He Chose His Aunt, Now He's Begging

Chapter 4 Seven Days from Now

"You b***h! Who the hell do you think you are, talking about my sister like that?"

Wyatt gave a sharp grunt, then drew back and slapped her hard across the face.

"You b***h! Touch me again, and I'll kill you! What happens between Quinn and me is none of your damn business!"

He put his full strength into it.

The c***k echoed through the room! The blow sent Ivy flying sideways.

Her temple slammed into the doorframe, and blood came streaming down the side of her face.

I rushed over and caught Ivy, and the second I touched her, I felt her trembling uncontrollably from the pain.

Wyatt had completely lost it.

"Your sister's trash! And you're no better!"

I bit down hard on my lip and glared at him.

"Get out! Wyatt, get the hell out of this house!"

He shot me a venomous look, grabbed Elena, and stormed out.

I stared at the door long after it slammed shut.

Then all the strength went out of me, and I sank back as exhaustion hit me all at once.

Ivy couldn't hold out any longer either.

She passed out right in my arms.

After that last blowup, the Gomez family only got bolder.

They not only held a special ceremony for the two of them but also made sure everyone heard that the child would one day inherit the Gomez Group.

The entire old-money crowd laughed behind my back and said I'd become a laughingstock.

Some people mocked Wyatt to his face.

"Why would you walk away from the richest woman in the city for an older adopted woman nobody wanted?"

He couldn't stand it, so he started spreading vicious rumors.

"Elena could give me a child, while Quinn was nothing but a pretty showpiece!"

I barely had time to process my anger before my secretary called. Her voice was shaking so badly she could barely get the words out, but she still managed to tell me Ivy had been dragged into a car while she was out shopping.

I knew almost immediately that Wyatt was behind it.

I slammed my foot down on the gas and drove straight to Gomez Group's headquarters by myself.

The guards stopped me at the entrance.

"Mr. Gomez gave orders. Beggars are allowed in. People from the Stout family aren't!"

The insult couldn't have been more obvious. They were saying I ranked below beggars.

I sucked in a shaky breath, clenched my jaw, and snapped.

"Go tell Wyatt to let her go. Right now!"

"And who the hell are you to give orders around here?"

Before he could say another word, Wyatt came sauntering out with a group of people behind him.

He looked at me like I was something filthy.

I forced down the rage and the panic and stared straight at him.

"If you don't let her go right now, you'll regret it!"

Wyatt burst out laughing.

"Quinn, do I look easy to scare? In Boston, the Stouts may sit at the top, but the Gomez family isn't beneath them. And if it really comes down to a war, you have no idea who'll come out on top!"

Then he stepped closer, bent down, and patted my cheek with the kind of casual contempt that made my skin crawl.

"She smashed a wine bottle over my head. She deserves to pay for that. But if you want to save her, I'll give you a chance..."

He nudged my foot with the tip of his shoe, smiling like he was savoring every second of it.

"Get on your knees and apologize to me. Say 'I was wrong' a hundred times, and I'll let her go."

I clenched my jaw, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him toward me.

"Let her go!" I said through gritted teeth. "If anything happens to her, I'll destroy the entire Gomez family!"

The slap came fast and hard. Pain exploded across my face.

A second later, bodyguards swarmed me and forced me to the ground.

Wyatt glared down at me, venom in his eyes.

"You're still running your mouth? You really don't know when to quit!"

Then he unlocked his phone, shoved it in front of my face, and jerked his chin at the screen.

"Take a look!"

The second I saw it, my whole body went cold.

Ivy, the little sister I had cherished and protected for years, lay crumpled on the floor, looking almost lifeless.

She looked flayed, barely human beneath all that blood.

The whip they were using was studded with barbs, and every strike tore away flesh.

Blood and tissue covered the floor beneath her.

I couldn't even tell where the blood ended, and the torn flesh began.

She had always been terrified of pain, and now she couldn't even cry out anymore.

I felt something tear inside me, and I roared at him.

"Let her go. Whatever you want, take it out on me!"

Wyatt pulled the phone back and gave me a bored smile.

"Then get on your knees and beg! If you don't start begging, she's going to die because of you!"

The bodyguards around us broke into laughter.

Their voices rose one after another. "Come on, beg him!"

I looked at Wyatt without a trace of warmth.

I looked at him the way I'd look at a clown who didn't realize he was already finished.

I had spoiled him too much.

And somewhere along the way, he forgot one very important thing.

The Gomez family had never been anything more than a pet I had allowed to keep breathing.

Just as my knees were about to hit the ground, a voice crackled through my phone.

"Ms. Stout, we found her!"

I looked at the panic flashing across Wyatt's face, then spoke one word at a time.

"You have seven days! Seven days from now, I want the Gomez family wiped out of Boston!"