Chapter 2: Humiliation

Words : 1802 Updated : Feb 28th, 2026

Night. The Oldakers family of Zerton villa blazed with light. The banquet was in full swing. Laughter rolled through the hall, glasses clinked, and most of the guests were pleasantly drunk. A girl in a red dress suddenly rose. She lifted a spoon and tapped it lightly against her glass. "Clink!" The crisp sound snapped every head around. The chatter died out at once. The girl in red crooked a finger at a nearby bodyguard. A hulking man immediately hauled a girl in a white dress forward. The girl was breathtakingly beautiful, but the bodyguard held her like a sack of grain and slammed her to the floor right in front of the girl in red. The girl in red wore a playful, foxlike smile. She pinched the white-dressed girl's chin and tilted it up, studying that delicate face as her voice turned venomous. "Allow me to formally introduce the one at my side. The eldest young lady of the Scurr family of Zerton. Zerton's number-one socialite. Vienna Scurr!" Clap, clap… The girl in red was Vera Oldakers, the Oldakers family's eldest daughter. With open mockery, she put on a show of applauding, then continued, "As everyone knows, Miss Scurr isn't just beautiful." "Her dancing is the best in all of Zerton." "Tonight, with so many honored guests here…" "I'd like to invite Miss Scurr to dance for us. Applause?" "Good! Clap, clap…" The crowd immediately played along, cheering and clapping. Some sharp-eyed guests had already noticed the dark red spots staining Vienna Scurr's white dress. Her legs didn't bear any weight at all. They were clearly broken. For Vera Oldakers to demand a dance at a moment like this was blatant, naked ridicule. A few people who knew the story sneered and whispered to each other. "I heard… Vienna went to the Yale family again today, to pay respects." "Hah. What an idiot." "The Yale family's been dead for ten years. She still goes every month. Isn't she just trying to piss that man off?" "No wonder the Oldakers family keeps targeting her…" "People who know when to bow their heads are the ones who survive. Back then, the Oldakers family was just like the Yale family and the Scurr family, a third-rate clan in Zerton. It was only because of that man that the Oldakers family rose so fast and became Zerton's number-one family!" "If Old Master Oldakers hadn't stepped down at the peak, the Oldakers family might've climbed even higher." Vera Oldakers shot Vienna a sidelong glance, her smile dark and amused. "Miss Scurr, go on. Don't be shy. What, are you embarrassed?" She flicked her eyes toward a bodyguard. He understood immediately. He yanked Vienna up and tossed her out in front of everyone. "Vienna!" A middle-aged couple rushed forward from the side, faces stricken, but Oldakers bodyguards blocked them. They were Vienna's parents, Onyx Scurr and Leona Warth. They had heard something happened to Vienna and had come as fast as they could. The head of the Oldakers family, Pierce Oldakers, swept them with a glance and said nothing, only smiling faintly. Ten years ago, he had been nothing more than a trivial partner under the Yale family and the Scurr family, living off scraps that slipped through their fingers. Ten years. He had long since flown to the top. Because of that decision he made back then, that choice to help evil thrive, he had leapt straight into the seat of Zerton's number-one family. Watching Onyx Scurr and Leona Warth's helpless panic, Pierce Oldakers let out a cold laugh. "Dancing like that… what's the fun in it?" Vera's eyes lit up. "You're right!" She lifted her voice. "Someone, come. Change this bitch into something else." "And turn on the livestream." "Tonight, I'm going to make her the brightest superstar in all of Zerton." A servant was already wheeling out a clothing rack. More than a dozen outfits hung from it, each one dripping with deliberate allure. Each one was more revealing than the last. Each one had less fabric than the one before. The men in the room stared at the clothes, then at Vienna's near-perfect figure, swallowing hard and wiping at the corners of their mouths. Vera slowly looked Vienna up and down, savoring every curve. "Miss Scurr, should my people help you change… or will you do it yourself?" Several women present watched in silence, a chill creeping into their hearts. Vera Oldakers was vicious. She had broken Vienna's legs and still wanted to force her to dance. And she wanted to dress her in something obscene on top of that. Not just hurting her body, but grinding her dignity into dust. Vienna's legs were broken. Pain drained the color from her face. She clenched her teeth and glared at Vera. "Vera Oldakers… we were classmates in middle school." "I only went to lay flowers for Brother Brock and his family." "Did you really have to go this far?" "Don't you dare say Brock Yale's name!" Vera snapped, her voice sharp with rage. "If it weren't for you, I would've been his fiancée!" "You bitch. You relied on your pretty face, your good grades, always standing above me!" "Tonight, I'm going to let everyone watch. Watch how I grind you under my heel!" Jealousy had rotted into hatred a long time ago. Vienna Scurr was a thorn in her heart, especially when it came to Brock Yale. Even though the massacre that wiped out the Yale family had been ten years ago, Vera still couldn't forget what it felt like. It wasn't because she loved Brock Yale. It was because something she wanted had been taken from her, and the thought made her sick with fury. Only the most shameless torment could vent the bitterness she had hoarded for years. Vienna looked at her and understood there would be no mercy tonight. A hard resolve rose in her eyes. "I, Vienna Scurr… would rather die than suffer this kind of humiliation!" She braced both hands on the floor and threw herself toward the sharp corner of a table. "Vienna, no!" Onyx Scurr and Leona Warth's expressions changed. They lunged forward, shoving past the bodyguards to stop her, but the Oldakers men swung back and beat them down with brutal, heavy blows. Bang! Vienna's legs were broken. She moved too slowly. She had no strength. Before her head could reach the table, Vera kicked her away. "Trying to die? That's the easy part!" "In a moment, I'll send you to see that 'Brother Brock' you miss so much!" "But for now, you're changing clothes. You're dancing." The kick tore through Vienna's abdomen like a blade. She collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach as cold sweat beaded across her forehead. "Playing dead?" Vera's brows shot up. "Bitch, you think you can dodge it like this?" "I've got plenty of ways to deal with you." She tilted her chin toward several bodyguards. "Help Miss Scurr change." "Yes!" The men looked thrilled. One of them licked his cracked lips as he stared at Vienna. The bodyguard in charge of the livestream hurried in close, terrified of missing a single "highlight." "Vienna…" Onyx Scurr and Leona Warth were bruised and swollen from the beating, but watching their daughter disgraced in front of a crowd left them powerless. Boom! A thunderous explosion of sound rocked the villa. The two heavy doors of the living room flew off their hinges like sheets of paper, hurled by some overwhelming force. The entire building seemed to shudder. The guests sucked in sharp breaths. "What the hell?" "Who's breaking into the Oldakers villa?" "They've got a death wish!" The Oldakers family erupted in fury. Pierce Oldakers shot to his feet. "Who is it? Show yourself!" Everyone turned toward the entrance. A tall figure walked in at an unhurried pace. His voice was low, steady, and iron-hard, carrying a magnetic weight that made the air go still. "The blood debt from ten years ago… is due to be repaid in blood."

Chapter 2: Humiliation

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