Chapter 10: Liam's Claim

"Liam, enough!" The air buzzed with tension as Vincent stepped in, determined to put an end to Liam's tirade. But his intervention was met with a swift punch to the face from Liam's clenched fist. "What gives you the right to even lay a finger on what's mine?" Liam roared, pinning Vincent to the ground with a fury that shook the earth beneath them. Charlotte dashed forward in a desperate attempt to intervene. She didn't know this Vincent, but there was no doubt that he had taken the blow for her. Morally and emotionally, she couldn't just stand by. But her interference only fueled Liam's rage to towering new heights. "Are you still daring to block me? It hurts you when he gets hit, doesn't it!" Liam's anger was a raging inferno, impossible to contain. He tossed Vincent aside, unconscious, and gripping Charlotte by the neck, he dragged her to the resting room and flung her onto the bed. "How dare you seek the company of another man behind my back?" Liam was the embodiment of unbridled fury, ready to devour her whole. Charlotte fought to clear her name, "It was a chance encounter! I don't even know him! You can check if you don't believe me!" "Silence!" Liam didn't care for the truth, tearing at her clothes as he descended upon her. "No, stop! Please, Liam, I'm begging you, stop!" Charlotte's pleas drowned in tears, pinned down, her resistance futile. "It's wrong... please, Liam, don't do this to me!" How could she ever face Chloe after being entwined with Liam once more? Her pleas were lost in the storm of Liam's feral growls. This was not love; it was a declaration of dominance, a one-sided venting of primal instincts. After everything was over, he kissed her forcefully and declared, "You're mine. Charlotte, dare to sleep with another man, and you can only do so over my dead body or yours." Charlotte lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, deaf to his declarations. At that moment, only one thought consumed her: She had betrayed her sister, entangled once again with Chloe's fiancé. "Get away from me!" Humiliation and betrayal tormented her heart like never before. With trembling hands, she dressed and, ignoring Liam's attempts to stop her, Charlotte fled the company in disarray. —— Lost, Charlotte wandered the streets like a specter, eventually finding herself drawn back to the familiarity of home. Robert and Maria's home. "Lottie! You've come to save me, haven't you? Take me away, please take me away!" Maria clung to Charlotte as she entered. Charlotte's gaze fell to Maria's swollen face, eyes wide with terror. "Did Robert hit you again?" she asked, her voice a chilling calm. "Yes, the heartless brute! The creditors came, and he offered me as payment! I refused, and he beat me mercilessly!" "Isn't that the usual? The last time he couldn't pay his debts, he traded me off. Now it's your turn, isn't it fair?" "What are you saying, Lottie?" Maria's concern grew as she tenderly touched Charlotte's face. "What's wrong with you?" Charlotte stared back, unblinking. "Robert's arms and legs are injured. He can barely move, yet you let him beat you. Are you that helpless?" "Lottie, you're scaring me. What's happened to you?" "Why did you insist I buy the cake from that shop in the west of the city?" Charlotte's question was cold, detached. Maria's confusion quickly turned to anxiety. "Your brother wanted the cake. He said you could pick it up after work. What's wrong, Lottie? Did you find the cake too expensive? Is that why you didn't come back?" Maria released Charlotte and pulled out a handful of banknotes with difficulty. "I wasn't thoughtful. You've been working so hard. You shouldn't have to spend your money on that cake." Charlotte's heart soured at the foolish yet loving gesture. If not for these fleeting expressions of maternal love, she would have long ago fled this hellish home. She didn't accept the money, instead revealing to Maria, "After buying the cake, Robert abducted me. For four hundred thousand, he sold me to the son of a pig farm owner." And her brother Axel was complicit. "Guess how they knew exactly where to corner me outside the cake shop, Mom?" "I... I don't know..." Maria paled, still defending her son. "It has nothing to do with Axel. He's in college, a good student, sensible..." "Really?" "Guess how they knew exactly where to corner me outside the cake shop, Mother?" "Axel, out of the $400,000, how much did Robert give you?" After a moment of panic, Axel started to deny it: "What $400,000? I don't know what you're talking about!" But Axel's dissatisfaction soon bubbled up because of Charlotte's assertiveness. "Hey, sis, what's this about? Robert's our dad. You may choose to dishonor him, but he's my father, and I respect him. When you talk about him, show some respect, will you? Calling him by his name like that, it's disrespectful!" Charlotte shot back with icy precision, "How can you sleep at night, spending money that came at your sister's expense?" Maria couldn't bear to listen anymore and snatched the phone away, "Axel, what on earth is going on? If you need money, you come to me. Why are you involving your sister?" "What do you mean 'involving her'? Is Liam really any different from Griffin? She's more than happy to play the mistress for Liam, so what's the big problem with Griffin?" Axel's tone dripped with disdain. "Besides, the little cash you dole out, what's that good for? All my classmates have computers, and there I am, the only one without, standing in the background, watching them play games. I knew I couldn't count on you. Dad's the one who's generous with money!" Charlotte had heard enough. Just for the sake of a computer, Axel, the little monster, was ready to sell out his own sister, aligning himself with Robert's treachery. Indeed, those who empathize with villains are often villains themselves. "He's just young and naive! It's also my fault for not being able to provide a better life for him..." Maria tried to excuse her son’s behavior, her voice tinged with discomfort. Charlotte turned her back, leaving without another word from this house filled with pain. "From now on, I won't give you a dime. Whether you live or die, it's up to you." "Lottie!" Maria's panic was palpable, "You can't just abandon your mother without you. How will I survive?!" Charlotte laughed, but it was a laugh laced with scorn, "I can't look after you, Mom. You've made your bed." Leaving the Perry home behind, Charlotte wandered aimlessly until a strange number flashed on her phone. Picking up, she immediately snapped to attention at the voice on the other end. "Miss Perry, I'm aware of the incident that occurred in Liam's office." It was Chloe. "Liam has declared you his woman."