"Don't be scared. I'm here."
Then he shot me an icy glare, his voice dripping with impatience.
"What are you waiting for? Get her out of here!"
Madame Rose rushed forward and grabbed me.
My mother lunged to stop her, but Rupert's bodyguards seized her and dragged her aside.
Just like that, Rupert had me hauled to the club.
Thrown into a private room.
My knees slammed into the marble floor. The pain exploded half a second later.
Madame Rose pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to sit.
"Mrs. Sanchez, don't blame me. Blame yourself for crossing Mr. Sanchez."
Soon, the door opened.
Several men walked in.
"Well, well."
The man in front spotted me and laughed.
His voice sounded familiar.
I lifted my head. In the dim light, I made out his face—and my heart plummeted.
Clarence Whitney.
Rupert's fiercest rival.
Clarence lit a cigarette, eyes narrowing as he studied me. "Never thought I'd see Mrs. Sanchez like this."
The others in the room laughed too.
The sound was oily. Nauseating.
Madame Rose forced a smile. "You know her, Mr. Whitney?"
"Know her?" He exhaled a ring of smoke. "Rupert Sanchez's precious wife. Last time we met, she was so high and mighty she wouldn't even let me touch her hand."