“If President Curran hadn’t said anything just now, I really would’ve believed Cooper’s expression. I thought he was actually dying.”
“I’m just here for the show. Let’s see what kind of drama Cooper pulls next. A man who only knows how to scheme, disgusting.”
My wounds ran deep, some down to the bone. Blood soaked through every layer of clothing.
Anyone with eyes could see these Shiba Inus weren’t just playing, they were out for blood.
But Tessa, blind in both heart and mind, convinced herself I’d only suffered a few harmless scratches.
So be it. If that’s how she wants it, then she can’t blame me for what comes next.
I glanced at the time on my watch, then made my decision.
Without hesitation, I gripped the iron rod tightly and charged straight into the pack of Shibas.
To the audience, it must’ve looked like suicide. They thought I’d finally lost my mind.
Tessa stared at me in shock, her eyes burning with panic. She shouted, "Cooper, what are you doing?! Do you have a death wish?"
"Those dogs were trained! They won’t seriously hurt anyone! But if you provoke them like this, they’ll attack! Are you out of your mind?"
I answered her with nothing but a cold smile, then charged straight into the pack.
In seconds, the Shiba Inus swarmed me.
The air filled with snarls, growls, and my screams, drowning out everything else.
Tessa finally lost it. She turned on the bodyguards, her voice sharp with fury. "What are you waiting for?! Get those dogs back in their cages! If this goes on, Cooper will die!"
The viewers of the livestream began to notice something was off.
"These Shiba Inus don’t look trained at all. If they were, they’d be circling him, not tearing him apart like that."
"Yeah, and look at Cooper’s wounds. That’s not just a scratch; he’s bleeding too much. Looks like chunks of flesh are missing."
"I’m calling it, this stream is rigged. Those people saying Cooper’s faking it? Definitely paid trolls."
Tessa saw the comments flooding the screen. Her brows furrowed as she glanced at Steven, but there was no time to argue. She kept shouting at the bodyguards to step in.
But they hesitated, shifting on their feet. One of them opened his mouth, then shut it again, guilt clouding his eyes.
That hesitation made something click in Tessa’s mind. Her voice rose sharply.
"What’s going on? Why are the dogs so vicious?"
"If you won’t speak, I’ll throw you in there myself."
One of the bodyguards finally broke. His face had gone ghostly pale.
"These Shiba Inus haven’t eaten in a week. Anyone who goes in will be ripped apart."
Tessa stumbled back a step, her balance faltering.
"What… what the hell is going on?"
The bodyguard glanced nervously at Steven behind him. Tessa followed his gaze and instantly understood.
Steven’s eyes were red, his voice trembling with false remorse. "I just wanted to blow off some steam, so I told the dog farm to starve the Shiba Inus for a week. I didn’t know they’d turn this aggressive from hunger. President, I never meant for this to happen. I was just angry, I didn’t think Cooper would actually get hurt."
Tessa looked at her assistant, his face full of guilt and helplessness. She couldn’t bring herself to scold him.
"I’m not blaming you. I just…"
"Forget it. You only wanted to let off steam. I don’t blame you."
Even as the Shiba Inus tore into me, vicious and unrelenting, I heard every word she said clear as day.
A strange numbness began to spread through me.
My body was riddled with bite wounds. My hand, bloodied and weak, could no longer hold onto the iron rod; it slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground with a sharp clang.
Then came the wail of a police siren.
As the last of my strength drained away and the dogs pinned me down once more, tearing into my flesh, a cold, cruel smile tugged at my lips.
The one I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
