Chloe shot Lucy a death re and shouted, "Lucy, have you lost your mind?"


    Lucy, seeing Chloe''s rage, felt a twisted sense of satisfaction.


    Ever since Chloe had enrolled at Quest University, Lucy''s life had been a living hell. Chloe''s maniptions, both overt and covert, had eventually led to Lucy''s expulsion and caused her father, Ford, to lose his position at the university. To survive, Lucy had resorted to sleeping with a man older than her father.


    And then, out of nowhere, Chloe had reappeared, brutally assaulting Hugh and enlisting Grant to inflict an even worse beating on the street. What was more, Liam and his crew had shattered what little power Hugh had built up.


    All of this—each misery-traced back to Chloe.


    She kidnapped Chloe to exact her revenge, determined to make Chloe, the ugly duckling, experience the jarring fall from grace that she had endured.


    Lucy sneered, and with her bright red-painted nails, she grabbed Chloe''s hair again, yanking her head up forcefully so their eyes met.


    "You finally know what pain feels like, don''t you?" Lucy whispered, her lips curving into a cruel smile of satisfaction. Chloe, though bound and powerless, red at Lucy with defiant and angry eyes, determined not to show her fear and weakness.


    "What do you want?" Chloe struggled to ask, her voice low and hoarse.


    "It''s not about wanting," Lucy spat coldly, "it''s about making you lose everything you''ve always been so proud of. Didn''t I tell you? First, rape, then kill. You''re gonna learn what happens when you mess with me."


    Lucy had lost it.


    Chloe stared at her coldly and said, "You better let me go, or when the Martin brothers find out you kidnapped me, they''lle for you. And trust me, they won''t be kind."


    Chloe was trying to scare her. But Lucy had lost her sanity. Any threat meant nothing to her. Her eyes were filled with determination and madness, as if all the world''s hatred was concentrated in her alone.


    "Threaten me? Do you think that will work?" Lucy sneered, her grip on Chloe''s hair unrelenting. "Your current predicament is all your own doing. Who else is there to me? Ugly freak, you think you can scare me? Let''s see how tough you are when those guys who haven''t seen a woman in ages get their hands on you."


    Lucy tightened her grip on Chloe''s hair. She started dragging Chloe, ready to throw her to the men she had summoned. Chloe''s heart pounded with frantic intensity-she knew she was in real peril now and had to act swiftly to ensure her survival.


    As Lucy pulled her along, Chloe gritted her teeth, mustering all the strength she could. She turned sharply and delivered a powerful kick to Lucy''s lower back. The force of the blow made Lucy let go and hit the ground, caughtpletely off guard.


    Seizing the moment of Lucy''s pained scream, Chloe frantically worked to free her wrists from the ropes. Her years of training with professionalbat coaches since childhood had not been for nothing; she knew she could fight back if unbound.


    Themotion drew Lucy''s thugs running. They lifted Lucy off the ground, where shey bleeding, her nose having hit the floor hard.


    "Chloe, you bitch! How dare you attack me? I''m gonna kill you," Lucy snarled, her face a bloody mess of rage as she staggered to her feet. Fueled by fury, she grabbed a baseball bat, her grip tight and dangerous.


    The thugs, rather than intervening, stood by with arms crossed, clearly entertained by the unfolding drama.


    Lucy swung the bat with wild abandon, aiming for Chloe. But Chloe, fueled by adrenaline, wasn''t about to let herself be a victim. She twisted and turned, ensuring the bat struck the chair instead of her.


    As she evaded Lucy''s relentless swings, Chloe tried to appeal to the thugs'' better judgment or perhaps simply their sense of self-preservation.


    "Hey, listen up! I''m Chloe Davis, engaged to the Martin heirs. If you keep me here, they''ll tear this ce apart to find me. You know their power; crushing you would be like squashing a bug. You''re here for money, right? No need to risk your necks for Lucy''s craziness. Save me, and the Martin Family will reward you big time, enough to livefortably forever."


    Chloe''s words made the thugs think twice. They knew messing with the Martin Family was a death wish. If Chloe died, they''d be hunted down for sure. Better to get some cash and stay alive.


    Lucy''s face twisted with rage hearing Chloe''s offer. She swung the bat at Chloe''s head, but Chloe ducked just in time.


    "Save me, and I''ll give you ten million dors right now..." Chloe shouted, pushing the limits of her voice.


    The thugs'' decision became instantly clear. The allure of such an immense sum proved too powerful to resist. With a brief exchange of determined looks, they surged forward, ripping the bat from Lucy''s hands and forcefully pulling her away from Chloe.


    Still tied up but deftly dodging iing strikes, Chloe allowed herself a momentary sigh of relief. The blows she had endured only fueled her resolve to turn the thugs into her shield rather than Lucy''s weapon.


    Lucy, seeing her hired muscle betray her, erupted in a furious panic. "What the hell are you doing? Why are you stopping me?" she screamed, desperation edging her voice. One of the thugs, now standing protectively in front of Chloe, replied with striking calm, "We''re stopping you because we want the money. She promised us ten million dors."


    Hearing that, Lucy felt a sting of humiliation. How could everything she endured with Hugh amount to this a promise of wealth sovish it seemed almost casually thrown by Chloe?


    Desperate, Lucy tried to sway the thugs back to her side. "Don''t listen to her lies. She can''t just hand out ten million dors. Stick with me, and I promise you''ll get everything I offered-money, women, everything."