Chapter 3

It seemed that after getting humiliated, Benedict hadn’t shown up again.

Still, high society was a small world, and whispers of Benedict and Yancy kept reaching my ears.

After Benedict fled the engagement, Benjamin initially wanted to give up on him. But Benedict seized the opportunities from his previous life, developing several new tech products that sparked a trend in the business world.

Many companies scrambled to invest.

He thrived in the corporate world, and with the production of these new products, Page Corporation's stocks skyrocketed.

Benjamin reinstated him in the company.

Benedict even spent millions to push Yancy into the entertainment industry. The two were frequently trending on social media.

For example:

"The CEO of Page Corporation splurges on a luxury yacht for rising star Yancy Shepherd."

"CEO treats the entire film crew to dinner at Blue Sky Hotel for Yancy."

"Yancy receives a limited-edition sports car for her birthday."

The two were the talk of the town for a while.

I sat comfortably under the sun, squinting my eyes, calculating how much money he still had left.

Benedict seemed to have forgotten that, in our previous life, I was the one who controlled all the production steps and details of those products. All he did was make decisions. He was merely imitating what I had done.

A dream too long must eventually end.

But what I hadn’t expected was that before Benedict’s downfall, I would encounter an unexpected visitor—Miles.

I had always kept my distance from him because, in my last life, I knew he was a complete madman.

If Benedict was a madman who played by society's rules, Miles was the type who followed only the laws of the underworld.

"Ms. Howard, let’s work together. I want Benedict. What do you want?"

On the outside, I appeared calm, but inside, I couldn’t help but sigh—what a lunatic.

I leaned back in my chair, glancing casually at Miles, who remained as composed as ever.

I smiled and asked, "And what makes you think I'd want to work with you, Mr. Page?"

"Because you want Benedict dead."

My hands, resting on my lap, tightened involuntarily.

I met Miles' gaze and smiled slowly. "Alright, my new partner."

It wasn't until Miles left the room that I exhaled a long breath, my forehead breaking out in a thin layer of cold sweat.

A memory from childhood resurfaced.

Back then, under my protection, Benedict, despite his awkward position, never faced any real hardship. Except for one time—when I searched for him all morning and couldn't find a trace of him.

A servant from the Page family eventually whispered to me, "I saw Mr. Miles take Mr. Benedict away.”

When I asked the servant to take me to find Miles, she reacted as if she'd seen a ghost and ran off in a panic.

The scene I walked into when I reached Miles' room was something I’d never forget for the rest of my life.

The walls were covered with eerie, grotesque paintings. The room was dimly lit by a few flickering lamps, and the floor was littered with the bodies of dead animals. Even the carpet was stained with blood.

Benedict was tied to a cross in the center of the room, his body covered by nothing but a few scraps of cloth to hide his modesty.

The overwhelming stench of blood made me nauseous.

That was the first time I felt true, deep fear.

But my concern for Benedict outweighed my terror.

As I approached, I noticed the whip marks covering his body. His face was deathly pale, his hair a mess, and his lips cracked as if he were clinging to life by a thread.

It took him more than three months to recover enough to even stand.

After much pressure and coercion, the Page family finally forced Miles to apologize to Benedict.

That day was also the first time I saw the all-consuming hatred and terror in Benedict's eyes.