Chapter 4 [3]

"Speak, you bastard!" Sam snapped while grabbing Wayne's body. "Enough with the empty talk. I've wasted a lot of time dealing with you alone, you bastard!"

"Beatrice, your father owes up to a hundred million dollars," Wayne said with a trembling voice. Meanwhile, Beatrice maintained her cold expression. Did her father think she had money to spare? She didn't. So why was he talking as if she were the one responsible for the debt? How convenient.

Beatrice was certain that the amount of money involved included an exorbitant interest. These loan shark thugs should have been wiped off the face of the earth a long time ago. Why were they still around?

"Beatrice has the money to pay, right, dear?" Wayne glanced at his daughter, his eyes filled with hope. Occasionally, a whimper escaped and reached the girl's ears. Perhaps due to her frustration and disappointment with Wayne's behavior all this time, Beatrice could only muster a thin smile. "No, I don't."

"It must be in your bag!" Wayne concluded nervously. He didn't care if there was a continuation of the drama where Beatrice scolded him. What he cared about was getting free from Sam and his cronies today.

"What's wrong with you, Dad?" Beatrice exclaimed in disbelief. She pulled her bag back, which had been on her shoulder the whole time. This scene was observed only by the thug who had been watching this family drama.

"Let go!" Beatrice firmly demanded.

"It's in this bag, Sam. I'm sure my daughter is keeping the money here!"

"Let go!" Beatrice continued to defend her bag.

After a while, Sam let them continue their futile struggle over the old red bag. However, he couldn't stay there for too long. He acted swiftly, snatching the bag that had been the subject of the tug-of-war between father and daughter.

"Hey!" Beatrice glared, unwilling to accept defeat.

Sam looked into the bag he now held and found nothing but books, some stationery, and a jacket. He didn't care. Seeing that, he slammed the bag along with its contents onto the floor.

"What a waste of my time!" he shouted loudly. Then, he grabbed Beatrice's face tightly. "You... I'll give you one day to come up with the money I want."

Beatrice spat in Sam's face. "No way! It's not my debt. Take this old man with you and make him take responsibility."

Was Sam angry?

Not at all. Ever since he first saw Beatrice, there was something different about the girl he was now staring at so intently. The pitch-black gaze, which turned out to be even more beautiful up close, stirred something within him, something that made him incredibly curious.

Sam felt an urge to confine and punish this girl himself, without anyone else knowing what kind of punishment he would administer.

"You better watch your words when you talk to me." Sam rarely called someone by a familiar nickname, but for some reason, his lips uttered these words in front of Beatrice. He wanted to think more, but time was running out. "Consider this debt as your guarantee. I'm giving you twenty-four hours to free yourself. But if that time runs out, you're mine, Miss Beautiful."

"Jerk!"

"Your mouth really deserves to be punished," Sam wanted so badly to injure the lips that had just insulted him. Making a small cut on the corner of the girl's lip wouldn't be difficult for him, but Sam refrained from doing so. "Wait for my revenge, you. I'll make your lips understand the language of punishment!"

Then the tall man left just like that, followed by his henchmen who looked at Beatrice with a fierce and disdainful gaze. Though Beatrice's heart was filled with anxiety, she tried not to care. She directed her anger, which had consumed her, towards her father. As a result, their argument was eventually broken up by the neighbors.

Beatrice thought that the threat was just empty words until she returned home from campus, only to be intercepted by the thugs again. Beatrice didn't have that much money. She also refused to believe that the money she had gathered was solely for paying her father's debt. She would never agree to that.

Right, wasn't it just an empty threat? Their car immediately left after Beatrice insisted on not paying her father's debt. She also ignored the threat of being used as collateral.

However... the threat became a reality.

That night, Beatrice was forcibly dragged out of her rented house. Her father could only watch without being able to help. No matter how much Beatrice cursed, screamed for help, and swore that she would never forgive her father's actions, she was still pulled by the thugs.

Now, this was the place.

She wiped away the sudden tears. The pain she felt in her chest was nothing compared to the disappointment and anger she had. Beatrice herself didn't know what time it was now. A sense of drowsiness began to overwhelm her. She slowly moved to the available corner with a makeshift floor mattress, just to close her eyes for a moment.

Just as she was about to lie down, accompanied by a groan and cautious movements to avoid further pain on her chest, the room door swung wide open. Bright light from outside flooded in, making Beatrice squint. She immediately got up from her lying position. After gaining control of the situation, Beatrice focused her eyes on the figure standing at the door.

"Missed me?"

Beatrice took a wide step forward. Her hand clenched tightly, ready to strike the man's face, but... her movement was abruptly halted.

"Wow! Big fan of aggressive girls, huh?" Sam said with a smirk. He took a step closer, causing Beatrice to take a few steps back. She struggled to free her hand from his grasp.

What did Sam do?

Of course, he didn't do anything.

"Come with me!" he ordered, without room for refusal.

"Let go, you bastard!"

Sam didn't care.

"Damn it! Crazy thug!"

Sam enjoyed the insults but kept pulling Beatrice with a strong grip. She was like a prisoner ready to be tortured whenever he pleased.

"Let go, you bastard!"

"I've been patient enough. If you insult me again, don't regret it when I get rough with you tonight!"