or I'm calling the police!"

"All the evidence is here! Don't you dare forget this is a society of laws!"

I grabbed her chin and slapped her hard.

"Our son is still in critical care because of him! Now, it's his turn to feel his body temperature spike, to slowly get cooked alive by the despair!"

Tori froze, then lunged at me like a madwoman.

"So what if our son got a little heatstroke? A bit of heat is good for building immunity!"

"And didn't you say boys should be raised tough?!"

I stared into her shifting eyes. "I'm going to be with our son now. Lucas *will* stay in that room for two hours! If you dare release him, I'll pull all my investments and bankrupt Hayes Industries immediately!"

I shoved her away and drove to the hospital.

My car had barely stopped when my assistant called. The moment I left, Tori had ordered the heat to be turned off.

Lucas, red all over from the heat, was sent to the hospital.

And she even put it on the company's tab.

I scoffed and texted Arthur, my executive assistant, to withdraw all my funds from Hayes Industries.

Less than half an hour later, Tori was calling me like a madwoman.