Chapter 3

Maya’s speed was astonishing.

Soon, the storage room door was violently pushed open from the outside.

Maya stormed in, flanked by two bodyguards.

When she saw the blood at the corner of my mouth, my disheveled clothes, and my pathetic form curled on the floor, she gasped in shock.

She rushed forward and helped me up.

I shook my head, signaling her not to speak, then took the bank card with the sticky-note password from her hand and tossed it to Madison.

Madison took the card and didn’t bother me further, waving her hand dismissively.

“If that’s a fake card, I have plenty of ways to find you. Now get out.”

I endured the excruciating pain that pierced my bones, and with Maya’s help, I limped out of that disgusting place.

Once at the entrance, I thanked Maya. “Thanks, Maya. I’ll pay you back as soon as I sort this out.”

She looked at me worriedly. “Don’t worry about the money. But what happened to you?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “My brother’s found himself quite the girlfriend. I’ve got a score to settle with him.”

I pulled out my phone and found the number for the restaurant’s Vice President.

This VP was the actual manager of the restaurant, someone I had personally headhunted, and he was fiercely loyal to me.

The call connected. I didn’t waste a single word, my voice devoid of emotion.

“You have ten minutes. Fire a manager named Madison Reed.”

“Otherwise, the Cross family will withdraw all investments from the restaurant, every last penny.”

The VP on the other end was scared him witless the moment he heard my voice.

He must have heard the weakness and the unsettling tone in my voice, as he frantically agreed, not daring to ask a single question why.

I hung up, not pausing for a second, and hailed a cab directly to the police station.

Using the clearest, most logical reasoning, I explained everything that had just happened to the officer who received me.

After giving a detailed statement at the police station, I went to the hospital for a medical examination.

Holding that thin report, the fury of betrayal in my heart felt like it had been doused with hot oil, burning even more fiercely.

I needed an explanation.

I needed Lucas Cross to give me an explanation himself.

My assistant located Lucas at his own house. My driver and bodyguards were already en route to Lucas’s villa.

That villa, too, was a gift from me.

However, when I arrived, I was greeted by deafening heavy metal music.

And the boisterous sounds of men and women emanating from the doors and windows.

He was throwing a party. No wonder he hadn’t answered my calls.

The villa’s front door was ajar. On a whim, I didn’t push it open immediately.

Soon, I heard a familiar female voice, choked with tears.

It was Madison.

She was crying to everyone in the house, painting herself as a poor victim bullied by an arrogant mistress, who was then falsely accused.

“…I just asked her to pay her bill, and she threw a million dollars in my face, and then had me fired…”

“Lucas, she’s too much. She has absolutely no respect for you!”

“She just wants to humiliate me, she just wants to break us up!”

Inside, Lucas’s group of fair-weather friends all indignantly echoed her sentiments.

Lucas, meanwhile, was loudly comforting Madison in his arms, his voice full of tenderness and indulgence.

“Madison, don’t worry, I won’t let you suffer this kind of injustice!”

Then, as if to prove his resolve, he confidently promised everyone:

“When I catch that woman, I’ll make her kneel and apologize to you!”

Inside, the group of spoiled brats continued to champion Madison, shouting about how they would make me pay.

“Lucas, just say the word, and we’ll drag her out right now!”

“Yeah! Let her know who really runs things here!”

I couldn’t listen anymore. I raised my hand, and a bodyguard kicked open the villa door.

The party music screeched to a halt, and the boisterous laughter instantly vanished.

Dozens of stunned eyes collectively turned toward the doorway.

“No need to drag me out. I’m right here. Who wants to teach me a lesson?”