Zoe Lancaster was so frightened by the scene before her that her face turned deathly pale. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.
She stared helplessly at her front door. Crimson blood dripped down the black surface, and the adjacent white walls were splattered with shocking streaks of red. On the ground by the doorway lay the disemboweled carcasses of several stray dogs. Their intestines, internal organs, and even eyes had been gouged out, pooling together with blood across the floor. The gruesome sight of their tragic deaths was made even worse by their wide, unblinking eyes.
The thick, metallic stench of blood filled her nose, triggering a visceral wave of nausea. She dropped to her knees, dry heaving as her stomach violently spasmed, yet she couldn’t throw up anything. Pampered since childhood, she had never witnessed such a horrific scene. Tears of terror streamed down her face. Devoid of any strength in her limbs, she could only shake her head and inch backward.
DING. The elevator chimed.
The moment the doors slid open, a pungent scent of blood aggressively rushed in, causing the man inside to frown in immediate alarm. Simon Hawthorne stepped out. The first thing that caught his eye was the woman slumped near a pool of blood. Her small, frail figure looked incredibly wretched and desolate against the shocking expanse of crimson. A turbulent storm of emotion surged in his dark eyes, nearly impossible to suppress.
Hearing the noise, Zoe looked toward the elevator in a panic, instinctively curling up and shrinking back. In a split second, the man’s gaze met her terrified, tear-filled eyes. His heart clenched sharply, as if a piece of it had been viciously carved out.
He practically sprinted toward her, disregarding everything else, and pulled her ice-cold body tightly into his arms. She was soft against him, but he could clearly feel her whole body trembling violently. His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."
Zoe convulsed with quiet, choked sobs. She grabbed the fabric of Simon’s shirt over his chest as if clinging to a lifeline. His warm body temperature and familiar, crisp scent of cedarwood seemed to dilute the overwhelming stench of blood. It made her involuntarily soften and press closer into his embrace, as if her body relied on him and trusted him far more than her mind did.
"Heartbreaker... my Heartbreaker!" Zoe trembled, her voice hoarse and thick with tears as she pleaded. "Please help me get him out, okay?"
Simon’s lips pressed into a thin line. He took off his suit jacket and draped it directly over her head, blocking her line of sight so she wouldn’t have to look at the horrifying scene anymore. He softened his voice, a rare occurrence. "I’ll take you downstairs first."
His expression dark, he scooped the woman up into his arms and prepared to leave. A violent, destructive urge inside him made it impossible to stay calm.
Zoe tightly grabbed his arm. From beneath the jacket, her voice was still laced with tears, but utterly stubborn. "If you won’t bring Heartbreaker out, I’ll go myself!"
At a time like this, she still cared about the dog inside! Was the dog more important than anything else? Was he less important than a dog?
Simon practically gritted his teeth. "I’ll have Linden go in and get it!"
Inside the car.
"I’ll take you back to The Imperial Residence," Simon said, looking at her pale face. His voice carried a rare trace of gentle warmth, but Zoe was in no state of mind to notice it. She simply clung to his arm with a death grip, cold sweat beading on her forehead, utterly drained of color.
It wasn’t long before Linden brought Heartbreaker over. Without a second thought, Zoe pushed away Simon, who had been holding her, and hugged Heartbreaker tightly to her chest, as if the little dog were her whole world. A moderate gap opened up between her and Simon, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm. It was as if, subconsciously, she didn’t want to be associated with him in any way.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. He lowered his eyes to look at the space between them, a chaotic mix of emotions churning in his chest. Simon’s brow furrowed involuntarily. He watched her thin frame hugging the dog as she trembled uncontrollably, clinging to it as if they only had each other to rely on in life. It was as though the dog were her only family. Even with a living, breathing man sitting right beside her, she showed not the slightest inclination to lean on him.
Even though he had reached out his hand to her.
His heart felt as if it had been pinched—not too lightly, not too heavily. He couldn’t tell if it was irritation or something else entirely. He simply turned his head to look out the window, his lips pressed tightly together.
Linden watched the scene unfold. His lips moved a few times, unsure of what to say. "Mr. Hawthorne..."
The man raised his eyes, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Are you waiting for me to drive you?"
A chill ran down Linden’s spine, and he hurriedly started the car.
The puppy was unharmed; it simply wagged its tail and continuously licked the tear stains on Zoe’s cheeks. Throughout the ride, Zoe didn’t say a word, just quietly holding Heartbreaker.
It was the first time Simon had ever seen her so deathly quiet. In the past, no matter how much Zoe suffered, she would rarely let it show. But now... Simon’s pupils were darker than the night, glinting with traces of an unidentified, violent fury.
They arrived at The Imperial Residence.
Simon reached out to carry her out of the car, but Zoe dodged him. "I can do it myself."
Everything that had happened was caused by his indulgence and his utter disregard. What was the point of putting on this hypocritical act now?
The man watched helplessly as she stumbled out of the car with the dog in her arms, unable to even walk straight. Seeing this only fueled Simon’s irritation. Having lost all patience to maintain his usual refined restraint, he bent down and scooped up both the woman and her dog. "Why play the hero when you clearly can’t handle it?"
Watching this, Linden silently shrank back and didn’t follow them.
The elevator ride up was shrouded in silence. After entering the penthouse and setting her down on the sofa, Simon lowered his gaze and pulled out a cigarette. With a lighter in hand, he seemed unable to aim it right, clicking it several times before finally getting it lit. Frowning, he took a deep drag, slowly exhaled the smoke, and finally spoke in an indifferent tone. "The security at that neighborhood is mediocre. Move in here."
Zoe looked up at him. The smoke blurred his profile. He hadn’t even looked at her when he said that. She let out a cold laugh. "Do I need your pity at a time like this? I can’t think of a single other person who would do such a thing!"
Especially after that woman, Stella Joyce, had used vicious words like ’rape’ today. What else was she not capable of?
Simon looked at her deeply. "Whether it was her or not, we’ll know once we investigate."
Zoe’s heart clenched, her eyes completely red. "And if the investigation proves it was her? Are you going to just brush it off with a slap on the wrist like you did with that trending search incident last time?" She hugged Heartbreaker tightly. "This is a warning! Next time, will they do something that cruel to my dog?!"
Irritation surged within Simon. "Zoe, calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down?!" Zoe looked up, glaring at him fiercely. As she stared at his face, tears gradually blurred her vision until the man before her became an indistinct shape. Tears finally trickled down her cheeks. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and raised a hand to wipe them away. When she spoke, her voice was choked with sobs yet laced with sheer ruthlessness. "If she dares to harbor these twisted intentions, Simon Hawthorne, I’m telling you right now—I will fight her to the bitter end, even if it destroys us both!"
This was the first time Zoe’s defenses had completely crumbled. The first time she had lost control of her emotions. It wouldn’t matter how these things humiliated her personally, but she absolutely would not tolerate that vile wench laying a single malicious finger on anyone around her, be it human or pet!
Simon’s brows knitted together. Watching her cry so weakly, yet remain so stubbornly unyielding for the sake of her dog, he felt as if something faint and thread-like were tangling around his heart. Clearly, she was also just a little girl who needed to be protected.
When he spoke again, his voice had grown somewhat hoarse, betraying an emotion he didn’t even notice himself. "Did I say I wouldn’t handle it?"
Zoe let out a laugh dripping with sarcasm. "So you’re admitting this whole thing has everything to do with that homewrecker?"
Simon’s gaze was dark and cold. Today was the first time he had ever seen Zoe truly angry; usually, she was so easy to coax. This incident had undeniably stepped on her landmine. He glanced at the dog, which was baring its teeth at him just like Zoe. No wonder she loved it so much; it really was a good dog that fiercely protected its owner.
Finally, he spoke. "This won’t happen again."
Zoe lowered her eyes, remaining silent. He protected that homewrecker every single time. How was she supposed to believe words like that?
Simon was at a loss. He had never had to coax a woman before. He just wanted to manage her emotions, but what came out of his mouth was, "What exactly do you want?"
"What do I want?" Zoe’s lips twitched in a bitter smile. "Why don’t you ask her what she wants? Does she want me dead? Does she want me to divorce you? Will you choose that?"
Simon frowned.
Zoe was overcome with indignation. The abused, dead dogs at her doorway made her heart ache and spasm. They were such vibrant little lives; what had they done wrong?
Simon looked at her with a cold expression. "There will be no divorce." He enunciated each word with absolute certainty.
Zoe hadn’t expected him to say anything comforting anyway. Not divorcing her—keeping her around just to torture her—was his idea of fun. She turned away, presenting her back to him, refusing to look at him.
The man watched as Zoe lay on the sofa with her back to him. Annoyance welled up inside him. He fished out his cigarette pack again, caught one between his lips, and lit it. The swirling blue-white smoke made his face look unfathomably gloomy, especially his eyes, which didn’t let in a single sliver of light.
Eventually, things quieted down. Zoe didn’t move. About half an hour passed before she was suddenly hauled up over someone’s shoulder from behind.
Zoe hadn’t calmed down to begin with, and she immediately began to struggle. "Don’t touch me!"
Simon’s arm didn’t budge an inch. Annoyed by her thrashing, he raised his hand—its prominent knuckles and the bulging veins on the back clearly visible—and gave her a heavy smack on the rear. "Behave."
Infuriated, Zoe snapped, "Simon Hawthorne! You hooligan!"
He carried her to the dining table and made her sit down. A bowl of shredded chicken noodles was already sitting on the table. A rich, appetizing aroma wafted through the air.
"Eat," the man said, shoving a pair of chopsticks into her hand. His tone left no room for refusal.
Zoe tossed them aside. "I’d rather starve to death than eat a single bite from you."
The very next second, her stomach let out an untimely rumbling growl. She had worked late and hadn’t eaten dinner; she was already starving. Zoe bit her lip, still turning her head away.
Simon glanced at her. "Ten thousand dollars for every bite you take."
Zoe was speechless. Her dignity would absolutely never allow him to insult her with such worldly possessions!
"One hundred thousand."
"..."
"This is a one-time offer."
"..."
With tears in her eyes, Zoe shoved the noodles into her mouth. She decided she was actually perfectly fine with being insulted by money.
Simon sat opposite her, watching her. As the woman ate, she counted between sniffles, "Fifth bite... sixth bite... tenth bite..."
It was just one bowl of noodles, not a very large portion, but she was trying so hard to split a single strand into ten bites. Utterly greedy.
Simon cast her a cold side-glance. "If you keep counting like that, I’m going to report you for fraud."
Zoe ignored him. Simon casually toyed with his phone, keeping his eyes on her the whole time. This made Zoe feel restless and uneasy. She simply sped up and finished eating. "Transfer the money."
Simon didn’t go back on his word. With a few quick taps, he wired her one million. He clearly wasn’t giving her any opportunity to get greedy for more.
Only after receiving the money did Zoe feel a little better, but a dark cloud still lingered in her mind. "Those little dogs..."
"Shane Shaw has gone to handle it."
Zoe fell silent. Until she saw the screen of Simon’s phone light up.
Her sharp eyes caught the name ’Stella Joyce’, and as for the message content...
Zoe’s face instantly drained of color.