Vincent Hawthorne sat on the sofa with two women in his arms. They were dressed in revealingly short white skirts.
The skirts were so short that the slightest movement revealed their white underwear.
He sprawled there nonchalantly, letting the women feed him wine and grapes.
As Vincent Hawthorne ate the grapes, his roving hands groped at the women’s waists.
Just then, the front door of the villa was kicked open, making Vincent Hawthorne jump.
Before he could get a clear look at the intruder, he shouted impatiently, "Who the hell is it?"
"Can’t you use the doorbell?"
But once he saw who it was, his mouth snapped shut.
"Mr. Kendrick, what brings you to a place like this?" Vincent Hawthorne said, getting up from the sofa with a smile, his eyes fixed on her.
Evelyn Kendrick ignored him. Striding forward in her platform leather shoes, she grabbed him by the collar and demanded, "Where did you take her?"
Vincent Hawthorne played dumb. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Who could you possibly be looking for here?"
"Miss Kendrick, there are some things you can’t handle on your own. Don’t get the Kendrick Family run out of Veridia over someone insignificant." Vincent Hawthorne smugly assumed his warning would make Evelyn Kendrick back down.
But who would have guessed it would only make Evelyn Kendrick more furious.
’Is he threatening me?’
Letting him go, Evelyn Kendrick gave him a sharp, assessing look, then sneered.
Gripping a baseball bat with both hands, she swung it viciously at his head.
"If you won’t talk, you can die," Evelyn Kendrick said harshly, looking down at him.
Vincent Hawthorne hadn’t expected her to strike him so viciously. His head swam, throbbing with agonizing pain.
As his consciousness started to blur, he clutched his head and unwillingly passed out.
Evelyn Kendrick’s sudden violence terrified the two women beside him. They stood frozen in place, not daring to move, their heads bowed and their faces pale with fear.
"Do you know where men like him usually take people?" Evelyn Kendrick asked, glancing from the unconscious Vincent Hawthorne to the two women standing a short distance away.
"The th-third floor," one of the women stammered.
"Which room?" Evelyn Kendrick pressed.
"The room at the end of the hall. They get pretty depraved... they like to take women in there to ’play.’ The room is full of all kinds of props."
Now knowing the specifics, Evelyn Kendrick headed for the stairs, baseball bat in hand.
Just then, Leon Sterling burst in. His eyes swept across the villa’s main hall before finally landing on the unconscious form of Vincent Hawthorne on the floor.
"You’re here," Evelyn Kendrick said upon seeing him.
"Yeah," Leon Sterling grunted. He walked over to Vincent Hawthorne and sent a vicious kick into his side.
The kick was so forceful it sent Vincent Hawthorne flying across the floor.
Leon Sterling’s face was grim as he turned to Evelyn Kendrick. "Do you know where she is?"
"Third floor, the last room," Evelyn Kendrick replied, heading up the stairs.
Leon Sterling followed right behind her.
Evelyn Kendrick wore a black pantsuit, and she moved with an imposing stride. The heels of her platform shoes clicked sharply against the tile floor.
Her hair was tied in a high ponytail that swayed as she walked.
With the baseball bat in her hand, she looked like a warrior.
The third-floor hallway was filled with masked men. Some were standing, some sitting, and others were busy with other women.
Hearing the commotion, they all turned to look at Evelyn Kendrick.
They all froze for a moment when they saw her approaching with a baseball bat.
’What is she doing here?’
And there was a man following behind Evelyn Kendrick. When they got a clear look at who he was, the expressions under their masks all shifted.
Leon Sterling—
’Why is he here too?’
Evelyn Kendrick looked at the crowd of men, then glanced back at Leon Sterling. "Know how to fight?"
He didn’t answer with words. He answered with action.
He grabbed the closest man and slammed a fist into his face.
He put his full force into the punch, knocking the man’s teeth out and shattering his mask.
The man’s face was revealed, and Leon Sterling’s anger intensified.
It was one of the business partners Vincent Hawthorne had introduced to him. ’So respectable in public,’ Leon thought, ’but a monster behind closed doors.’
Furious, Leon Sterling threw another vicious punch, beating the man until he begged for mercy.
"Leon Sterling, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again!"
"I’ll never do it again!"
Just then, Evelyn Kendrick walked over and drove her foot straight into the man’s crotch.
"AARGH—"
The man collapsed to the ground, forgetting the pain in his face as he clutched his crotch and howled.
Watching this, the other men felt a chill run down their spines, and each one instinctively reached down to cover himself.
Without saying a word, Leon Sterling systematically beat every single person in that hallway.
Evelyn Kendrick followed with her baseball bat, adding her own ’finishing touches’. ’If they enjoy doing such disgusting things,’ she thought, ’then their tools for the job should be destroyed.’
"Help—"
"I was wrong! I was wrong—"
"Miss Kendrick, please, I’m begging you, let me go! I’m my family’s only son! If... if it’s broken, my family line will end!"
Evelyn Kendrick couldn’t have cared less about his family line; she brought the bat straight down.
After they had dealt with the group, every last man was left writhing and wailing on the floor.
They kicked open the door to the room, and the scene that met their eyes made both of their hearts clench.
Hazel Sinclair, holding a wooden paddle, was scrambling around the room covered in blood. Her already injured arm was now a mess of new wounds.
Blood streamed from it continuously, and her face was terribly pale.
There were also burn marks on her body from a taser, and her dress had been torn, leaving her looking utterly wretched.
Behind her, two men were chasing her with vicious looks in their eyes, spewing obscenities.
"Fucking bitch! You dare to hit us? You want to die?"
"We’re gonna teach you a lesson today."
As he said this, one of them reached for her arm, trying to pin her down. But before his hand could even touch Hazel Sinclair, Leon Sterling rushed forward and pulled her protectively behind him.
Evelyn Kendrick had already charged in, swinging the baseball bat. She worked out regularly and was surprisingly strong—one solid hit was enough to knock the man out cold.
Seeing that help had arrived, the tension gripping Hazel Sinclair finally snapped, and tears began to stream down her face.
"Sob..."
"You’re finally here... They were going to assault me."
"That bastard Vincent Hawthorne... he threatened me. He said he would kill you if I didn’t go with him. I had no choice... I had to go."
Hazel Sinclair sobbed in Leon Sterling’s arms, her voice choked and broken.
"Leon, I hurt all over... I feel so sick."
"They drugged me, too... I feel so sick," Hazel sobbed, tears streaming down her face, her voice growing thick and slurred.
Hearing her words, Leon Sterling held her tighter, overcome with guilt and self-blame.
"I’m so sorry. This is all my fault." The voice of the usually stoic Leon Sterling was choked with emotion.