The next moment, Philip Payne was grabbed by the collar of his shirt from behind.

BAM! BAM!

Two fists smashed hard into the bridge of his nose.

A soft SNAP echoed.

Philip’s nose was broken.

"AHH!!"

Philip let out a bloodcurdling scream and instinctively clutched his nose.

Blood gushed out.

Beside himself with rage, he couldn’t even see who had hit him before he started cursing in a muffled voice, "Who the fuck dares to ruin my fun... M-Mr... Mr. Sterling..."

Halfway through his tirade, he saw his attacker’s face. The color instantly drained from his own, and he became tongue-tied.

It was Tristan Sterling.

Tristan’s face was as dark as iron, and he radiated a terrifying, murderous aura.

To Philip, it felt like Tristan was looking at him as if he were already a dead man.

THUD!

Before he could react, another heavy kick landed in his stomach.

He was sent flying, collapsing onto the floor.

The intense pain made his face ashen, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Philip felt as if his organs had been rearranged, the pain forcing him to curl up involuntarily.

He looked just like a boiled shrimp.

Tristan had no intention of stopping.

He took off his jacket and tossed it to Holly Sinclair.

Holly instinctively caught the jacket, using it to cover her nearly exposed upper body.

Tristan’s chilling gaze shot toward Philip like a dagger.

He began to roll up his sleeves.

Then he grabbed Philip by the collar.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three quick punches slammed viciously into Philip’s face.

"PFFT..."

Philip spat out a mouthful of blood.

Mixed in with the blood were four of his front teeth.

Beaten senseless, Philip was covered in blood, lying there as limp as a beaten dog and barely breathing.

Still not satisfied, Tristan raised his fist again.

"Tristan!"

Just then, Vivian Linton rushed in and clung tightly to Tristan’s arm.

"Tristan, calm down!" she urged anxiously. "Don’t do this, you’ll kill him!"

"M-Mr. Sterling, spare me... I won’t do it again, s-spare me just this once..."

Philip lay on the floor, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged incoherently.

With his front teeth gone, he spoke with a noticeable whistle.

Tristan planted his foot on Philip’s neck. Looking down at him, he ground his teeth and snarled, "Are you tired of living, or is the entire Payne Family tired of living? How dare you touch someone of mine?!"

Philip shuddered violently, a chill running through his entire body.

He quickly tried to deflect the blame. "No, it’s not... It was her... She seduced me first..."

"You’re lying!"

Holly roared, her hands clutching the men’s suit jacket. She glared fiercely at Philip with bloodshot eyes, fighting to stay lucid.

She didn’t rush to argue further.

’Even if I argue my case,’ she thought, ’Tristan probably won’t believe me anyway.’

Feeling as awful as she did, she couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath.

Philip desperately tried to sling mud at Holly. "Mr. Sterling, I’m not lying, it really was her who—"

BAM!

Before he could finish, Tristan stomped his foot hard on his chest.

"AGH!"

The pain was so intense Philip almost lost control of his bladder.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think she’d be interested in you?!" Tristan sneered, his eyes as cold as ice.

’Holly doesn’t even want me anymore, so why would she waste her time seducing a lowlife punk like this?’

Especially since Holly’s condition was clearly off.

She had obviously been drugged.

"Tristan!"

Seeing him raise his foot to kick again, Vivian’s heart pounded with fear.

She was terrified that if he pushed Philip too far, Philip would spill everything just to save his own skin.

If the truth came out, they would both be finished.

"Tristan, don’t be so quick to judge. What if he’s telling the truth..."

Vivian hurriedly blocked Tristan again, persuading him in a soft voice. Halfway through, she feigned a gasp and covered her mouth, turning to Holly and explaining in that fake, innocent way of hers, "Oh, Holly, don’t be mad. I’m not doubting you, I’m just worried there might be some kind of misunderstanding."

Watching Vivian’s phony act and listening to her obvious attempts to steer the narrative, Holly’s eyes blazed with rage and hatred.

Suddenly, she snatched the glass lamp from the bedside table, lunged forward, and smashed it over Vivian’s head with all her might.

CRASH!

"AHH!"

The lamp shattered on impact. Vivian screamed, clutching her head as blood streamed down from her forehead.

"Holly!"

Tristan roared.

Vivian gloated internally, shooting Holly a provocative glance.

’As long as I can win Tristan’s sympathy and make him despise Holly, a little injury and a bit of blood is a worthy price to pay.’

’He’ll definitely be furious that I’m bleeding from the head. He might even hit Holly to stand up for me.’

Vivian waited gleefully, picturing Tristan slapping Holly hard across the face.

An involuntary, gloating smile touched her lips.

She even pretended the intense pain was too much and began to stumble.

She was just waiting for Tristan to rush forward and protectively sweep her into his arms.

At the same time, Holly, weak all over, was also swaying unsteadily.

"Watch out!"

Tristan cried out.

Vivian, certain of her victory, joyfully waited for Tristan to come to her rescue.

Holly knew her place.

’In a moment like this, a choice between the two of us, Tristan will definitely choose Vivian.’

Terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut, resigned to the coming pain of the fall.

But the next second, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

"AHH!"

A shrill scream followed.

It was Vivian who had fallen onto the broken shards.

In that critical moment, Tristan had actually chosen to save Holly.

Not only was Holly surprised, but Vivian also wore a look of utter disbelief.

"T-Tristan?"

Vivian lay on the floor, her legs and arms cut by the glass fragments.

The pain made her face as white as a sheet, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

Hearing her call, Tristan turned to look at her.

"Vivian!"

He cried out in alarm, quickly letting go of Holly and rushing to help her up. "How could you be so careless?"

He didn’t seem to be faking his surprise at her injuries.

’Which only proves,’ she thought, ’that in that critical moment, his eyes were only on Holly...’

Vivian’s heart filled with extreme hatred and panic.

"Tristan, it hurts so much..."

Her face was a mask of grievance and sorrow, tears streaming down her cheeks.

’The scales of Tristan’s affection are already tipping toward Holly. I have to find a way to get his attention back.’

"Sit down first." Tristan’s brows furrowed deeply as he settled Vivian on the sofa.

Then he turned to Holly. "Holly, why did you hurt Vivian?"

"She’s the one who drugged me!"

Holly ground her teeth, her fierce gaze fixed on Vivian’s face as she made the direct accusation.

For a fleeting moment, Vivian panicked.

But she quickly composed herself.

’That’s right!’

’I did drug her.’

’But no one saw me do it.’

’Earlier, when Holly went to the restroom to take a call, I was busy telling Mr. Aldrin all about her promiscuous private life.’

’And while Mr. Aldrin wasn’t looking, I slipped the drug into her juice.’

’I was so careful. How could Holly possibly know?’

Vivian told herself not to panic. ’There’s no evidence. Holly can say whatever she wants, but Tristan will never believe her.’

"What?!"

Shock flared in Tristan’s eyes.