I opened my mouth to explain, but they didn’t give me the chance. The moment they surrounded me, fists started flying. They beat me mercilessly, all to please Inez.
I'd never experienced such violence before. Each blow left me breathless, the pain swallowing my voice until I couldn’t even cry out.
“Pick her up,” Inez sneered as I collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.
They forced me upright, gripping my arms tightly while Inez sauntered toward me, holding a chair. Her expression was twisted with hatred.
“Lindsay, you slut,” she hissed. “Didn’t you beg my fiancé to drive you here? Since you don’t want to walk on your own, you won’t need those legs anymore.”
With that, she raised the chair high.
The people holding me tightened their grip, ensuring I couldn’t move. I stared at the chair in horror.
“Inez, think this through,” I said, terrified. “If that chair hits me, the consequences won’t just fall on you.”
“Consequences?” she laughed bitterly. “Do you think seducing my fiancé will turn you into some kind of princess? Wake up!”
The chair came crashing down.
I screamed. Agonizing pain exploded through my legs. I felt the snap before I heard it — a sickening crunch that echoed louder than my own cries.
“You’re finished, Inez,” I rasped, barely able to breathe. “You’ll never marry into the Patton Family now. Not after this. And they’ll go down with you.”
Even if I wanted to forgive them, my family wouldn’t. I was their pride, their heart. And now, I can barely move.
One thought kept pounding in my head: They’re all done for.
“You still dare to threaten me?” Inez sneered. “Do you even know what the Patton Family is in Chicago? Let me spell it out — even if I kill you today, someone will take the fall for me. Can you say the same?”
“You don’t know what my family stands for,” I gritted out.
“Your family?” She laughed cruelly. “You’re nothing but a pretty face who used that face to seduce my brother in high school, and now my fiancé? I’ll destroy that face and see who you can seduce next.”
She grabbed a steak knife from a nearby table.
My heart dropped.
“No...” I whispered, breathing quickening.
Inez walked closer, slowly, maliciously dragging the cold blade across my cheek.
“A face like this…” she murmured, “What a shame it would be to scar it forever.”
The blade grazed my skin. I shivered from the icy touch.
Then, she paused. “But I’ll give you a choice, since we were once classmates,” she said mockingly.
“Kneel in front of everyone. Beg for mercy. Admit you’re nothing but a man-stealing vixen hiding behind a pure act. Do that, and I’ll let you go.”
She looked down at me, smiling wickedly.
“You’re dreaming,” I spat through the pain, hoarse but unyielding.
I am Lindsay Hines. I would never kneel — not to her, not to anyone. Especially when I’d done nothing wrong.
Inez’s expression turned icy.
“You really are stubborn. Let’s see how long you can keep that up.”
“Inez… isn’t this enough already?” the class monitor asked weakly, face pale with fear.
