Joy asked, "Why?"

"Why? Of course, it's because you don't know your place. Your mom has been dead for years, yet you’re still trying to hold onto the Quinn family's fortune? Those things are supposed to be mine. What right does a daughter of a homewrecker like you have to enjoy the Quinn family's splendor and wealth?"

Joy could tolerate everything, but she could not stand her mother being insulted. She rushed up to Charmaine, her voice squeezing through her teeth, "My mom isn't a homewrecker. She had no idea you and your mom existed when she married Dad. You drove her to her death!"

Charmaine did not expect Joy to talk back to her and was about to hit her.

Just then, the lounge door was suddenly pushed open.

Charmaine caught Leon's figure out of the corner of her eye. She quickly grabbed the nuts on the table and stuffed them into her mouth. The next second, she collapsed limply and mumbled, "Joy, why did you force me to eat this? I'm allergic to nuts..."

Leon rushed toward Charmaine and pushed Joy away.

Joy staggered backward, and her back hit the coffee table behind her. With a crash, the cups on the coffee table shattered. The glass shards pricked Joy's hands, making them bleed profusely. ​

Leon did not even glance at her. He quickly crouched and held Charmaine in his arms. "Charmaine, are you okay?"

Teary-eyed, Charmaine helplessly grabbed Leon's arm. "I just wanted to catch up with Joy. I don't know how I offended her. She suddenly forced me to eat those snacks... Look at me. Do I have rashes on my body?"

Leon looked down and saw Charmaine's body breaking out in large patches of red rashes at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What should I do? The party isn't over yet. I can't embarrass you. Makeup... Yes, I need to cover it with makeup!"

Leon clamped Charmaine's wrist. "This is no time to think about these things. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital." Leon picked up Charmaine in his arms and glared at Joy before leaving.

Joy endured the excruciating pain and got up. The blood from her hands kept pouring out, and the hem of her skirt was soaked red in the blink of an eye. However, she did not feel the pain. It was as if all her senses were taken away after falling into an abyss. She asked an attendant to bring the medical kit, and she bandaged the wounds with difficulty. After all the work, Joy was exhausted and was about to leave with heavy steps.

As soon as she entered the corridor, several figures suddenly jumped out and dragged her to the storage room next door without saying anything. Then, a big hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. High-concentration chili pepper water was immediately poured into her mouth. Joy widened her eyes in horror. She was allergic like Charmaine, but to peppers. This much pepper water was enough to kill her!

"Ugh... Let me go..." Joy struggled desperately.

However, those people did not give her a chance to resist at all. They poured glass after glass of chili pepper water into her mouth.

She choked until her face turned red. Her body twitched violently and uncontrollably. Her injured hands scratched weakly on the ground, making a heart-wrenching sound.

Seeing her in such a state, those people not only did not stop but also insulted her more harshly.

"Charmaine is the apple of Leon's eyes. How dare you touch her? Don't you know your place?"

"I heard that you were bullied a lot in school. You've probably hooked up with many men. How could someone as proud and arrogant as Leon want a filthy woman like you?"

"Finish the chili pepper water as an apology to Charmaine or you'll suffer!"

Joy's vision became more and more blurred, and her consciousness gradually began to fade.

She used up her last bit of strength and pretty much unconsciously said Leon's name, "Leon..."

As soon as she finished speaking, a mocking laugh rang out overhead.

"Hahaha! You're not counting on Leon to save you, are you?"

"He made us feed you the chili pepper water. You hurt Charmaine. He's hoping you'll die!"

"Come on, let's tear her clothes to shreds, take a photo, and send it to Leon. We’ll help Leon vent his anger!"

The men rushed up and tore Joy's dress to shreds in the blink of an eye. They kept taking photos of the dying and disheveled Joy until she could no longer take it and passed out.

When Joy woke up, she was already lying on a hospital bed.

Leon was sitting beside the bed, working on his laptop. As if sensing something, he looked up at Joy.

Their eyes met, and Leon subtly breathed a sigh of relief, but his tone remained as icy as ever. "Does it feel good to be bullied? Remember this lesson and don't give Charmaine trouble ever again."

Joy silently turned her head away, a tear quietly sliding down from the corner of her eye.

In the past, she had viewed Leon as her savior. However, how was his behavior now any different from that of her bullies?

Leon looked at the silent girl on the hospital bed and felt uneasy for some reason. He thought, 'She acted out of jealousy and harmed Charmaine. She deserves to be in this state. However, why do I feel heartbroken when I see her crying?'

Just then, a young nurse pushed the door open. "Mr. Scott, the air conditioning in Ms. Quinn's ward broke down..."

Leon frowned. "If it's broken, just fix it. Do you need to inform me of such a trivial matter?"

"We've already reported it for repair, but the repairman will only arrive in an hour. Ms. Quinn keeps saying she's cold, and the hospital has no extra wards for her..."

Hearing this, Leon immediately stood up. "Is this how the hospital handles things? Does it take this long to fix an air conditioner? Charmaine has always had poor health and can't handle the cold. Have Joy go over there and switch Charmaine to this ward." He frowned deeply.

"Well..." The young nurse looked at Joy on the bed, somewhat hesitantly.

Joy was allergic to chili peppers and was fed so much chili pepper water. She survived, but her esophagus and gastric mucosa were severely injured. Any slight mishap would put her in danger again.

Charmaine just had some nuts. Getting some allergy shots would make her better. However, the suffering Joy endured seemed to be insignificant to Leon.

Leon asked, "Why are you still standing there? If Charmaine freezes, this hospital can forget about continuing operations!"

Now that Leon had said that, the young nurse could only obey.

Soon, Joy was transferred to Charmaine's ward.

Leon went to accompany Charmaine, leaving Joy lying alone in a daze in the huge ward.

Recalling everything she had experienced during this period, she could no longer suppress her emotions and broke out in tears. A chill came over her as she cried. Looking toward the chill, Joy suddenly discovered that the air conditioner was on and was blowing out cold air!

She instantly understood everything.

Charmaine deliberately said that the air conditioner broke down just to switch her over so that she could suffer in the cold and so that Charmaine could vent her anger.

As the temperature in the ward lowered, Joy felt the cold seeping into her bones. Even her teeth were trembling.

She tried to call for help, but her throat was so swollen that she could not make a sound.

She reached for the call bell, but her arm was weak and fell back down after a few seconds. Joy lost all hope and could only curl up, trying to hold on to the last bit of warmth.

After an unknown amount of time, someone finally found her, who was forgotten in despair.

When Joy tried to open her eyes, she saw Charmaine's gloating face.

"Joy, look at you. What's the difference between you and a stray dog?

"Leon made you suffer just to help me get justice. Now, everyone has photos of you being abused. They're all making fun of you.

"By the way, a pornography company just contacted me and asked if you would like to be the heroine of their next film. Hahaha..."

Charmaine laughed as she spoke. When she stopped laughing, she suddenly grabbed the most severely ulcerated part of Joy’s arm and pinched it hard.

Blood gushed out and Joy felt her vision go black.

"So, do you finally understand who he loves? If you know what's good for you, admit that your mother is a homewrecker and disappear from my sight. Spare me from feeling nauseous every time I see your face!"

The light in Joy's eyes faded, replaced by endless silence.

Disappear?

She would.

Soon, she would go to a foreign country and never look back.

The day before she would leave abroad, Hector sent someone to pick up his two daughters from the hospital.

Joy and Charmaine got into the same car. Unexpectedly, halfway through the ride, the driver suddenly changed directions onto a small road.

By the time Joy sensed something was off, the car had already stopped in front of an abandoned factory. The driver opened the car door, and two fierce-looking abductors rushed up and dragged her and Charmaine out.

Terrified, Charmaine shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help! Let me go!"

Joy was also stunned.

Their father had arranged the driver. How could he have been bribed by the abductors?

While she was deep in thought, the two were thrown into a shoddy room.

The abductor said icily, "One of you is Leon's fiancée and the other is Leon's future sister-in-law. It's not too much for me to ask him for a ransom of 100 million dollars."

Charmaine widened her eyes. Before she could speak, the abductors had already dialed Leon's phone number and put it on speaker.

"Hello?" Leon's deep voice came through the receiver.

The abductor gave Charmaine a look, and Charmaine immediately sobbed, "Leon, it's me. I'm Charmaine! I... I've been abducted. They're demanding a ransom of 100 million dollars..."

Leon's tone instantly turned cold. "Don't touch Charmaine! Send the account number over and the money will be transferred immediately."

Hearing this, the abductor held the phone to Joy's mouth again. "Say a few words too. If Leon adds another five million dollars, we can release you too."

Joy clenched her fists.

Leon hated her. He would not be willing to spend money to save her.

Just as she was thinking about what to say, another abductor came up to his accomplice and whispered, "Boss, didn't Ms. Joy say 100 million dollars? Why..."

Although the abductor's voice was not loud, Leon, on the other end of the phone, heard it.

Leon's fingers grasped the phone tightly. His face was so gloomy.

He thought, 'It turns out that Joy and the abductors were in cahoots! It’s no wonder the driver was bribed and the abductors asked me for 100 million dollars.'

Leon answered coldly, "Whether Joy lives or dies has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want!"

Since Joy wanted money so much, he would give it to her to end their ill-fated relationship.

Hearing this, Joy's heart sank to her stomach.

It turned out that Leon really wanted her dead... He never loved her and only felt endless hatred toward her.

...

Not long after, there was the sound of emergency brakes outside the warehouse.

Leon rushed into the warehouse and hugged Charmaine in his arms.

Then, he glanced at Joy in the corner as if he was looking at trash and said to the abductors, "The money has been transferred. You can do whatever you want with Joy. Whether to sell her to a remote area or kill her is up to you."

Joy watched Leon walk away with Charmaine in his arms.

After the two left, the abductors stopped pretending and displayed a mocking expression. "I heard that you slept with Leon before. I thought he would have some feelings for you. Who knew he would be reluctant to pay a mere five million dollars? It shows that your status is worse than a pet to him!"

Joy looked at the abductors indifferently. "You got the money. Can I leave now?"

The abductors seemed to have heard a joke. "Leave? We've got the money, but our job isn't done. Just wait and enjoy yourself!"

The two men rushed toward Joy with a sly smile and tore off her clothes.

The next second, a hot cigarette butt burned her skin!

Joy screamed miserably, and cold sweat and tears streamed down her face.

Seeing her in such a disheveled state, the abductor became even more excited. "I heard that this is how you were bullied in school. Today, we'll help you relive that experience."

"Boss, why don't we brand her?"

"Sure, what word shall we use?"

"Slut. It's perfect for her! Hahaha..."

The cigarette butt pressed against her legs, her waist, and her back. Joy was sweating profusely from the pain and almost lost consciousness.

After some time, the two finally stopped and walked away, laughing maniacally.

Joy curled up, her body twitching from time to time.

It was not until the sky darkened and the piercing pain gradually faded that she struggled to get up. Holding herself against the wall, she staggered forward.