Chapter 5

A few seconds later, Ruben swallowed hard and whispered, "Teach her a lesson and make sure she doesn't come back."

Ruben's words seemed to give Colton and Jaxton confidence.

Jaxton still had his foot on my hand. He ground it into the floor.

The searing pain shot through my hand, but I bit down hard and refused to cry out.

Jaxton leaned down, and his spit nearly hit my face. "Apologize to Mr. Thomas and bark like a dog, or I'll kill you today."

I ignored him and looked up at Colton, who was standing nearby.

He looked down at me, and his gaze avoided mine, but there was more excitement than hesitation in his eyes.

My heart sank. That was the one I had trusted for years, my husband.

While I was being humiliated, he stood by and felt secretly pleased.

"Colton," I began, my voice trembling from the pain, "when your mother was on her deathbed, it was my hand she held."

Colton's pupils suddenly contracted.

"She said," I stared into his eyes and continued, "Elianna, if Colton ever lets you down, kick him out and don't leave him a single penny."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Those who had been mocking me earlier now wore awkward expressions.

A few whispered among themselves.

Colton's face turned deathly pale. His lips trembled as he wanted to say something, but he couldn't.

"Shut up! Are you still pretending?" Colton suddenly exploded. His voice was hoarse like a beast's. "How dare you mention my mom? If it weren't for you..."

"If it weren't for me, what?" I interrupted him with a cold sneer. "If it weren't for me, your mother would have died three years ago. I got her the best doctors and the most expensive medicine and let her stay in my grandfather's exclusive private ward. For three years, over a thousand days and nights, I paid for every cent of her medical, nursing, and nutrition expenses. How many times did you visit her? Once a week? Or once a month? The day she passed, where were you? Were you shopping with Kenzie? Or were you choosing her birthday gift?"

Colton was lost for words by my questions. His facial muscles twitched, and his eyes darted around in panic.

Seeing things take a turn, Jaxton impatiently cursed, "Why do you waste words on a lunatic?"

He reached out to tear my shirt.

I fought back with all my strength, and my nails left bloody marks on his hand.

"Damn!" Jaxton yelped in pain and gave me a slap.

The crisp sound echoed in the living room.

My cheek burned, and the metallic taste of blood quickly filled my mouth.

My vision darkened momentarily, and my ears buzzed.

Jaxton pinned me to the ground and unleashing a flurry of slaps.

"You bitch, just because you played nurse for a few days, you think you're Mr. Thomas's wife? You have unrealistic dreams and have to die."

My cheek burned, and the metallic taste of blood quickly filled my mouth.

My vision darkened momentarily, and my ears buzzed.

Jaxton stomped on my shoulder and ground it into the ground. "Mr. Thomas told you to crawl out like an animal."

Laughter erupted around me.

A few young men and women gathered. One kicked my waist with a stiletto heel. "Are you pretending to be dead? Weren't you just talking a lot?"

Another bent down and yanked my hair to force my head up. "Look at your face, so old and rough. And you dream of marrying into wealth?"

"Exactly. Even a dog would be better for Mr. Colton."

Jaxton released his foot and then suddenly squatted down to pat my face. "How about this? You crawl out under the pants of each of us for forgiveness, and today's incident will be forgotten."

He grinned and revealed yellowed teeth. "At the same time, you beg for mercy. How about that?"

I stubbornly refused and forced myself to look toward Ruben. "Ruben, don't push my limits. Turn back now, and I can still ensure your family comes out of this intact. Otherwise..."

Ruben turned his head away without hesitation. "I don't know what you're talking about, but when I used to clean for Mr. Thomas's mother, I did see you personally take care of her. If you weren't just a caregiver, Why did you go to such lengths to take care of her?"

His words drew even more laughter, and Jaxton snatched a baton from a security guard. He was about to jab it into my lower back.

The next moment, the distant sound of police sirens filled the air.

Everyone froze.

The hands pinning me down released their grip, and Jaxton instinctively took a step back. He looked panicked in his eyes.

Seconds later, the villa door burst open with a bang.

A few police officers stormed in, led by a stern-faced officer in his forties. "Nobody move! Hands on your heads!"

Chaos ensued in the living room.

Colton was the first to react.

He practically leaped in front of the lead officer and said while pointing at me, "Officer, you're just in time. This woman broke into our home. She stole and attacked us."

With that, he adjusted his suit and tried to maintain composure. But the tremor in his voice betrayed him. "She used to be our caregiver, but she's mentally unstable. We were trying to evict her, and she attacked us."

The lead officer glanced at Colton and then turned his gaze to me. I was disheveled, with a handprint on my face, and pinned to the ground.

"Who called the police?" he asked.

I slowly raised my left hand.

The smartwatch around my wrist was still flashing red, but the screen was shattered from the earlier impact.

"It was me," I said.

The officer stepped forward and crouched down. "Ma'am, take your time. What happened?"

I sat up from the ground and wiped away the blood from my mouth. My gaze swept over Colton, Kenzie, and Jaxton and finally rested on Ruben.

"I want to press charges against these people," I said flatly, and I had to slow down my voice because of the pain racking my body. "They assaulted me in a group and stole property worth millions. They illegally seized assets worth billions."