Chapter 294

Vincent burst into the underground parking garage, fury blazing in his eyes.

He had almost reached his car when a frantic woman's scream suddenly broke through the silence. "Somebody help! Stay away from me! What do you think you're doing? Let me go!Stop it!"

Surrounded by four thugs, Erica was being pushed around and manhandled.Her blouse had been yanked out of place, her hair hung in messy strands, and she looked completely defenseless.

The thugs stank of booze and grime, yelling crude insults as they grabbed at her arms and tried to haul her toward a shadowy corner of the garage. One of them even reached down to tug at the edge of her skirt.

A flash of movement in her peripheral vision told Erica that Vincent was drawing near. A faint, satisfied smile appeared on her lips-her risk had paid off.

Spotting Vincent's car earlier had given her an idea. She'd quickly paid some local troublemakers to help her stage the perfect scene. She was certain Vincent would never just ignore it.

She didn't waste any thought on whether Vincent's real purpose here was to see Hannah. Right now, she cared only that she had captured his attention.

Vincent's stare turned colder than ice. Anger was already bubbling inside him. He lifted a hand, stopping his bodyguard from making a move.

None of the thugs realized what hit them.

In the blink of an eye, sharp cracks and heavy thuds rang out across the garage-fists meeting flesh, bone on bone, a brutal beat of violence.

In under sixty seconds, all four thugs lay motionless on the ground-their defeat precise, brutal, and without hesitation.

Vincent hadn't stepped in to save anyone. He had let something out. He looked completely unfazed. He stood there,a storm still churning in his eyes, now colder than ever after the release of rage.

Erica stared at the thugs, who were left groaning and sprawled across the ground. The fear on her face hadn't yet faded when her eyes widened at the sight of Vincent's ruthless efficiency.

Forcing down her unease, she quickly switched gears and plastered on a pitiful expression, her lips trembling, voice quivering as if about to cry. "V-Vincent! I'm so glad it's you.I -I just came to see Hannah's show, just to experience something new. After it was over, I was heading out when these men cornered me. I was terrified... I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come."

Vincent put distance between them with a single step, offering no comfort at all. His words came out cold and clipped as he spoke to his bodyguards. "Take her home."

The reply came at once. "Yes." The bodyguards moved in to do as ordered.

All the color drained from Erica's face. She fixed her stare on Vincent's distant, frosty expression-and the trace of irritation that now shadowed his eyes.

Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she fought to force tears into her eyes. She managed a small, broken voice, heavy with hurt and uncertainty. "Vincent, are you still angry with me? I

hurt and uncertainty. "Vincent, are you still angry with me? I know I messed up before. I embarrassed myself and made you upset..."

That night, she hadn't even managed to get close to him. She couldn't understand why he was still so cold-why he had chosen to ignore her for so long.

No answer came from Vincent, not to her pleading or her tears.He declared with words as cold and final as ice, "Erica,remember where you stand. You're just my aunt in name."

He left no room for misunderstanding. There was no mistaking the sharp line he was drawing.

Erica's balance wavered just for a moment. His words had cut her deeply. Redness spread in her eyes, and her voice broke apart asshe pushed back with one last burst of desperation."You know we're not actually related by blood. We grew up together,Vincent! All those years-our whole childhood-don't you feel even the slightest bit of affection for me?"

She had grown up alongside Vincent and Brinley. Yet,she could never ignore how he always treated Brinley differently, a fact she had resented for as long as she could remember. But Brinley was locked up now. Being the only childhood sweetheart left behind, at least that was how she saw herself to him, she could not bring herself to accept that Vincent truly felt nothing at all for her.

He answered without the slightest hesitation-his reply as blunt as a blow, "Totally nothing."

Two words that carried every bit of finality she dreaded.

Erica couldn't move. Her face had gone completely pale, and thóugh her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, not a single one fell.

After several long seconds of silence, her lips slowly pulled into a twisted smile-uqlier than if she had simply cried: It was full

a twisted smile-uglier than if she had simply cried. It was full of bitterness and self-mockery. "Of course," she said in a voice just above a whisper. "Of course, you never saw me. No matter what I did, you never looked my way. You've always treated me like this... and I was never the exception."

Vincent didn't spare her another glance. "Take her back to the family estate," he instructed his bodyguards, his tone flat and final.

One of the bodyguards stepped forward at once and gestured with practiced civility. "This way, Ms. Stanton."

Erica trailed behind the bodyguard without a word, her body moving but her mind elsewhere. She climbed into the back seat.Vincent's voice was still in her ears, every word clinging to her like static.

Then, something shifted. Her lips curled, slow and certain, like a secret unfolding. It was fine. Once they were married,feelings could grow over time. She had waited through everything-his long divorce, Brinley's downfall, every delay and detour.Waiting a little longer didn't scare her. Eventually,he'd be hers. That was enough.