I am the sole heir to one of the world's most powerful conglomerates. My father's influence is absolute, stretching from boardrooms to the darkest corners of the underworld. Yet, at my own engagement party, I watched my fiancée hand a "Voluntary Transfer of Bodily Ownership" contract to my sworn enemy, Marcus Thorne. "Adrian, don't be angry." Vivian Linwood held the contract up for me to see, her tone light and airy. "I love you, so I'll save my precious first night for you." "I will always be your wife, but I'm giving Marcus ownership of my body." "What kind of joke is this?" My brow furrowed. I stepped forward to pull her back, but Marcus shoved me away. Vivian immediately stepped in front of him, her own brow furrowed in annoyance. "Adrian, don't be so old-fashioned! My body is mine to give to whomever I please!" Then, right in front of me, she stood on her toes and kissed Marcus. In that instant, I became the biggest joke in high society. Before the media could ignite a firestorm, I calmly sent a single text message. 【The Linwood family's gray-market enterprises no longer need our protection.】 1 Clutching the arm that ached from where Marcus had shoved me, I stared coldly at Vivian, who was now nestled in his embrace. 【Vivian, I gave you my love and my respect.】 【And you're crawling on your belly to be his dog?】 Marcus’s fingers traced Vivian’s cheek with insolent slowness, his eyes locked on mine in a blatant challenge. A blush crept up Vivian’s neck, but she only spared me a fleeting, dismissive glance. 【Adrian, my body is not for my nominal fiancé to decide.】 Marcus spread his hands in a gesture of mock helplessness, a sneer playing on his lips. 【Well, Mr. Maxine, you heard the lady. She’s a willing participant.】 【The great Adrian Maxine can’t even hold onto his own woman? I guess that’s my gain.】 Watching them, a sharp pain twisted in my gut. My fingers tightened on the edge of that vile contract. 【Don't forget, Vivian. Without me, your family would have been ruined long ago.】 But she was utterly unfazed. 【So?】 【Your grandfather promised that the Maxines would always take care of the Linwoods. Are you going to defy his wishes?】 She shot me a triumphant smirk, then snapped a photo of the contract and sent it to her friends' group chat. 【With the right training, two husbands isn't a problem. See? My two men, coexisting peacefully.】 The chat exploded. 【Vivi is a master at training men! Even the heir to the mighty Maxine fortune is begging for her affection like a puppy.】 【You're my hero, Vivi! Drop the masterclass, we all need to learn...】 The ballroom buzzed with whispers and stifled laughter. Eyes darted from Vivian to me, filled with a mixture of shock and pity. The mockery washed over me in waves. 【The Maxines have dominated this city for a century, an unshakable empire. And this spineless creature is their heir?】 【Looks like the Maxine dynasty won't last much longer…】 【What do you fools know?!】 A low, disapproving voice cut through the chatter, laced with a deep, almost fearful respect. 【The Maxine enterprise is far more than what you see on the surface. Years ago, the old man Maxine snapped his fingers and brought the city’s most dangerous crime syndicate to its knees. The families caught in that crossfire are still crawling out of the gutter!】 【You've all lived in peace for too long. Do you really think the Maxines are a family we can afford to gossip about?!】 A rare, sudden silence fell over the crowd. The gazes that now fell upon me were tinged with a dawning, horrified understanding. But I paid them no mind. Just as Vivian, a smirk playing on her lips, tried to force the contract into my hand, the grand doors of the hall swung open. My best friend, just back from the Delta to attend my engagement, strode in. 【Well, this is new. People actually begging to be put on a leash these days?】 Cassia Vance walked towards us, and the air itself seemed to part for her. She gave Vivian a cursory, dismissive glance before turning to me, her eyes filled with disapproval. 【Adrian, this woman is not fit to marry into the Maxine family. I'd say that even if your grandfather were standing right here!】 Others might have heard that and thought it was just about our family’s immense wealth dwarfing the Linwoods'. But Cassia was the only one here who knew the truth of who I really was. I knew what she meant. The Maxines, the silent bankers of the world's powers, needed a matriarch of substance and strength. 【Hah.】 Vivian laughed, crossing her arms. 【And what kind of woman am I? My grandfather was a hero who saved Mr. Maxine’s life! Who the hell are you to talk?】 Cassia ignored her, her voice cutting like glass. 【A hero? If it weren't for Adrian, your family would have sold you off in a marriage alliance for a pittance years ago! You wouldn't even be here yapping like a stray!】 Before Vivian could retort, Cassia rounded on Marcus. 【And you. A leech who built his career by having Vivian steal project data from Adrian. The two of you, playing at true love? It's pathetic.】 Watching Vivian’s face twist in fury, I felt a flicker of a memory. The day she’d run to me, begging for protection from an arranged marriage. She had been like a cornered kitten then, all claws retracted, hiding in my arms and sobbing. The tear that had fallen on my neck, a silent vow that she would marry no one else, seemed to burn me still. 【Adrian, you're the only one in the world who's ever been good to me.】 【Let me be part of your family. I want to protect you, too…】 But now, for another man, she stood against me without a moment's hesitation. Cassia saw the arrogant certainty in Vivian's eyes and sneered. 【You really think Adrian can't live without you? The second you lose the protection of the Maxine name, let's see if your new 'master' still wants his little pet.】 Vivian couldn't stand hearing a bad word about Marcus. She snatched a glass of water from a nearby table and threw it in my face. 【Adrian, you're the one who keeps a good dog on a leash!】 she shrieked. 【Make this bitch apologize to Marcus right now, or I'm leaving with him today!】 I lowered my eyes, slowly wiping the water from my face. This was supposed to be our happiest day. Instead, the woman I cherished had willingly become another man's property, making me the laughingstock of our entire social circle. A profound weariness washed over me. I didn't even look at them. 【Cassia,】 I said quietly. 【Let's go.】 Even with the Maxines moving quickly to suppress the news, someone was working against us in the shadows. The story spread through the city like a virus. What should have been a grand celebration ended in disaster. And right on cue, Vivian’s parents arrived at my door, bearing expensive gifts. 【Adrian, dear, Vivian is just young and foolish. Please, you have to understand. It was all that boy, Marcus, who led her astray!】 【That's right! The engagement between our families can't be broken over a childish tantrum!】 They took turns trying to soothe me, dismissing the whole affair as youthful indiscretion. I bit my tongue to keep from laughing out loud. The Maxines had kept a low profile for so long that these people actually thought they could be pushed around. 【Understand?】 I slapped a copy of the contract down on the table. A cold smile touched my lips but never reached my eyes. 【You want me to understand that she’s another man's pet?】 【The Maxine family can’t afford to worship at the altar of the Linwoods. This engagement is over.】 Seeing my resolve, Vivian's mother's face changed instantly. She slammed her hand on the table. 【Adrian! Don't you forget, my father took a bullet for your grandfather!】 【Without the Linwoods, there would be no Maxines! How dare you act so high and mighty with us?】 Her voice was shrill, all traces of her earlier warmth gone. I leaned back in my chair, elbow resting on the armrest, and a slow, chilling smile spread across my face as I looked at the two snarling figures before me. 【Yes. What a... tremendous debt we owe you.】 The next day, Vivian, breaking character, asked to meet. She said she wanted to explain. I waited on a street corner from high noon until the sun began to set. She finally arrived, arm in arm with Marcus. 【Oh, Adrian, you didn't really wait for five hours, did you? I was just speaking casually. You always did hang on my every word.】 She stepped forward and took my wrist. 【I know you have feelings for me, and I have them for you. Why don't you reconsider my suggestion from yesterday?】 Her eyes were smiling, but I didn't miss the flash of mockery within them. Am I a dog to be discarded and whistled back at her whim? I forced a gentle smile. 【It's not out of the question. Have Marcus get on his knees and apologize to me, and I'll consider it.】 I raised an eyebrow at him. Vivian's face scrunched up in protest, but before she could speak, Marcus just laughed and agreed. I was stunned by his easy compliance. Then, he pulled a small bell from his pocket and gave it a gentle shake. 【My little slave,】 he commanded, his voice ringing with authority. 【Kneel.】 My pupils contracted. The idea was absurd. Here, on a crowded street, who would submit to such a humiliation? Especially someone as proud as Vivian. But in the next instant, right there in front of the law firm, under the watchful eyes of dozens of strangers, Vivian knelt. She hugged Marcus's leg, rubbing her cheek against his trousers like an obedient puppy seeking praise. A triumphant smirk spread across Marcus's face. He rested a hand casually on her head. 【Is this apology to your satisfaction, Mr. Maxine?】 【If you're not fully satisfied, I could even let you have her for a day or two. Let you have some fun.】 Vivian showed no sign of resistance to his utterly degrading words. Instead, she shot me an annoyed glare. 【Adrian, if you truly loved me, you would accept me as I am, not make things difficult. I love you, that's why I'm saving my first night for you, but I have a contract with my master now…】 【Don't make this hard for me.】 Her words hit me like a physical blow. In that moment, something inside me turned to ice. She was a stranger to me now. My fingers curled into a fist. I looked down at her, my eyes dark and heavy. 【Perhaps I've spoiled you so much, Vivian, that you've forgotten. I'm not just Adrian. I am the sole heir to the Maxine empire. It is not I who cannot live without you. It is your family, and it is you, who cannot live without me. Without me, you are nothing.】 【Listen to me. This engagement is over. And I am the one ending it.】 Her eyes widened in fury. She jumped to her feet and grabbed my arm, her expression vicious. 【You wouldn't dare! Your grandfather would never allow it! The Maxines can't be so ungrateful!】 【Ungrateful?】 A bitter, sarcastic smile twisted my lips. I threw her hand off me as if it were contaminated. 【Your grandfather saved my grandfather, Vivian. He didn't sell the entire Maxine line into servitude to your family for generations to come. That debt has been repaid a hundred times over.】 【Oh, and you might want to watch the news tonight. My grandfather will be making a personal statement to clear up the 'misunderstanding' of our engagement.】 My voice was low, steady, and cold as ice. She paled, but then a sneer replaced the fear on her face. 【You're joking. You're just trying to make me angry, to make me come crawling back to you!】 【This little game of push-and-pull is so obvious. It's pathetic.】 Her flushed face, her useless denials—they were nothing but a joke to me. 【Believe what you want.】 I tossed the annulment papers into her arms, turned, and walked away without looking back. The news of the broken engagement sent shockwaves through the city. The Linwood Corporation's stock plummeted overnight. Vivian called me more than twenty times. I blocked every number. I never expected our next meeting to be at a press conference where she was accusing me of cruel and abusive treatment. The allegations included, but were not limited to, being "overly controlling," "emotional abuse," and "using money to interfere with her personal freedom," all backed by conveniently distorted chat logs. Vivian stood on the stage, the hand holding the microphone trembling. 【His control was so suffocating he even tried to police my friendships!】 Sensing her distress, Marcus’s eyes reddened on cue. He looked directly into the cameras. 【All Vivian has ever wanted is freedom for her soul. Mr. Maxine, please, let her go.】 A wave of murmurs rippled through the reporters. 【I can't believe the Maxine heir is some kind of psycho. The rich really are messed up.】 【That poor girl. She's basically committing social suicide by exposing him. The Maxines will destroy her.】 The whispers grew louder. The room was in an uproar. Cassia and I watched from the back, exchanged a look, and let out a soft, humorless laugh. If they wanted a show, we'd give them a spectacle. Cassia strode forward, snatched a microphone from a reporter, and fired three questions at the stage. 【Freedom of the soul?】 【Vivian, that silk scarf around your neck. Why don't you take it off and show everyone the collar marks your 'master' left you?】 【And Marcus. You convinced her to steal the core data for the Maxine 'Stardust' project. How do we settle that account?】 【You play the part of a willing slave for one man while clinging to the Maxine family's fortune with the other. You really want to have your cake and eat it too, don't you?】 The room erupted. The sound of camera shutters was like a machine gun. The flashing lights seemed to hurt Vivian’s eyes. She instinctively shielded Marcus. 【You can't just come up here and make baseless accusations! You must be one of Adrian's little mistresses, waiting for your turn to take my place!】 Then, her tone softened, turning to one of gentle warning. 【Adrian is not a good man. When he loved me, he gave me the world. When he stopped, he treated me like dirt, even attacking my family's company.】 【Take it from someone who knows. My today will be your tomorrow. You should get out while you still can.】 It was a masterful performance. A few tears, a few soft words, and she had the room back on her side. But this was Cassia. The Iron Fist of the Delta. She wasn't about to be taken down by a few crocodile tears. She mirrored Vivian, dabbing at her own eyes, her voice breaking with emotion. 【Oh, Vivian, you have it all wrong. Your family was never worthy of Adrian. It was you who pursued him, you who promised him a lifetime together. That fool defied his entire family for you, endured thirty-nine lashes of the family cane just to make you his wife.】 【He used his connections to build up your family, gave you a black card, gave you power. And you repaid him by signing a slave contract with another man at your engagement party.】 The tide turned again. The reporters were getting whiplash. Vivian shrieked that she was lying, but it was too late. Cassia had projected the photo of the contract onto the main screen behind the stage. No one believed her anymore. The crowd turned, calling her and Marcus shameless trash. Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Marcus cursed under his breath. He dropped the microphone, and a deafening screech of feedback filled the room. As everyone winced and covered their ears, the on-site security guards suddenly swarmed the stage and shoved Cassia, hard, into the crowd below! There was a sickening thud. She hadn't had time to react. Her head hit the floor, and blood instantly matted her hair, covering her face in a horrifying crimson mask. Marcus, his back to the audience, shot me a vicious, triumphant smile. Look at her, his eyes seemed to say. So pathetic… Something inside me snapped. My vision went red. I vaulted onto the stage and, in front of every camera in the city, I broke Marcus Thorne's nose with a single punch. 【You're a dead man, Thorne!】 He crumpled to the floor, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Vivian screamed, scrambling to grab my arm. 【Adrian! Stop! I was wrong, I was wrong! Please, let him go!】 The event manager finally reacted, rushing onto the stage and yelling for someone to call an ambulance. Seeing Cassia's deathly pale face, a sliver of sanity returned to me. I gently lifted her unconscious body into my arms and headed for the door. Before I left, I delivered my final verdict. 【Vivian. Your family. Prepare for liquidation.】 Cassia’s surgery lasted eight agonizing hours. She was alive, but she was in the ICU. Once I knew she was out of immediate danger, the crushing anxiety that had gripped me for a day finally began to ease. I decided to go home and pack some things for her. I had just left the hospital when I was ambushed by a group of masked men and dragged to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Vivian emerged from the shadows, a knife in her hand. Marcus, his leg in a cast, limped behind her, his face a mask of venomous hatred. She was like a madwoman, screaming at me, pressing the cold blade of the knife to my neck, drawing a thin line of blood. 【You're insane, Adrian! You sent someone to run Marcus down just to keep me by your side! He's crippled for life now! Are you happy?!】 A car crash? Confusion flickered in my eyes. 【What are you talking about? If I wanted Marcus dead, he wouldn't be breathing right now.】 【Shut up!】 She slapped me, the sting sharp and hot against my cheek. 【Who else would use such a despicable tactic! Calling the police is too good for you! I want you on your knees, begging for Marcus's forgiveness!】 【Or do you think those guards you left at the hospital can protect Cassia?】 Her face was a twisted mask of fury as she held up her phone, showing me a video of someone pulling the oxygen tube from Cassia's nose. Cassia… still lying in the ICU, for me… I couldn't let anything else happen to her. 【Vivian! If a single hair on her head is harmed, I will make you and Marcus pay with your lives!】 She kicked me hard in the stomach. 【A prisoner dares to make demands? For every second you delay, I'll have one of that little bitch's fingers cut off!】 I gritted my teeth, the veins on my forehead bulging. My knees hit the concrete floor as I bowed my head to the smirking, triumphant Marcus. 【I was wrong. Please… forgive me.】 Marcus limped towards me, dragging a steel pipe. He swung it without a word, a brutal, crushing blow against my back. 【The great Maxine heir? Nothing but a dog at my feet!】 【Yes! Just like that! Harder!】 Vivian filmed the whole thing, her eyes gleaming with excitement. 【Adrian, say 'I'm worthless trash, I deserve this,' and I'll make them stop.】 I turned my head and spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor, silent. My eyes, shot through with red, must have looked like something that had crawled out of hell. I just stared at them. 【Oh, a tough one, are we? Let's see what's tougher, your bones or this pipe!】 Blow after blow rained down on me, targeting my most vulnerable spots. I heard the crack of bone more than once, the pain so intense it made my scalp tingle. Then, a final, heavy blow to the back of my head. The world went black. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard Vivian's panicked voice. 【…I think he stopped breathing. What do we do?】 【So he's dead. Who cares?】 Marcus said, his voice casual. 【He's just some rich businessman, not a crime lord who controls the city. Nobody's going to miss him…】 Their footsteps faded away. My vision flickered between black and white, my ears ringing, my head splitting apart. I fumbled for the watch on my wrist, trying to press the distress signal, but I had no strength left. As I felt my life slipping away from blood loss, the world exploded. Through a curtain of fire and smoke, I saw a man in a black suit, followed by teams of bodyguards, all armed with assault rifles, storming into the warehouse. The man in the lead gathered me into his arms, calling my name over and over. 【Adrian, don't sleep! Dad is here! Dad was late!】
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