1 I was about to leave the restaurant my brother owned when the manager stopped me, her smile tight and professional. “Excuse me, miss. You haven’t paid your bill.” I didn’t recognize her; she must have been new. I offered a polite smile in return. “It’s fine, just put it on the owner’s tab. He’ll know.” Her eyes raked over me, a flicker of contempt in her gaze. “Miss, this is a three-Michelin-star establishment. We don’t do ‘tabs’.” She slid a printed receipt onto the table in front of me. I glanced down. The total was fifty thousand dollars. Luminous Cutlery Maintenance Fee: $3,000. Exclusive Air Purification Fee: $5,000. VIP Emotional Soothing Service: $10,000. And a dozen other ludicrous charges. I had no idea my brother was running such a scam. A laugh, sharp with anger, escaped my lips. “I am Mr. Thorne’s sister. If there’s an issue, have him take it up with me at home.” But she wouldn’t let it go, her voice dripping with scorn. “Can’t afford it, don’t pretend you can. Now you’re trying to claim you’re related to Mr. Thorne?” I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to my assistant: Tell my brother: either she’s fired, or I pull my funding. 2 “Miss, let’s not waste everyone’s time. Please pay,” the manager said, her tone sharp and certain. She’d already pegged me as some vain gold digger trying to dine and dash. A few heads had turned in our direction, sensing drama. I frowned, having no patience for this foolishness, and dialed my brother’s number directly. A cold, automated busy signal. I tried again. Same result. What is that idiot doing on a workday? I put my phone down and looked the woman square in the eye, enunciating each word with deliberate calm. “I will say this one more time. My name is Isabelle Thorne. I am the sister of your boss, Todd Thorne.” “His phone is busy right now, but you can check his personal account. My photo and information are linked to it for verification.” I thought that would be the end of it. Instead, upon hearing my name, the manager, Tiffany, burst into a shriek of laughter. It was a high, grating sound that drew even more attention. She leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper only I could hear. “Still keeping up the act? I’ve seen your face before. It was all over my Todd’s social media.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “You shameless bitch, seducing my man behind my back.” “And now you have the nerve to waltz into his restaurant and try to charge a meal to his account? Is your skin made of concrete?” For a moment, I was stunned speechless. I glanced at her name tag—Tiffany Reed. This was her. The girlfriend Todd had been hiding, the one he’d never even shown me a picture of. How could his taste be this appallingly bad? It hit me then. The fifty-thousand-dollar bill wasn’t a mistake. It was a calculated, premeditated humiliation. Before I could speak, her patience snapped. “Since this lady wants a free meal, we’ll have to restrain her until the police arrive!” She gestured behind her. Two hulking security guards who had been standing by stepped forward. One clamped a hand over my mouth, stifling my protest, while the other twisted my arms behind my back with brutal efficiency. I struggled, but the disparity in strength was immense. My resistance was useless. Ignoring my furious glare and the shocked gasps of other patrons, they dragged me toward the back of the house. I was thrown into a supply closet that reeked of bleach and stale mop water. The door slammed shut, plunging me into darkness. 3 In the pitch black, Tiffany didn’t say a word. She simply lifted her stiletto-heeled foot and drove it into my stomach. The pain was explosive, coiling through me, and I crumpled to the floor, my stomach churning. “That’s for spending my man’s money!” she screeched, her voice distorted by rage. “That’s for trying to steal him!” She loomed over me, a dark silhouette. “Get her!” she ordered the guards. “And don’t hold back.” Her two lapdogs didn’t hesitate. A relentless storm of fists and feet rained down on me. I bit my lip, swallowing the groans of pain. It felt like my bones were being shattered, inch by inch, my organs knocked out of place. Her shrieking continued. “Who the hell do you think you are? Just another piece of trash throwing yourself at him!” “I told you, I’m his sister!” I gasped out. “If you don’t believe me, call Todd right now! I’ll talk to him!” She ignored me. The beating continued until my vision started to swim. Only then did she raise a hand to stop them. She pressed the point of her heel into my shoulder, her voice a triumphant purr. “You should have just paid the bill. And now, you’re going to pay another fifty thousand.” “This is what you get for seducing my man and trying to live off his money.” Her tone was smug. “Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of killing you. Todd will clean up any mess I make.” Curled on the floor, I forced the words out. “It’s my own money… I told you… ask him…” Her face darkened. She kicked me again, and the guards resumed their assault. I knew then that nothing I said would matter. If this continued, I might actually die in this filthy closet. After I coughed up a mouthful of blood, I used the last of my strength to fumble for my phone. “Stop… I’ll… I’ll pay.” Pleased with my surrender, she signaled for the guards to stop. She crouched down, patting my swollen cheek. “See? Was that so hard? You just had to learn the hard way.” “One hundred thousand dollars. Not a penny less.” I lay on the cold floor, gasping for air, my lungs on fire. I ignored her and dialed my best friend, Maya. She answered immediately. “Maya, I need you to bring two hundred thousand in cash to Todd’s restaurant.” My voice was a ragged whisper. “Right now.” Maya paused on the other end, her voice sharp with concern. “Isabelle? What’s wrong? You sound…” “Don’t ask. Just hurry.” I cut her off and ended the call. At the mention of “two hundred thousand,” Tiffany’s eyes lit up with a flash of pure greed. She probably thought I was so terrified that I was doubling the payment to beg for mercy. The smirk on her face was sickening. “Smart girl.” 4 Maya was impossibly fast. Minutes later, the closet door was thrown open. She strode in, flanked by two of her own bodyguards. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw me—the blood on my lips, my torn clothes, my pathetic state on the floor. She rushed forward to help me up. I shook my head, silently telling her not to speak. I took the bank card and password she held out and tossed it to Tiffany. With the card in hand, Tiffany didn't press her luck. She waved a dismissive hand. “If this is a fake, I have ways of finding you. Now get out.” Ignoring the searing pain that shot through my body with every movement, I let Maya help me limp out of that disgusting place. At the entrance, I turned to her. “Thank you, Maya. I’ll pay you back as soon as I sort this out.” “Forget the money,” she said, her eyes filled with worry. “Isabelle, what the hell happened to you?” A bitter laugh escaped me. “My little brother found himself a real keeper. It’s time I had a little chat with him.” I took out my phone and dialed the restaurant’s Vice President. He was the one who actually ran the place, a man I had personally headhunted. He was loyal to me, and me alone. He answered on the first ring. I didn’t waste time with pleasantries, my voice flat and devoid of emotion. “You have ten minutes to fire a manager named Tiffany Reed. Otherwise, the Thorne family withdraws all investment. Not a single cent will remain.” The VP sounded like he was about to have a heart attack. He must have heard the weakness and the steel in my voice. He agreed immediately, too terrified to even ask why. I hung up and, without a moment’s hesitation, hailed a cab to the nearest police station. With cold, clear logic, I recounted the events of the last hour to the attending officer. After giving a detailed statement, I went to the hospital for an official injury report. Holding that thin piece of paper, the quiet fury of betrayal inside me roared into an inferno. I needed an explanation. And I needed it from Todd himself. My assistant tracked him down to his villa—the villa I had bought for him. My own driver and bodyguards had arrived, and we drove there directly. But as we pulled up, the sound of deafening music and raucous laughter spilled out from the house. He was throwing a party. That’s why he hadn’t answered his phone. The front door was ajar. On a strange impulse, I paused before going in. Soon, I heard a familiar female voice, choked with tears. It was Tiffany. She was playing the victim for a crowd, painting herself as the poor, innocent girlfriend bullied by a vicious homewrecker. “...I just asked her to pay the bill, and she threw a hundred thousand dollars in my face and then had me fired…” “Todd, she’s horrible! She has no respect for you at all!” “She just wanted to humiliate me! She wants us to break up!” Inside, Todd’s sycophantic friends chimed in with righteous indignation. I heard my brother’s voice, loud and soothing, dripping with affection as he comforted her. “Don’t worry, Tiffany. I will never let you suffer like this!” Then, as if to prove his devotion, he made a grand promise to the room. “When I find that woman, I’ll make her kneel and apologize to you!” The crowd of rich idiots roared their approval, boasting about how they’d make me pay. “Just say the word, Todd! We’ll go drag her out here right now!” “Yeah! Teach her a lesson about who’s boss!” I had heard enough. I raised my hand, and my bodyguard kicked the door clean off its hinges. The music screeched to a halt. The laughter died. Dozens of stunned eyes snapped to the doorway. “No need to drag me out,” I said, my voice cutting through the silence. “I’m right here. Who was it that wanted to teach me a lesson?” 5 The air was frozen. The only sound was the sharp click of my heels on the marble floor as I walked, step by step, toward the couple entwined on the sofa in the center of the room. The expression on Todd’s face was a masterpiece of conflicting emotions. Shock, followed by a wave of pure, unadulterated fear. The color drained from his face. He instinctively started to let go of Tiffany, to stand up, but his gaze fell on her tear-streaked face, and he hesitated. In the end, a pathetic, blustering bravado replaced the fear. He remained seated, staring at me, as if a hard glare could mask the panic in his eyes. Tiffany, on the other hand, recognized me instantly. Her pupils contracted, but she quickly remembered where she was—this was Todd’s turf, surrounded by his friends. She burrowed deeper into his embrace, her sobs growing louder. “Todd, that’s her… She’s the one who bullied me…” she wailed, all while shooting me a look of venomous triumph. See? her eyes said. He’ll always protect me. I ignored her. My focus was solely on my dear brother. “Todd. I’m talking to you. Weren’t you just saying you were going to make me kneel and apologize to your girlfriend?” His throat worked, but no words came out. He was afraid of me. He always had been. He knew who really held the power in this family. His friends exchanged confused glances. One of them, a bleach-blonde idiot trying to impress Tiffany, stood up. “Who the hell are you? You can’t talk to Todd like that!” “You’d better apologize to Tiffany, or else—” He never finished his sentence. One of my bodyguards took a silent step forward, placing himself between me and the loudmouth. The sheer intimidating presence was enough to shut him up. I walked right up to Todd and looked down at him. “So, you’re not going to give me an explanation.” He finally found his courage, or a cheap imitation of it. He stood up, pulling me aside. “Sis, what are you doing?” he hissed, his voice a mixture of pleading and annoyance. “Are you trying to embarrass me in front of my friends? Tiffany didn’t mean it, she just has a temper. Can’t you just let it go?” I looked at him, and a wave of disbelief washed over me. Let it go? After she had me beaten and extorted me for a hundred thousand dollars, he wanted me to just let it go? “Todd Thorne,” I said, my voice dangerously calm. “Are you joking with me?” “I…” He faltered, his eyes darting away. Just then, the sound of sirens cut through the night, growing louder and louder, shattering the party’s phony atmosphere. Everyone froze. A moment later, several uniformed police officers walked grimly into the villa. The lead officer scanned the room, his gaze landing on me. “Are you Ms. Isabelle Thorne?” I nodded. “I am.” He produced a warrant and turned to the trembling woman behind my brother. “Tiffany Reed, you are under arrest for assault and extortion. Please come with us.”
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