INTRODUCTION:

I go to the boutique my son has invested in to pick up the gown I've ordered for a banquet. Just as I'm about to leave, the manager, Wendy Reed, stops me and says that I still owe them money.

She pulls out the bill. I look down at it and see that the boutique is charging me 300 thousand dollars for their creativity, 500 thousand dollars for fabric therapy, and one million dollars for their chief designer's mental wellness.

On top of other expenses, the price totals up to two million dollars. I laugh incredulously and send a message to my secretary.

"Withdraw our funding from my son's company and this boutique!"

CHAPTER-NAME:

"You're already wearing our shop's haute couture brand. You'd better not tell me you can't afford it." The lady in front of me crossed her arms and sized me up condescendingly.

I felt like laughing. Where did a tiny boutique like this get the audacity to call their gown haute couture? Despite looking barely 20 years old, she was terribly haughty.

I suppressed my anger and pulled out my phone to call my son, Cole Sanders. He invested in this boutique, after all, so he should be the one to clean up this mess.

However, all I heard was a robotic voice from the other end of the line. "The person you are trying to reach is not available."

I frowned and tabbed on WhatsApp to contact him, but my messages wouldn't send. Cole had blocked my number. Taking a deep breath, I put my phone away and forced myself to calm down.

I looked at Wendy Reed and said solemnly, "I'm Yasmine Miller, the mother of your biggest investor, Cole. His funding for this boutique comes from me."

I thought that revealing my identity to her would intimidate her. However, Wendy didn't even bother verifying it after hearing my name. Instead, she cackled.

"Drop the act, old hag. I've seen your name in Cole's contact list, checking in on him every day to cozy up to him. How shameless can you be to seduce a young man like Cole when you're this old?"

The other store clerks also whispered amongst themselves and looked at me disdainfully. It seemed like they were enjoying the show. It was at that moment that I finally realized that the elegant, smart, artistic, and perfect girlfriend Cole had mentioned was the foolish, mean, and evil lady before me.

The ridiculously expensive bill I had received today wasn't a misunderstanding. It was Wendy's scheme to humiliate me, whom she thought was her love rival.

Just as I figured everything out, Wendy lost her patience. The smile on her face disappeared. Her expression twisted with jealousy and hatred.

"Stop standing there in a daze and pay up!" Her sharp voice cut through the superficial peace in the boutique. "Pay up, or you're not getting out of here today!"

She shot a glance at two of the male sales clerks next to her. "Lock the door!"

They seemed to be the security guards. At her command, one of them locked the glass door while the other slowly approached me.

I asked harshly, "What are you doing? This is unlawful imprisonment!"

Wendy snorted as if she had heard a joke. "Unlawful imprisonment?

"A homewrecker who's been trying to seduce another person's boyfriend like you has no right to cite the law. In the name of justice, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

At her words, two tall men pinned me down.

CHAPTER-NAME:

They pinned me down to the floor roughly. I was pressed against the cold floor, and my bones ached.

Wendy slowly walked up to me and looked down at me triumphantly. She raised her foot and aimed her sharp heel at my stomach before stomping down.

Pain spread from my stomach to every inch of my body. I blacked out from the pain and curled up.

"You witch! How dare you seduce my man! How dare you!"

Cursing incessantly, she ordered the men, "Beat her as hard as you can! Beat her until she begs for you to stop!"

Endless punches and kicks rained down on my body, my back, my legs, and my arms. It felt like my bones were about to shatter.

I gritted my teeth and glared at her. Whimpers escaped my mouth involuntarily.

I tried to explain and struggle, but my attempts were met with only heavier blows. They stomped on my back and crushed my dignity.

They pulled my hair until it was disheveled. My expensive silk jacket was torn and dusty from rolling around on the floor.

I didn't know how long it lasted. It might have just been a few minutes, but it felt like a century.

They beat me until my head was dizzy and my vision turned blurry. Only when I tasted blood in my mouth was Wendy satisfied. She ordered them to stop and walked up to me.

Then, she stepped on my shoulder with the very same heel that crushed my dignity and pinned me to the floor. She looked down at me with twisted triumph.

"How's that, old hag? Have you reflected on your mistakes?"

She crouched and lifted my chin with her finger and forced me to look at her arrogant face. Her nails were painted red.

"Now, let us discuss how much you owe me." Her smile was greedy and sinister when she said, "You still have to pay the two million dollars I billed you.

"In addition, you traumatized me today, so you need to pay me three million dollars as compensation." She slapped my cheek lightly in a condescending manner.

"In total, you owe me five million dollars. This is what you get for seducing my man and forcing me to design a gown for you.

"You're not leaving unless you pay up. I'll share how you've been seducing men all these years on the internet and ruin your reputation!" Wendy added.

I lay on the floor. It was hard to breathe with the pain. I knew that I would die here if this went on.

Wendy was insane. There was no point in talking to a lunatic.

I hacked up blood. The red splatters on the floor were frightening.

With all the energy I had left, I raised my head and looked at her. My voice was hoarse and weak. "Fine… I'll pay…"

She smiled greedily and triumphantly. "You should've done this in the first place."

I ignored her mocking statement and unlocked my phone. Then, I called a number I remembered well.

The call quickly connected. The voice of my best friend, Helen Nelson, came from the other end of the line.

"Yasmine? What's wrong? Your voice sounds off."

Seeing the arrogant look on Wendy's face, I calmly said with all my strength, "Bring five million dollars to the location I'll be sharing with you right now."

Then, I ended the call and sent her my location.

CHAPTER-NAME:

Helen arrived sooner than I expected. When she saw me lying on the floor, bruised and disheveled, she paled.

"Yasmine!" She cried out in shock and rushed to my side.

Carefully, she helped me up. "Oh, my goodness. Who did this to you?"

Her eyes turned red. Her voice was filled with rage and pain.

Leaning on her, I felt comforted. I shook my head, indicating that I was fine.

Without another word, I grabbed the debit card Helen handed to me and threw it at Wendy's feet. The metal card clattered against the floor.

"The password is 777777. There are five million dollars in it. After you take this, you'd better pray that the rest of your life will still be peaceful."

Saying that, I limped out with Helen's help without sparing Wendy another glance. Behind me, Wendy and the store clerks whispered amongst themselves excitedly.

After walking out of that disgusting boutique, I took a deep breath of the fresh air outside and felt revitalized. Upon entering Helen's spacious van, I called Lucas Larson, the chief assistant of my company.

"Withdraw all our funding from Wendy Boutique. I want this boutique to disappear from this city in three days."

On the other end of the line, Lucas didn't ask anything. He simply replied, "Alright, Ms. Miller. I'll handle it right away."

After ending the call, I said to Helen without hesitation, "Helen, send me to the nearest police station."

Ordering the driver to turn around, Helen looked at me worriedly. "Yasmine, with your wounds… Shouldn't you go to the hospital first?"

I shook my head. My eyes were cold and determined.

"I'll go to the hospital after I report them to the police. I want to file a case and get a forensic medical evaluation as soon as possible."

At the police station, I described everything to the police officer. The police officer started to look at me differently when I mentioned that five million dollars was involved.

After leaving the police station, we headed straight for the hospital. The doctor examined me thoroughly. With the transaction history, witnesses, and the forensic medical evaluation, I had all the proof I needed to accuse Wendy.

Lucas called me again, "Ms. Miller, I found it. Mr. Sanders is currently having a meeting with several department managers in the conference room on the highest floor of the company."

I went to the company with my driver and the bodyguards I just hired. The door to the conference room was left slightly ajar. I ordered my bodyguards to wait outside and walked up to the door quietly.

Wendy was sobbing inside. "Cole, I'm scared…

"That old hag was terrifying. Not only did she refuse to pay yesterday, but she also threatened me with her men. She even said she was going to put my boutique out of business…

"I'm just a normal girl who likes designing clothes. What did I do wrong? Why do I have to be bullied by some rich customer?"

She twisted the truth and made herself sound like a pitiful artist who had been abused by a powerful customer. Then, I heard Cole say angrily, "Don't be scared, Wendy.

"I'm here. I won't forgive her if she lays a finger on you!

"So what if she's rich? It means nothing!

"Don't worry. I'll order someone to hunt her down and make her kneel and apologize to you!"

He hugged her and gently comforted her in front of the company's department managers, promising her everything.

The conference room was dead silent. No one had the guts to speak up.

They had worked for me for years. I guessed that their current expressions must be a very interesting sight to behold.

The son that I had raised for over 20 years vowed to make his mother kneel before a deceitful woman. He even turned an important company meeting into a private rendezvous with his girlfriend to comfort her.

I couldn't bear to listen to him anymore. Raising a hand, I gestured to the bodyguards behind me. The bodyguards immediately caught on and kicked the thick door without hesitation.

The door opened with a loud bang. Everyone stood up in shock at the sudden turn of events. They looked at the door, stunned.

I swept my gaze across the room and looked at Wendy and Cole, who were in each other's arms.

"No need to hunt me down. I'm right here. I heard that you were going to teach your mother a lesson, Cole."