Chapter 3

Charlotte's POV

"What?" I couldn't believe it.

He actually wanted me to kneel?

Two bodyguards pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel on the marble floor. The pain of my knees hitting the ground made me cry out.

"Jason! Are you INSANE?" I struggled against their grip.

Vivian watched this scene excitedly. "YES! Just like that! Let this stupid bitch learn what happens when you mess with us!"

She walked over to me, looking down at me.

"Say 'I don't deserve a luxury wedding venue'!" Vivian raised her red stiletto. "Or I'll stomp on your fingers!"

My hands? No, those were my life as a sculptor!

"You wouldn't DARE!"

"Wouldn't I?" Vivian grinned viciously, pointing her sharp heel at my right hand. "Watch closely!"

She stomped down hard.

Excruciating pain shot through my entire body. I couldn't help but scream.

"Are you going to say it or not?" She pressed down harder. "Say 'I don't deserve a luxury wedding venue'!"

The crowd murmured:

"She's really asking for it - messing with Jason and Vivian is suicide!"

"Doesn't she know how powerful Clark Tech is?"

"Crossing these two? She's finished!"

The agony nearly drove me out of my mind. I gritted my teeth, trying to hold on, but Vivian stomped down again with more force.

"AHHH!" I cried out, tears streaming down my face.

As a sculptor, my hands were everything! If my hands were ruined, I'd have nothing left!

"Stop... please stop!" I finally couldn't take it anymore, my voice trembling. "Jason, for old times' sake, make her stop!"

Jason looked at me coldly. "Now you're begging me?"

"I... I can give up the venue!" I said through the pain. "Please make her stop!"

But Vivian didn't stop. Instead, she smiled even more maliciously. "NOW you want to beg for mercy? Too late!"

She ground her heel viciously into the back of my hand.

"Damn it!" I cried out desperately. "I already said I'd give up the venue!"

"You think giving up the venue is enough?" Vivian shouted. "You hit me, humiliated me - and now you think one sentence will fix everything? Dream on!"

Jason watched coldly from the side, showing no intention of stopping her.

"Jason, please..." I looked up at him, desperation in my voice. "We used to..."

"Charlotte, this is the choice you made," Jason cut me off. "The past is over. I'm not that poor kid from five years ago anymore."

Hearing our conversation, Vivian's eyes grew even more vicious.

"Jason, since this bitch won't learn her place, I'll make her completely lose face!"

She suddenly grabbed my collar. "I'm going to tear off your clothes and let everyone see you for what you really are!"

"NO!" I struggled desperately.

"Someone like you needs to know their position!" Vivian started tearing at my buttons. "In front of us, you're NOTHING!"

Just then, my phone rang from inside my bag on the floor.

Vivian stopped and looked at me maliciously. "Someone else coming to save you? Let me see who it is!"

She grabbed my phone and sneered when she saw the caller ID. "Bradley? Another clueless man?"

She answered the call. "Hello?"

"Charlotte? What's wrong?" Bradley's gentle voice came through the speaker.

Hearing Bradley's voice, hope surged in my heart. I summoned all my strength and shouted: "Bradley! Save me! I'm at Floaton Oceanview Wedding Venue! Someone's hurting me! Come save me quickly!"

"Shut UP!" Vivian scolded angrily. "Stop yelling!"

Bradley's voice on the other end instantly turned ice cold. "Who are you? Why do you have Charlotte's phone?"

"I'm Vivian Lockwood! Heiress to one of Floaton's three most powerful families!" She bragged proudly into the phone. "Your precious Charlotte is kneeling in front of me right now!"

"Call whoever you want - it won't help!" Her voice grew more arrogant. "In Floaton, nobody dares cross the Lockwood family and Clark Tech!"

There was silence for a few seconds, then Bradley's voice came back even more chilling. "Good. I'll remember you, Vivian Lockwood."

"Remember me? So what?" Vivian laughed crazily. "What can you possibly do to me?"

"I'm on my way," Bradley's voice was terrifyingly calm. "Hold on, Charlotte."

"Stop pretending!" Vivian angrily hung up and smashed the phone hard onto the ground.

The screen shattered into countless pieces.

"Now nobody can save you!" Vivian crouched down, looking at me maliciously. "How's that feel?"

Looking at the broken phone, I didn't feel despair. Instead, I felt a strange calm.

Bradley had heard my cry for help. He said he was coming. I believed him.

"You're all finished," I said weakly.

"Still talking tough?" Vivian grew angrier and slapped me across the face.

Time passed minute by minute. Vivian's torture continued. My hands were badly swollen, and my clothes were torn in several places.

More and more people gathered to watch. Some took photos, some recorded videos, some gossiped.

"Look, that's Miss Lockwood teaching someone a lesson!"

"That woman's done for - crossing these two powerhouses!"

"Clark Tech's CEO personally involved? She's dead meat!"

Just when I felt I couldn't hold on any longer, a rumbling sound came from the distance.

The helicopter blades grew closer and louder.

"What's that sound?" The spectators looked up at the sky, murmuring.

"Is that a helicopter? Who flies helicopters in the city center?"

"That's against flight regulations!"

The rumbling shook the entire building. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the sky in shock.

A black helicopter hovered above the venue, its rotor wash making everything in the lobby sway.

Then a voice boomed from the helicopter's speaker system, echoing across downtown Floaton:

"WHAT BASTARD TOUCHED MY WOMAN!"