Chapter2

The dome lights of the Manhattan Intercontinental Hotel tore through the curtain of rain, illuminating the marble driveway out front as bright as day. I stood at the edge of the red carpet. The mixed stench of motor oil and cheap tobacco on me was particularly pungent amidst the surrounding perfume of the socialites.

"Get lost, tramp! This is no place for you."

Two syndicate security guards in tactical vests strode toward me. One of them covered his nose in disgust, his thick arm shoving violently against my shoulder.

I didn't dodge. I let his momentum push me half a step back.

"Are you deaf?" The other guard drew his sidearm, flipped it, and smashed the heavy stock viciously into my ribs.

A dull thud echoed in the rain. Agony flared along the lines of a five-year-old wound. To buy the bomb squad enough time, I clenched my jaw, letting my body lose its balance and crash heavily into a muddy puddle.

Filthy water splashed up, soaking my collar.

"Commander!" Marcus's tense voice crackled through the micro-earpiece. "Snipers have locked onto the targets. We just need one second to blow these two idiots' brains out. Requesting permission to fire!"

"Stand by. No one fires without my order." I lay in the muddy water, keeping my voice low. The bomb around Lily's neck was still ticking down. Any unusual move right now would cost her life.

Blinding high beams suddenly swept across my face. A custom Rolls-Royce Phantom rolled through the puddles, its tires coming to a smooth halt less than half a meter from my fingers.

The car door opened, and shiny custom leather shoes stepped onto the red carpet. Victor smoothed the hem of his dark red suit, then turned to lead a woman dripping in haute couture jewelry out of the car.

Elena.

Lifting her diamond-encrusted skirt, she swept a contemptuous gaze over the mud on the ground before locking eyes with me.

"I was wondering who was blocking the way." Elena walked up to me in her twelve-centimeter heels, ruthlessly grinding the pointed toe of her shoe into the side of my face.

The sharp heel pierced my skin, pinning my head mercilessly into the freezing muddy water.

"Look at you now," she looked down at me from above, venom spilling from her red lips. "Five years, and you're still the same useless stray dog rotting in the sewer. That stench of motor oil is truly nauseating."

Victor stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Elena's waist. He wasn't angry; instead, he studied my pathetic state with keen interest, as if admiring a deeply satisfying piece of art.

"Since he's a dog, he should follow a dog's rules." Victor raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Ten heavily armed guards standing on either side immediately stepped forward, forming two rows along the red carpet leading to the banquet hall. They spread their legs in unison, creating a long tunnel made of human limbs.

"Crawl through." Victor pointed at the tunnel, his voice exceptionally clear in the rainy night. "Like a real dog, on all fours, crawl through their legs and into my engagement banquet. Otherwise, your sister's head will be blown wide open in the next second."

Quite a few socialites sheltering from the rain had already gathered at the hotel entrance. Camera flashes began to pop rapidly, accompanied by whispers and mocking chuckles.

I braced my hands in the gritty puddle, my knuckles turning white from sheer force. Muddy water dripped from my chin. My heart pounded violently in my chest, pulling at every muscle in my body.

"Commander," the bomb expert's urgent report came through the earpiece. "The neurotoxin module is extremely complex. Decryption is at eighty percent. We are twenty percent short. We need time!"

Twenty percent. They still needed time.

I took a deep breath of the rain-scented air. A strong, rusty taste of blood filled my mouth—the price of biting down on my gums so hard they bled.

In front of the camera lenses raised by the surrounding elites, under Elena's undisguised, mocking gaze, I slowly bent down, my knees hitting heavily into the puddle on the marble floor.

On all fours.

I lowered my head, my gaze piercing through the rows of black tactical boots. Listening to the electronic beeping of the countdown in my ear, braving the sea of flashing cameras, I crawled forward through the mud, step by agonizing step.