“Well, a prostitute isn’t usually this pretty. How about this—I’ll give you a hundred thousand for one night with me.”
“A hundred thousand? Too cheap. I’ll offer five hundred thousand. If you serve me well, I’ll add more.”
Hearing these comments, even my normally steady composure began to crack into anger.
I fixed Adrian Hughes with a cold stare and enunciated each word:
“Control your dogs. If you let them out to bite again, don’t blame me for what happens.”
The men’s faces darkened at my words, and they looked ready to hurl insults back—when the auction began.
The very first lot was the century-old lingzhi.
I had just lifted my paddle when Adrian called out, “Light the sky lantern!”—a bid that was deliberately meant to compete with mine.
My breath hitched, and I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “The Hughes family doesn’t lack rare tonics. Do you have to fight me for this?”
He turned his head with an arrogant smirk.
“Isabella’s pregnant—she needs something good to nourish her. I think this lingzhi is perfect. Do you have a problem with that?”
Isabella giggled, throwing herself into his arms.
“Adrian, you’re so good to me.”
I took a deep breath, forcing my anger down.
Ordinary people who undergo mutation from a serpent curse rarely survive more than seven days. There was no need to waste my energy on the walking dead.
I rose to leave—but was blocked by the Hughes family’s bodyguards.
Adrian’s voice was icy.
“Did I say you could go?”
I frowned at him. “What do you want now?”
“You’ve ruined my good mood. Kneel and kowtow a few times, and I’ll let you out.”
It was pure, baseless bullying.
I trembled with fury, pulling out my phone to call the police, but he snatched it away and smashed it to the ground.
“You think you can provoke me and just walk away? The world doesn’t work that way!”
I glared up at him.
“I haven’t done anything—what right do you have to make me kneel?”
He let out a cold snort.
“By right of being the heir to Hughes Group.”
When I still didn’t move, Adrian ordered the bodyguards to force me to the ground.
From above, he looked down on me, arrogance dripping from every word.
“Aren’t you proud? Let’s see if your spine is really harder than everyone else’s.”
The bodyguards slammed my head into the floor over and over. After more than ten blows, a pool of blood spread out beneath me.
I shook violently with pain, my heart filling with boundless hatred.
Isabella covered her mouth in feigned shock.
“Adrian, she still looks defiant.”
Adrian’s brows shot up, and his voice turned colder.
“Still defiant? Then strip her clothes and make her kneel all the way out!”
Hearing that, my breath came faster. I struggled desperately to escape, but they surrounded me completely.
The long gown on my body was soon ripped to shreds. Curling up, I felt tears of humiliation prick my eyes.
The men’s naked gazes fell over me as they jeered loudly:
“Didn’t think Miss Bennett had such a figure. Wonder what she tastes like.”
“Bet she’ll have you in ecstasy!”
The sharp, grating laughter drilled into my ears, and I couldn’t stop trembling.
A flicker of lust crossed Adrian’s eyes.
He crouched down and whispered in my ear,
“How about this—spend the night with me, and I’ll have someone bring you some clothes. What do you say?”
I raised my eyes to him, glaring with pure loathing.
“Bastard.”
His expression cooled.
Sensing something was off, Isabella’s eyes flickered. She clutched her stomach and said,
“Adrian, my belly hurts—forget her, take me to the hospital.”
At her words, Adrian stood immediately.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Come on, I’ll drive you.”
Once Adrian left, the others quickly dispersed as well.
I painstakingly gathered the torn scraps of fabric from the ground, using them to barely cover myself.
