The Kaelaris family is the wealthiest and most powerful in New York. If old Mr. Norefax were to learn that the engagement had been ruined by his own son, it might very well shorten his lifespan.

At the thought, my mood improved slightly. I no longer had any interest in wasting time with these people and turned to leave.

But Lily refused to let it go. Emboldened by having someone backing her, she stepped forward again and blocked my path.

“Bitch, don’t think you can run! You stole my wine and tripped me—I haven’t settled the score with you yet!”

I looked at her with disdain. “And how do you plan to settle it?”

Thinking I was afraid, Lily reached out to grab my hair, intending to slap me.

“By beating you until I’m satisfied, of course.”

I turned my head—her slap missed, but she yanked my hair hard enough to sting. Without hesitation, I grabbed a pair of scissors from the table, cut off the section she held, and slapped her across the face.

She stared at me in disbelief and roared, “You went this far just to hit me?!”

I backhanded her again, my voice cold. “So what if I did?”

Those two slaps completely crushed Lily’s arrogance. With tears in her eyes, she retreated behind Ethan.

“Ethan, what kind of fiancée did your father choose for you? Good thing you canceled it.”

Ethan pulled Lily protectively into his arms, glaring at me as he spat, “You dare lay a hand on my woman? You must have a death wish!”

He gestured to the bodyguards behind him to seize me.

I struck first, knocking one of them to the ground—but I could handle one, not the second.

After taking several blows in quick succession, pain wracked my body and I collapsed. Two bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me before them.

Ethan backed Lily up. “Lily, vent however you like. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it.”

With that assurance, Lily’s confidence surged.

She grabbed my throat, snatched up the scissors, and hacked off the rest of my hair. My scalp was left with multiple cuts. Then she spat in my face.

“You were ugly to begin with. Now you’re even worse.”

As she spoke, she pressed her high heel down onto my face.

Clutching my throbbing cheek, I lifted my eyes to look at her and Ethan.

“If you dare treat me like this, my family will never let you off!”

Lily laughed arrogantly. “The Norefax family is one of the three major financial powers in New York. What insignificant little family do you come from, daring to go against us?”

Her gaze fixed on my face. “That birthmark of yours is really an eyesore. How about I help you get rid of it?”

As I struggled, I accidentally knocked over the bottle of wine.

The sharp crash of shattering glass rang through the air, and the dark red liquid splashed all over me.

The color was too much like blood. My pupils shrank involuntarily.

Enraged, she picked up a shard and slashed it across the mark on my face.

A searing pain spread from my cheek. My skin swelled, thin streaks of blood seeping out.

Then, a powerful bloodlust surged within me—I wanted to sink my teeth into her arm and drink.

She shrieked and recoiled.

Lily sneered, “What? Trying to pretend you’re a vampire to scare me?”

Someone nearby sighed, “We told her not to offend the Norefax family, but she acted so arrogantly. Now she knows she messed with the wrong people.”

“I’ve never seen such pale skin before. It’s a shame—it’s ruined now.”

“For ordinary people like us, it’s better to endure when we’re out in the world.”

Lily raised the shard again, ready to carve into my face once more. Afraid I might lose control and bite someone—afraid of hurting innocent people, and even more afraid of the trouble if my family found out—I hurriedly begged for mercy.

“I was wrong. The wine is yours. I shouldn’t have fought you for it.”

A gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge. For now, preserving the mark was what mattered most.

But Lily slashed me again.

“Bitch! You realize your mistake now? Too late.”

“You should thank me—without me, how would that birthmark ever be removed?”

“I let out a scream and looked to Ethan for help. ‘Ethan, I’m the daughter of old Mr. Kaelaris! If you let her bully me like this, you’ll definitely regret it!’

Ethan sneered. ‘Cut the lies. If you really were old Mr. Kaelaris’s daughter, why didn’t you say so from the start?’”

A vicious glint flashed in Lily’s eyes. “Weren’t you trying to bite me just now? Those teeth of yours are quite sharp. I’ll pull them out right now—let’s see if you still dare!”

She reached back, and a bodyguard placed a pair of pliers into her hand.

“No—!”

My phone suddenly rang from inside my bag. The ringtone sounded especially piercing in the silent store.

Lily paused, then rummaged through my bag and pulled out the phone. Glancing at the caller ID, she raised an eyebrow. “Brother?”

She answered and switched on speaker.

My brother’s voice came through, “Elaine, I heard you wanted red wine for your wedding? I was going to have someone buy it for you—why did you go yourself? What if something happened?”

I immediately shouted for help, “Brother, come save me! I—”

Lily clamped a hand over my mouth and said into the phone with a smile, “You’re her brother? Your sister tried to take my wine and even attacked me. I’m disciplining her for you.”

My brother’s voice turned cold instantly. “Who are you?”

“Lily Norefax.” She enunciated each word as if announcing an illustrious title. “Your sister has a loose tongue. I’m helping you teach her a lesson.”

My brother said sharply, “I don’t care who you are! Release my sister immediately, or when I get there, you’ll regret it!”

“Then come if you dare. I’ll be right here waiting. Let’s see if I don’t pull out all her teeth—then we’ll see if she still dares to bite!”

With a sharp crack, she hung up and smashed the phone into pieces.

Lily kicked me and cursed, “When your brother gets here, I’ll pull out all his teeth too!”

In just a few minutes, several of my teeth had already been yanked out. Even so, I endured the urge, refusing to expose my identity.

Finally, a familiar private plane appeared in my line of sight.

My brother stepped down.

“Let me see who dares to bully my sister!”

The moment I saw my brother Zain, a wave of grievance surged through me. My voice caught as I called out to him.

Zain glanced inside, and when he saw my condition, he didn’t recognize me at first.

His eyes turned red instantly. He rushed over, pulled me into his arms, and began licking some of my wounds, trying to heal them.

Only when I leaned against him did I finally feel safe.

The onlookers, meanwhile, were entirely focused on the private plane my brother had arrived in, exclaiming in astonishment.

“The plane looks exactly like the model used by the Kaelaris family. That girl can’t really be old Mr. Kaelaris’s daughter, can she?”

“Have you heard the rumors? They say the entire Kaelaris family are vampires!”

“Oh my god, don’t scare people like that! There’s no such thing as vampires in this world!”

Lily, however, didn’t take it seriously at all. Oblivious to the danger, she strutted right up to my brother.

“So you’re this ugly freak’s brother? Your sister had the nerve to steal the wine I wanted and even attacked me. Tell me—how are you going to settle this?”

Zain lifted his eyes to look at her. “How do you want to settle it?”

Not noticing the veins bulging at his temples, Lily made her demands without restraint.

“That bottle of wine was the only one, and your sister broke it. You’ll compensate me ten times its price. She tripped me and slapped me twice—I want her leg broken, the one she used to trip me, and I want her to slap herself two hundred times!”

“Most importantly, this bitch’s engagement to Ethan must be canceled. As his stepmother, I do not approve of this daughter-in-law.”

As if bestowing mercy, she added, “If you meet all these demands, I might graciously let you off this once. Otherwise, don’t even think about walking out of this store!”

Hearing her outrageous demands, even my brother let out a short, incredulous laugh.

He gently patted my head in reassurance before stepping toward Lily, one step at a time.

“The engagement will, of course, be canceled—because Ethan is not worthy of my sister. As for everything else…”

Zain raised his hand and seized Lily by the throat, lifting her into the air with one hand. “Don’t even dream of it. None of you are leaving this place alive today.”

Lily clawed desperately at the hand around her neck. Only when she was on the verge of suffocation did Zain release her. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

The bodyguards my brother had brought dragged her away, preparing to tie her to a large pillar behind them.

Struggling, Lily looked up at Ethan for help. “It hurts! Ethan, save me!”

Ethan gestured for his own bodyguards to act, but they were no match for ours. In the end, Lily was successfully bound, and Ethan himself was restrained and forced to stand before me.

Zain appeared behind Ethan in an instant and, without courtesy, kicked him sharply. Ethan dropped to his knees before me.

“Since childhood, my sister has been cherished and pampered—no one has ever dared treat her like this. You’re courting death! Apologize to my sister!”

Ethan shouted defiantly, “Apologize? You want the eldest son of the Norefax family to apologize to some wretched woman? I’ve been pampered my whole life too! Treat me like this, and you’re the one courting death!”

“You dared to lay hands on my sister—forget you, even if your father were here, I’d beat him all the same!”

The crowd grew even more astonished.

“His face is so pale, his strength so great, his movements so fast—and he talks like that. Who exactly is he?”

“Mr. Norefax used to be involved with the mafia when he was young. Later he washed his hands of it and founded the Norefax Group. In the Upper East Side, everyone gives him respect.”

“And now he’s provoked Mr. Norefax’s most beloved son. There’s no way he’ll get out of this unscathed.”

Zain paid no attention to their concerns. He gently cupped my injured face, his eyes glistening as if tears might fall at any moment.

“Elaine, your brother will avenge you.”