I followed Delilah’s directions, step after step, my heart sinking deeper into a suffocating abyss.
By the time I arrived at the private club, the sky had already turned dark. Neon lights flickered overhead, illuminating the vulgarity behind the walls.
The moment I pushed open the heavy doors, chaos exploded in my ears, raucous laughter, shrill screams and jeering voices blending into a disgusting symphony.
“Hahaha, little dog, look here! Come here!”
“No, it’s me, crawl to me!”
“Lucian is really something. Always remembers his buddies whenever there’s fresh entertainment.”
“Yeah, shame she just had surgery. Otherwise, she’d be serving us like the others do.”
I froze, breath caught painfully in my throat.
In the center of the room, my sister, Irene, was crawling on the cold floor, dressed in a thin hospital gown. Her pale neck was wrapped in a thick black dog collar, her hands pressed against the cold marble, her knees scraped and bleeding as she trembled, forced to crawl like a beaten animal.
Around her stood a group of men and women, waving frisbees and dog toys like they were taunting a show pet. Their faces gleamed with malicious excitement.
My chest caved in. I could barely breathe as scorching anger devoured me alive.
“Irene!” My scream tore through the air, sharp and desperate. “No! Let her go! You bastards! Get away from her!”
I lunged forward, eyes red, hands shaking, wanting nothing more than to shield my sister from this nightmare. But before I could take more than a step, two bodyguards pressed me to the ground, shoving me onto my knees.
Delilah stood leisurely in the middle of the chaos, dressed in a skin-tight designer gown, her long lashes fluttering as she looked down on me with smug amusement.
By her side stood Juliette, clinging sweetly to her mother, a mask of innocence plastered on her small face.
Delilah’s lips curled into a soft, fake smile, her voice dripping with venom. “Want to save your sister, Ivy? You know what to do.”
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palm until I bled, but I had no choice.
Delilah lowered her head slightly, her smile deepening. “On your knees, bark like a dog! If you amuse me enough, maybe I’ll let you both go.”
The crowd roared with laughter, some pulling out their phones, some pointing at me like I was part of the show.
“That’s right! Get down for Madam Delilah! If you hadn’t stolen Lucian, she would have been Mrs. Durneswick. It’s time you paid for it!”
Irene’s mouth was taped shut, her tear-streaked face shaking wildly as she struggled against the leash. Her helpless gaze shattered what little pride I had left.
I knew it, if I didn’t obey, neither of us would leave this room alive.
My body trembled uncontrollably, but in the end, I still fell to my knees.
My throat clenched as I forced out an animalistic bark.
Laughter erupted like thunder.
Lights flashed endlessly, cameras capturing every humiliating moment. I could hear them screaming, “Look at this! A sister degrading herself like a dog just to protect her crippled sibling. This will dominate the headlines tomorrow!”
But just as the mockery reached its peak, the room suddenly fell deathly silent.
A familiar low, hoarse voice came through the phone’s speaker, calm, cold and terrifyingly steady.
“Play as much as you like, but if anyone dares to leak tonight’s video… be prepared to die.”
I shivered violently.
I looked up.
Delilah held her phone, her screen showing Lucian’s emotionless expression, seated behind his office desk, looking down at the scene like a king overseeing a pitiful circus.
A faint, almost tender smile appeared on his lips as he spoke to Delilah, “Are you done venting, Delilah? If so, take Juliette home. I’ve made a reservation, let’s have dinner.”
Delilah’s cheeks flushed lightly, her posture softening. “Alright, I’ll bring Juliette right over. What about Ivy and her sister?”
Lucian’s voice remained nonchalant, “No need. They have hands and feet. They’ll find their own way home.”
When he spoke of me, his gaze turned icy, every trace of warmth vanishing.
“And Ivy…” his tone dropped, every word biting into my bones, “this is only the beginning. The longer you refuse to sign, the worse it’ll get. But if you behave, you’ll still be Mrs. Durneswick standing tall above everyone else.”
His words made the audience shift uncomfortably, the arrogance in their faces rapidly dissolving into panic.
I laughed bitterly inside.
That’s what these people were fickle cowards.
When Lucian didn’t care about me, I was trash they could trample on.
But if Lucian so much as lifted a finger, they’d kneel and call me “Mrs. Durneswick” like loyal dogs.
