Chapter 3

"Ian!" Atlas' shout was loud enough to thunder across the area. Ian quickly sank to one knee before Atlas. "Your orders, Mr. Blackwell?" "Deal with these… trash once and for all! Let everyone in Aerial Blade know that I won't be attending the celebratory banquet! I'd like to see if the moguls running Newtropolis are as influential and capable as me!" Ian couldn't help but shudder as he stared at Atlas in shock. For a moment, he thought the entire world was about to collapse on him. Unfortunately, he could only obey Atlas' orders. "Yes, sir!" he replied while nodding firmly. Atlas' brows were twisted into a deep frown. "Also, I want you to launch an investigation on Tabitha Grayson. Where the heck is she right now?" Stacy—her daughter—almost died in the incident, yet she wasn't around at all. Was she even a good mother? Soon, Ian was able to dig up information on Tabitha's whereabouts. His complexion now pale, he exclaimed, "I found out where she is, Mr. Blackwell! Ms. Grayson is in Horizon Club right now!" Atlas was furious, to say the least. Stacy almost got her organs harvested by the doctors, yet Tabitha spent the time lounging in a nightclub, of all places! "Take care of my daughter for me." Atlas turned on his heel furiously before rushing to Horizon Club right away. … It was the peak business hours for Horizon Club. Bustling crowds walked down the streets that were decorated by bright neon lights. Countless young people were gathered in the nightclub as they wasted their lives away dancing and drinking. No one knew that a certain young woman named Tabitha Grayson was suffering in one of the nightclub's private rooms. Tabitha clutched a tall glass of brandy. Unfortunately, she couldn't stomach the liquor any longer. An arrogant man sat before her. It was Xander Dawson. "My apologies, Mr. Dawson. My daughter was the one who stepped on your shoe and dirtied it. I managed to gather a thousand dollars as compensation for you. Here you go. "Mr. Dawson, Stacy's just a child. Please spare her just this once. I'll… I'll toast to your benevolence." Tabitha forced herself to drain the entire glass of brandy. Soon, her eyes glazed over, and her expression morphed into one of intense discomfort. Despite her state of discomfort, the fact that she was the most enchantingly beautiful woman in the nightclub still stood. After Xander pocketed the money, he turned to ask the other occupants in the private room, "What money? Did I accept any money just now? Did she drink anything just now? Why didn't I see any of those things happening before my eyes?" The other occupants in the room were Xander's goons. They all chuckled in amusement. "Nope! We didn't see a thing. Did she really drink?" "Let's pour her another glass. Those who drink with Mr. Dawson must down at least half a bottle of alcohol, you know." Tabitha trembled in fright. At the same time, hatred clouded her eyes. She had already downed an entire bottle of brandy, and yet Xander refused to let her off the hook! Of course, she had no idea that Stacy had gotten pushed off a crane tower. Tabitha kept her stance humble as she said, "Don't cross the line, Mr. Dawson. Stacy and I might be poor nobodies in this city, but we're no pushovers." Xander slapped Tabitha as soon as he heard her words. "Well? Are you a pushover now?" He stared at Tabitha for a few seconds before pulling his phone out of his pocket. After toggling the volume to the maximum, he began playing a video for her. In the video, Xander stuffed fistfuls of garbage forcibly down Stacy's throat. Her mouth was quickly filled with them. Stacy kept screaming for Tabitha while flailing her limbs about the whole time. Unfortunately, no matter how much she screamed and shouted, no one would be there to help her out. Right after swallowing all the garbage, Xander pushed Stacy mercilessly off a lifted crane tower. Tabitha's world came crashing down on her the moment she watched the video. She wasted no time in lunging at Xander like a madwoman. "Xander Dawson, you monster! You fucking monster! Why did you do that to my daughter? I'll do everything in my power to destroy you!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. "You promised me you'd let my daughter off the hook as long as I spent the night drinking with you as an apology!" Xander was akin to a devil who was bestowed unlimited power. He could never relate to Tabitha's pain and suffering. He snaked an arm around her waist before asking her mockingly, "Do you have any idea what 'spend the night with me' means?" Everyone else began laughing out loud. That was when Tabitha realized that something was off. Alarmed, she tried to push Xander's hand away. "You stupid bitch! Push me away! I dare you! If you do that, I'll make sure that both you and your daughter will die!" Xander's goons backed him up as well. "Tabitha, things wouldn't have progressed to this point had you decided to become Mr. Dawson's lover!" "Your daughter deserves to die because of your arrogance! By the way, here's a tidbit for you—Mr. Dawson has given your daughter's corpse away!" When Tabitha heard those words, she mentally broke down on the spot. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks silently. She struggled against Xander's grip with all her might, only to feel his arm tighten around her. Tabitha was such a gorgeous woman. There was no way Xander would let her escape from him. During their struggle, Tabitha used all of her strength to bite Xander on the hand, forcing him to release her. As a result, his hand was covered with her teeth marks. His mouth now curled into a scowl, and he glared at Tabitha furiously. "How interesting! You're a fan of bite-and-run, huh? Let's see where else you can flee to, you bitch! "Men, bring Darko here this instant!" Darko was Xander's vile hound, which normally lived in his construction site. It was accustomed to feasting on flesh and drinking blood. Someone quickly piped up, "Mr. Dawson, that's a bad idea! That woman will die if Darko bites her! Don't you cherish her, Mr. Dawson?" Xander just huffed nonchalantly. "She can die for all I care. I've completely lost all patience I have for that bitch." Soon, a big hound was released from Xander's private VIP room. Saliva kept dripping from its maws, soon forming a small puddle on the floor. The sight of the hound left Tabitha trembling like a leaf. She quickly darted out of the room. But Xander guffawed loudly from behind. The moment Darko was released, it caught up to Tabitha and pounced on her almost immediately. Tabitha shrieked in fear as she fell to the floor. She clambered up to her feet, only to get knocked down by Darko again. This cycle continued for a few more times after that. While Tabitha struggled to escape from the room, everyone else laughed at her misery. At the same time, Xander's phone kept replaying the scene where Stacy got shoved off the crane tower. Tears welled up in Tabitha's eyes. No one could possibly understand her despair. This wasn't her first time getting targeted by others in the past five years. But now, Stacy had died from the fall. Tabitha no longer wanted to live. If she was fated to die today, then so be it. Finally, she stopped struggling against Darko the moment she saw its opened jaws. "Stacy, I'm going to reunite with you in the afterlife," she mumbled. Tabitha closed her eyes, waiting for the deadly jaws to clamp over her neck and drown out all the noises in her world. But that moment never came. If anything, the noises around her became even louder. A man appeared before Tabitha as though he were an angel sent by God. Tremors traveled across the floor, courtesy of the man's sudden descent. Even the doors and the windows shook briefly. Atlas pinned a foot against Darko's neck menacingly. Waves of rage rolled off his form, completely snuffing out everything else in the world. Darko let out a loud,obe pained screech. The next thing everyone knew, Atlas stomped down on Darko's head with a mighty crash.