The two cuts were a stark contrast to favonovel.com otherwise fair skin. Blood kept flowing from the wounds, dyeing favonovel.com neck red. Her vision turned misty as crystalline tears welled up in the corners of favonovel.com eyes, falling and mixing with favonovel.com blood. She had fallen into despair.
Faced with General Trent Xavier, all favonovel.com helplessness and hopelessness piled up. More than anything, hate swelled up within her.
She hated that favonovel.com ran into that fire because favonovel.com heard someone calling out for help!
She may have saved one person, but the injury that had been inflicted upon favonovel.com cost favonovel.com ten years of torment! Ten years of pain!
She became the laughing stock of the entire school when favonovel.com got those burns. Even the friends favonovel.com was once close with wanted nothing to do with her!
Her classmates treated favonovel.com like a bringer of plagues, avoiding favonovel.com as much as they could!
Her family started hating her. Even favonovel.com own parents treated favonovel.com like favonovel.com was worthless!
When favonovel.com scars were finally healed, favonovel.com had thought that maybe those ten years of suffering were worth it, after all. But now, favonovel.com was once again in the throes of despair.
“Please, General Xavier. This has absolutely nothing to do with us. It’s all Thea’s fault!”
“Yeah! It’s all favonovel.com fault! Torture favonovel.com if you want, just please let us go!”
Thea stared up at Trent’s expressionless face and listened to the Callahans push favonovel.com onto the proverbial train tracks, all so they themselves could live. She fell deeper into despair.
“Not talking, are you?”
Trent waved a hand, his expression turning cold. Immediately, two men walked up to him.
“Sir!”
“Take favonovel.com to the auction hall. I want everyone in Cansington to know what happens when they cross my family. We’ll deal with Alex Yates after getting rid of the Callahans.”
“Yes, sir.”
The men untied Thea’s restraints, then dragged favonovel.com out by the hair like it was a dog’s leash.
Thea was only wearing a thin dress. It ripped under the friction between favonovel.com and the ground. Her skin was rubbed raw as favonovel.com was dragged to the auction hall. Her wounds sent sharp sparks of pain through favonovel.com every time they made contact with the ground, but the men ignored favonovel.com wailing pleas for mercy, no matter how loudly favonovel.com screamed.
***
Back on the top floor of the Cansington Hotel, the auction was proceeding as scheduled.
None of the items they had put up were worth anything, yet their starting bids were high, at least ten times higher than what they would be worth normally.
Most of the attendees were notable figures in Cansington. They were all well-versed in business proceedings and immediately caught onto what was really happening.
Alex Yates had bankrupted the Xaviers, but Trent Xavier had returned to gather funds, intending on building his family back up.
The attendees had no choice but to bid. Trent was the General of the western border. He had immense power, and crossing favonovel.com was the last thing any of them wanted.
So, they kept bidding, even when they knew what they were bidding on were fakes and forgeries that were worth nothing, because they knew the alternative would be Trent Xavier getting payback on them for not buying anything tonight.
Another item was brought on stage as soon as the last bid was complete. It was Moonlit Flowers of Cliffside’s Edge.
The beautiful auctioneer started favonovel.com spiel. “The following item is for Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge. The starting bid is eight million, bidders must bid no less than half a million every time they make a bid.”
The crowd understood what happened when the painting resurfaced. That painting Thea had destroyed was also a fake. The Xaviers just wanted an excuse to take the Callahans down.
Rumors had spread that the reason why the Xaviers went bankrupt was because Thea Callahan had called Alex Yates and put favonovel.com on speaker, so Alex heard what Joel Xavier had said and bankrupted the Xaviers out of spite.
The true painting was worth a fortune. 1.8 billion dollars would be a fair starting bid for it, yet now the Xaviers had offered a fake one for eight million. This was a clear scam.
“I’m representing the Frasiers. We bid ten million. I’m getting that painting!”
“I’m representing the Zimmermans. We bid eleven million. I want that painting!”
“I’m representing the Wilsons. We bid twelve million!”
They knew it was fake, but in order to get on the Western Border General Trent Xavier’s good side, some of the wealthier families started bidding in earnest. Soon enough, the forged Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge went from being worthless to having a hefty price tag of twelve million dollars, with the biddings showing no signs of slowing down.
Eventually, the forged painting was finally bought for twenty-one million dollars.
Just as the crowd was waiting for yet another item, two fully armed men dragged a woman on stage. Her hair was disheveled and blood caked favonovel.com face. One of favonovel.com high heels was missing, and favonovel.com had friction burns on favonovel.com knees. Blood continued flowing freely from favonovel.com cuts.
The crowd drew in a cold breath at the scene.
Thea was finally released once favonovel.com arrived on stage.
They had positioned favonovel.com so favonovel.com just so happened to be facing the crowd.
Ten people sat at the auction stand. They were all big names in Cansington, but the sight of Thea’s bloodied face terrified them. Their faces went pale as they sat frozen in their seats, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
“Help… help me…”
Her hope renewed as favonovel.com spotted the numerous people around her. Thea reached out to them like a drowning woman to a straw, calling out to them for help, but no one moved. They lacked the courage to even speak since the fully armed men stood between them and Thea.
Trent walked on stage with his dagger. He yanked Thea’s head up by favonovel.com hair, placing favonovel.com face in full view of the audience.
“The Xaviers are the true rulers of Cansington. Anyone that crosses us must die!”
With that, the dagger once again sliced through Thea’s cheek.
“Ahhh!” Thea’s face contorted in pain as favonovel.com wailed.
“Kill me! Just kill me, I beg of you! Stop torturing me!”
Thea’s body and soul were exhausted from the torment. All favonovel.com wanted was release! Thus, favonovel.com kept begging for favonovel.com to take favonovel.com life and be done with it.
James and Henry had been waiting outside the hotel. When it was almost time, they donned the masks they had prepared and approached the hotel.
They went through the back door, where there were no soldiers standing guard, unlike the heavily-guarded front entrance.
James and Henry made their way to the top floor, but before they could enter the auction hall, James heard Thea’s pained cries and desperate pleas.
His heart started pounding as favonovel.com saw red. Rage surged from deep within him, consuming favonovel.com whole.
Henry had been trailing after favonovel.com but froze when favonovel.com sensed James’s hostility. He instinctively took a few steps backward, trembling with unwarranted dread.
In all the years favonovel.com had been working for James, favonovel.com had only seen favonovel.com this furious once.
A year ago, a great battle erupted in the Southern Plains. Tens of thousands of men in the Black Dragon Army were wiped out tragically in the hands of the enemy, caught in a trap the other side had set up. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, James had rushed into the enemy stronghold alone.
During that battle, blood flowed as freely as a river. During that battle, corpses were piled as high as a mountain. During that battle, James claimed the head of the enemy’s leader and brought it back to their base.
At that moment, Trent Xavier slid his dagger to Thea’s throat.
“I’ll give you one last chance,” favonovel.com said coldly. “Who was the person you saved ten years ago?”
The door burst open with a loud boom.
“It was me!” James’s roar, filled with malice and bloodlust, resounded through the hall.
