Nikolas wore an expensive tailored suit, with several buttons of his shirt undone, faintly revealing his chest beneath.

He glanced at the chaotic room and maintained his calm demeanor. But when his gaze fell on Miranda, his voice softened considerably.

He raised his eyebrows and stepped forward to embrace Miranda. "What happened? Who hurt you?"

Miranda immediately adopted a delicate and aggrieved expression. "Nikolas, you finally arrived. These two young women must be crazy. She pretends to be your wife. They even caused trouble and attacked others. They even dared to offend Martin, the police officer."

Martin eagerly chimed in to support her. "Mr. Harris, you're here just in time! These two bad women from another place dared to cause trouble at the place of the Harris Group. They refused to pay the bill and even publicly insulted Mrs. Harris and you. I was just about to have them detained."

Nikolas finally turned his gaze to me. His eyes that once haunted my dreams now looked at me with disgust. "Rita, I really underestimated you. It's only been a year since the last time we met. And you've certainly learned a few tricks. Where did you pick up these thuggish tactics? You've embarrassed me completely!"

His cold eyes swept over Yana. "Now you have made friends with such an unprincipled woman and brought her to cause trouble in Caelton. It is the Harris Group's place. Do you think I don't exist?"

I spat out a mouthful of blood, and my knuckles clenched pale. "Mr. Harris, quite the display of power. I want to ask you, Miranda claims to be your wife and is forcing me to pay the bill. What does that mean?"

Nikolas narrowed his eyes slightly and kept silent for a few seconds before turning to glance at Martin. His voice carried a hint of deliberation. "Martin, get me the surveillance footage. I want to see what really happened."

Martin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly changed the subject. "Mr. Harris, there's no surveillance footage here. These two troublemakers came here and fought and smashed things. They think that we wouldn't accuse them after they damaged the cameras! Oh, actually, here's what happened. These two troublemakers took advantage of Mrs. Harris's kindness and tried to climb the social ladder at all costs. They used the bill payment as a pretext to first get acquainted with Mrs. Harris and then find a 'coincidence' to seduce you."

Martin pointed at me and said with righteous indignation. "These two lowlifes are nothing but streetwalkers! Mrs. Harris is a respectable woman. She tried to give them a chance to make it up by tactfully refusing their bill. But these troublemakers wouldn't let it go. They claim that they're from wealthy families and that they insulted her, saying she looked down on their families if Mrs. Harris refused their money."

Danny quickly chimed in, "That's right. Everyone here saw it clearly, and we can all testify. These scoundrels went berserk when Mrs. Harris disagreed with them. They cursed her for being unappreciative and even accused her of getting the Harris Group's money by seducing you. Mrs. Harris couldn't stand it and argued back, which led them to start a fight."

"You are twisting the facts and talking nonsense!" Yana angrily pointed at Miranda. "Clearly, Miranda was forcing us to pay the bill..."

"Shut up!" Martin interrupted harshly. "Who do you think you are? A pauper like you has no right to speak here! If it weren't for you stirring things up, saying Mrs. Harris isn't worthy of Mr. Harris, would this have blown up?"

Miranda adjusted her hair and cleared her throat a few times. "Nikolas, I understand they want to connect with me. But they cannot come here to cause trouble just to seduce you. It is going too far... I only refused to let them pay the bill, but they went berserk and even threatened to overthrow the Harris Group. They boasted that you'd better watch out."

Nikolas's face turned instantly grim. "Rita, you have received an education from a good college, but I never imagined you'd stoop like that. You can try to establish connections, but you cannot cause trouble when refused."

Nikolas's stern words were relentless, filled with disappointment. No matter what I said, he wouldn't listen to me. "You've been away for a year and returned with your brain scrambled! Miranda refused to build connections with you, but you resort to chaos. Is it appropriate for you to resort to violence? You are a young woman! Rita, have you no shame?"

"Nikolas, are you insane? I didn't..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Nikolas sharply interrupted. "You didn't what? Martin is known for his honesty. Would he fabricate the truth?"

He looked at me with deep disappointment, and his brows were tightly furrowed. "You've been spoiled by me. You don't learn well and always scheme to climb higher. When you fail, you go berserk. How did I ever end up marrying you back then?"

Miranda stood beside Nikolas and gently touched his chest. She looked broad-minded. "Nikolas, you've said enough. Calm down. Don't ruin your mood over her. She's just young, without bad intentions..." "Is she young without bad intentions?

She's just wicked!" Nikolas looked at Martin. "Martin, proceed according to the law. Let them pay for full compensation for the damages, medical expenses, and emotional distress, not a penny less! I want to see what she can pay!"

I looked at Nikolas's extremely gloomy face and couldn't help but sneer, "Fine."

I coldly glanced at Nikolas. "Full compensation, right? Tell me, how much are you trying to extort?"

Nikolas was momentarily stunned. Then he laughed out of anger. He raised his eyebrows at me and said with amusement, "I want ten million. Can you even afford that? You probably can't even come up with a million, right? Or are you planning to use your old tricks to seduce other rich guys in Caelton?"

Yana was tired of arguing and took out her phone. "Ten million, right? Just wait."

I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked at Yana. "My phone was smashed by them. Can you call my family for me?"

Yana quickly agreed.

"Haaa!" Miranda and Martin exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. "Are you two so caught up in your charade? Do you two really think you can magically produce ten million?"

Martin raised his eyebrows and waved the handcuffs in his hand in front of us. "Stop making fools of yourselves! We don't have time to waste on your nonsense. Just apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Harris now. If you can't come up with ten million soon, no one can save you, even if you desperately plead with them."

Danny looked impatient. He flexed his wrist and reached out to cuff us. "Behave yourselves. Do you hear that? Don't choose the hard way!"

Yana shielded me behind her. "Can't you wait? The money will be here soon."

"Really? Your pauper father is probably begging somewhere right now!"

Miranda laughed until tears came out. "And making a call? You two trying to cozy up to a rich man won't fetch that much in one go, right?"

Her people laughed mockingly behind her, and their harsh words echoed in the large hall.

Danny frowned and slapped Yana. He said in a warning tone, "Enough of the nonsense! If you don't come quietly with us, be prepared to have your legs broken!"

Just as he was about to cuff Yana, a deafening roar suddenly came from the sky.

The floor began to rumble, and the crystal chandelier above shook violently.

Yana and I simultaneously looked towards the sky a few meters away.

"It's here."

Everyone hurried into the courtyard. Just a few meters above them, a dozen fighter jets emblazoned with the Shaw family crest flew in a neat formation toward them.

The place was already surrounded by hundreds of black sedans. A luxury limousine was parked prominently at the entrance.

The roar was deafening.

Miranda's mocking expression vanished instantly. "How is this possible? What on earth is happening?"

The fighter jets circled overhead and created an immense sense of pressure.

At that moment, the car door opened, and a middle-aged man in a suit emerged, followed by dozens of bodyguards dressed in black.

The leading man strode forward and passed by the chaos. When his gaze landed on Yana and me, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face darkened instantly.

Ethan Norris, the butler of the Feng family, approached Yana with respect and cautiously checked her injuries. "Yana, are you alright?"

The butler of my family, James Powell, rushed to me. On seeing the bloodstains on my clothes and the humiliation mark on my face, he shouted angrily, "Rita, I'm sorry for what happened to you. I'll arrange for medical personnel to treat you immediately."

Miranda, Martin, and their underlings were all in shock. They were frozen in place and forgot to react.

Just a moment ago, they were riding on their power. But now, they resembled deflated balloons, unable to straighten up.

Yana accepted the handkerchief one bodyguard respectfully handed over to her and elegantly dusted off the dirt from her clothes. "Ethan, did you bring the cash? Didn't Mr. Harris demand ten million? Let him count it."

"Understood!" undefined responded respectfully and gestured to the bodyguards behind him.

Several bodyguards instantly walked over with a large suitcase. With a soft click, the suitcases were opened.

There was neatly stacked cash in it, enough to make anyone's pupils constrict.

Miranda's mind buzzed. If it weren't for Nikolas supporting her, she would have collapsed on the floor right away.

Martin and Danny exchanged glances. Their faces paled, and they shook like a leaf. Their teeth chattered uncontrollably.

James waved his hand slightly toward the back. Another team of bodyguards immediately came in with an identical suitcase.

"Mr. Harris, please take a look." He turned to Nikolas and continued, "You asked for the ten million. The Shaw and Fowler families have prepared ten million each. However..."

He paused for a few seconds as his gaze fell on Yana and me, who were badly injured. "Rita's necklace, which had been broken, was a gift from the queen of another country, worth 450 million. Miss Fowler's dress was hand-stitched by the royal seamstress of another country, with the gems alone worth 80 million. And there is the emotional damage and medical expenses. Let's round it up to nine hundred million. Would you prefer cash or a bank transfer for this sum, Mr. Harris? By dawn tomorrow, I expect to see nine hundred million paid. Otherwise, you will face the consequences. You can't bear to offend the Shaw and Fowler families! More importantly, Miss Saunders must be disciplined after she humiliated Rita."

Nikolas's followers had already shrunk back in fear. They gasped at James's words.

Those who had been jeering earlier wished they could disappear instantly to escape this terrifying scene.

Yana took the handkerchief from Ethan and casually wiped away the bloodstains. Then she cast a cold glance at Martin and Danny, who were trembling with fear. "You two police officers deliberately hurt us, framed the innocent, and abused your power... I'm going to take this straight to your superiors and settle this score in full."

Her gaze was fixed on Martin's face. "With all these charges, you'll serve a life sentence."

Nikolas's pupils contracted sharply as soon as he heard Yana's words. He looked at me as if I were a stranger, and his teeth chattered. "No! This can't be! Rita, how do you have so much money? What on earth is going on?"

I gazed at him flatly and watched his hysterical demeanor. Then I remembered that vibrant summer during my doctoral studies.