“Stop it!”
Crash!
The wine bottle smashes into pieces upon contact with the employee’s head. He immediately covered his head in pain and rolled about.
As though he was nothing but a bystander, Anthony tossed the remains of the bottle aside and stuck his hands in his pockets before disappearing into a side door.
It was an emergency, so I instinctively went up to hold the wound on the employee’s head and waited for help to arrive.
Silence ensued. There were two sides. One was a bunch of vicious men in black led by Rylee, and the other was the employees who remained here in the club to repay Summer’s favor. They were huddled in a corner, anxiousness evident in their gaze. It was obvious that they were afraid of ending up as the next target.
As a business owner, the earnings didn’t matter. Once Summer lost the trust of her employees, the business would not grow or even go on for long.
At the sight of the unbothered Summer standing aside, I felt extremely disappointed. My heart ached for her. Perhaps anger had clouded her mind. Alas, she had no idea she was putting her dream at risk.
I couldn’t help but express my disappointment, for Summer was my daughter. “Summer Stanhope, are you going to do nothing as your loyal employees get bullied?”
Summer glanced at me. “They deserve to be punished for their deeds. Father did a great job.” Her voice was steady.
“Do you know what you’re talking about, Summer?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Is beating someone up a form of punishment?
This was the first time I’ve ever glared at her sharply. I saw a flash of discomfort in her eyes. She then looked down, refusing to talk to me.
Perhaps she was afraid I’d continue questioning her, for she stood up and left after a brief silence. Her footsteps came to a halt before me. “Mommy, you should go home and take care of Audrey and Greg instead of interfering in someone else’s business.”
With that, she left through the side door that Anthony had entered earlier without looking back.
What was that? A kind reminder, or a blatant threat?
No, that’s impossible. I consoled myself. Macy and I didn’t teach Summer to be a ruthless person who disregards life. There was no way she meant something horrible.
I couldn’t help but wonder why Anthony and Summer had changed abruptly.
I was temporarily befuddled by their unforeseen change.
I was in a daze when Nathaniel stepped out and acted like he was God again. “Are you already upset? Or did you forget Anthony had always been a ruthless figure? Like father, like daughter. How will she convince others of her leadership if she didn’t punish her disloyal subordinates?”
I couldn’t help but snicker out loud. Did he seriously think his warped logic could replace the criteria for judging good from evil in our world?
“If they did something wrong, she could discipline or fire them. However, harming someone’s life is against the law. Anthony had never once resorted to that to gain someone’s respect. Even if he did, it must’ve been to punish an evil and despicable person. Do you think I can’t tell that you arranged for me to witness this scene? You’re the culprit!”
Nathaniel did everything to destroy my love and respect for Anthony. He wanted Anthony to end up living in desolation.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but there was no way I’d give up. I believed Anthony was upset at being forced to act this way. If I lost trust in him, he’d give up on himself for real.
Now, the only thing I could do was to make it up for his mistake.
I shall offer generous compensation to Wilson and this unnamed young man in my arms, both mentally and financially. Perhaps that would ease our guilt.
“Smart girl. No wonder Anthony adores you.” Nathaniel admitted to his doing honestly. He gazed at me, his eyes flickering with menace. “Oh, my dear great lawyer, after handling so many cases, don’t you know it doesn’t matter who is the mastermind? The one committing the crime is the most important person. So what if I told him to do that? Anthony could’ve done it willingly.”
He added, “He should be thanking me for giving him the perfect chance to unleash the beast within him. Holding his feelings back isn’t a good thing. You’d be upset if he gets sick, right?”
Nathaniel lowered his body and hovered right above me. His eyes glinted dangerously as he said, “Yesterday, you weren’t honest enough, so I showed you how it feels like to get personally involved. Are you still going to insist that you love him?”
Clenching my jaw, I didn’t bother hiding my distaste and anger at him. What a psycho! He delights in destroying others’ happiness!
“Yes, I love him!” I declared in a loud voice so everyone in the club could hear me. “Anthony Featherstone, you’re the only man I’ll ever love in this lifetime!”
I was hoping Anthony could hear my declaration, even though I wasn’t sure if he could hear it. However, I shot a proud look at Nathaniel like I had won the battle.
It was pretty hard to win mental warfare. Otherwise, Nathaniel wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to persuade me to change my mind.
At my words, Nathaniel straightened his back and returned to his expressionless self. He stared ahead and lifted a corner of his lip. “Great, let the game continue, then. I used ten whole years to destroy Anthony. I wonder how much time you are willing to spend in defending him,” he mused.
“You’ll never succeed!” I announced and grounded my jaw.
Nathaniel was more patient than I had imagined. It was hard, but not entirely impossible, to defeat someone like him. I had to be more patient than him and wait until he exposed his Achilles’ heel. That would be the perfect chance to crush him.
Before that, I had to confirm if Anthony and Summer were on the same page as me.
I wasn’t good at hiding my real emotions compared to them. Perhaps that was why they chose to take action without informing me.
Nathaniel could’ve been right. He could’ve destroyed Anthony’s willpower successfully and brainwashed him with his twisted logic and distorted ideas. If that were true, things would turn complicated. I had no chance against two extremely intelligent men.
“Screw you, b*stard! If you dare lay a finger on Scar…”
Thud!
Right after Nathaniel finished talking, John dashed into the club and gave him a punch without a second thought.
He was so swift that no one came forward to stop him in time. Thus, Nathaniel got punched in the face, causing his head to drop aside. At once, the corner of his lip swelled up as blood trickled down his mouth. The pungent stench of blood intensified.
I knew things had turned complicated after John threw that punch.
Nathanial wasn’t someone who’d repay a grudge with favor. Judging by the way he was glowering at John now, I was pretty sure he’d take revenge on John soon.
However, John was no pushover. Seeing through his plan, he was about to give Nathaniel another punch again, but Nathaniel’s men had already regained their composure and rushed forward to surround their employer. The security was so tight that not even a fly could fly in, let alone John’s punch.
Hence, John had no choice but to put his arm down. He was still boiling in rage and promptly decided to go against them, though he was alone and outnumbered. Narrowing his gaze, he announced coldly, “All right. Come at me! Don’t waste my time.”
The men in black didn’t respond. It was possible they had no idea what he was talking about, or perhaps they were waiting for Nathaniel’s order.
Feeling humiliated by their disdainful looks directed at him, John balled his hands into fists.
Luckily, John’s men arrived in time to salvage the situation. Both sides stood still in a stalemate. Once they took action, one side would have to defeat the other side to resolve the matter.
My goal was to save the wounded employee. I had no intention of complicating the issue. As they were still in a stalemate, I asked the employee softly, “Can you get to your feet?”
He bobbed his head weakly. I immediately helped him up, but his weight was too much for me and I nearly stumbled. John spotted that and rushed over to steady me.
That was what I had in mind. Men were aggressive beings, but once their attention was distracted, they’d calm down swiftly.
I immediately gestured with my chin toward the unconscious Wilson. “Let’s send them to the hospital.”
John glanced in the direction of the bar and knew what my worry was. He swung around and ordered, “Take the wounded man with us.”
Two burly men stepped out and brought Wilson out of the club.
I gave John a look, prepared to leave. “Let’s go,” I urged softly.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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