Betrayed by Four: Reborn, Their Rival Mafia Lord Became My Husband - Chapter 3: Chapter 3
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That was my teacher's final masterpiece: "Mystical Scenes in the Mist"!
The familiar brushstrokes on the painting instantly reminded me of my teacher's frail hands in his final moments. In my memories, he would always lovingly stroke my head and say, "Sienna, this painting represents my life's work..."
Now that my teacher had passed away, his widow spent her days drowning in tears. If I could acquire this painting, it would surely bring her comfort in her grief.
"Five million." I raised my paddle without hesitation.
"Derek..." Rachel suddenly tugged at Derek's sleeve. "This painting is so beautiful. I love it."
Derek immediately raised his paddle. "Ten million."
I gritted my teeth. "Twenty million."
"Thirty million."
The price skyrocketed relentlessly. The entire auction hall fell dead silent. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Lucien and the other two quietly lowering their paddles as Rachel gazed longingly at the painting.
How ironic. Just ten minutes ago, they had sworn with such conviction: "Whatever Sienna wants, we'll buy it for you."
My nails dug into my palms as I raised my paddle again. "Fifty million."
"Eighty million."
"One hundred million."
In the end, Derek made the final call! As he rose to swipe his card, his long legs in the tailored suit strode across the red carpet. He didn't spare even a glance at my ashen face.
"Sienna, don't be upset," Lucien rushed to comfort me. "If you love this painting so much, I'll go backstage right now to see if there's anything similar. I'll bid on it for you immediately..."
"Me too!" Caleb chimed in instantly.
"Count me in!" Raven followed suit.
Their retreating figures blurred in my vision. I took a deep breath, forcing down the bitterness surging in my chest, and walked straight toward Rachel, who stood surrounded like a star in the center of attention.
"Name your price for this painting." My voice was terrifyingly calm. "Five times, ten times, twenty times the value—whatever you want."
Rachel let out a soft laugh, a flash of smugness gleaming in her eyes. "So even the precious heiress begs sometimes?"
She tilted her head, blinking with feigned innocence. "But money isn't everything. I don't want to sell this painting right now. However, if you truly want it, kneel down and beg me. Then I'll give it to you."
My breathing hitched slightly.
This face—always playing weak and fragile in front of men, yet so arrogantly disgusting in front of me. This was exactly why I'd never liked Rachel, in both my past and current life.
I still couldn't understand why all four of them had fallen for her!
I clenched my fists. "I told you, money isn't a problem."
"But I want to see you kneel." Rachel's smile was sickeningly sweet. "Otherwise—"
My gaze fell on the painting Rachel held so carelessly in her hands. That was my mentor's final masterpiece, the object of his widow's endless longing. Thinking of the old woman's tear-stained face, my heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand.
"Fine. I'll kneel!"
Finally, I slowly bent my knees and knelt down under everyone's watchful eyes. The cold marble floor sent bone-chilling coldness through my thin dress, yet it was nothing compared to even one ten-thousandth of the ice in my heart.
My voice was terrifyingly calm. "Can you give it to me now?"
Rachel suddenly laughed—a laugh filled with chilling malice. Right in front of me, she gripped both ends of the frame with her hands—
"Riiip!"
The sound of canvas being torn apart echoed harshly in the silent auction hall.
"You!" Rage instantly shot to my head as I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.
"Sienna!" The next second, Derek's voice exploded like thunder. "What the hell are you doing!"
"Derek..." Rachel covered her face, tears flowing on command. "Don't blame Miss Sienna. It's all my fault for coming to the auction with you..."
Her delicate fingers clutched Derek's sleeve, her voice choking with perfect timing. "Miss Sienna likes you. Seeing you buy me so many things made her angry, and that's understandable."
"I know my existence has made things difficult for all of you..." Rachel suddenly pushed Derek away, staggering backward. "If that's the case, then let me disappear completely!"
She spun toward the floor-to-ceiling window with startling speed.
"Rachel!"
Derek's roar echoed throughout the auction hall, but it was too late—
"Crash!"
The sound of shattering glass mixed with the dull thud of a heavy impact amplified endlessly in my ears. I rushed to the window to see Rachel lying quietly in a pool of blood like a butterfly with broken wings, yet her lips curved into a bizarrely triumphant smile.
Derek completely lost it.
His eyes blood-red, he rushed downstairs and scooped Rachel from the pool of blood, his voice hoarse and terrifying. "Someone get her to the hospital—now!"
He stared at me with eyes that seemed ready to tear me apart. "Sienna, you better pray Rachel's okay. If anything happens to her, I'll make you pay with your life!"
Under the harsh white lights of the hospital corridor, time seemed frozen.
A doctor rushed over, panic in his voice. "The patient is hemorrhaging severely and needs a blood transfusion. But she has a rare blood type, and our blood bank is running critically low..."
Derek whipped around, his gaze cutting into me like a blade as the bodyguards held me. "I remember you have the same blood type."
"No..." Rachel weakly opened her eyes from the hospital bed. "Whatever mistakes were made, they're all mine. Miss Sienna has anemia—please don't make her give me blood..."
"At a time like this, you're still worried about her?! Rachel, how can you be so kind?" Derek immediately grasped her hand, his voice impossibly gentle, as if soothing a frightened child.
But when he turned to me, his eyes instantly turned cold as arctic ice. "Tie her down!"
"Derek, you wouldn't dare!"
"Watch me!"
I was roughly forced onto the operating table, the cold metal surface pressing against my back. I struggled desperately, my legs kicking over the nearby instrument tray. Surgical tools clattered across the floor.
"Hold her down!" Derek barked.
Three or four bodyguards swarmed me, pinning down my limbs. My hair came loose, my evening dress torn in the struggle, exposing my pale shoulders.
"Derek!" I screamed his name with unprecedented desperation. "You'll regret this..."
"You're the one who should regret." Derek sneered, personally inserting the needle into my arm.
Blood flowed steadily through the tube as my consciousness began to blur. In my haze, I seemed to return to that rainy night in my past life—
Blinding headlights, the screech of brakes, and across the street, the cold, indifferent eyes of Derek and the other three. Only Asher—that mortal enemy I'd disliked since childhood—stumbled through the rain toward me, trembling as he lifted my mangled body.
"Asher..." My tears mixed with blood, blooming into haunting flowers on the operating table. "When will you come back... I miss you so much..."
My voice grew weaker and weaker, finally disappearing into the cold air.
The familiar brushstrokes on the painting instantly reminded me of my teacher's frail hands in his final moments. In my memories, he would always lovingly stroke my head and say, "Sienna, this painting represents my life's work..."
Now that my teacher had passed away, his widow spent her days drowning in tears. If I could acquire this painting, it would surely bring her comfort in her grief.
"Five million." I raised my paddle without hesitation.
"Derek..." Rachel suddenly tugged at Derek's sleeve. "This painting is so beautiful. I love it."
Derek immediately raised his paddle. "Ten million."
I gritted my teeth. "Twenty million."
"Thirty million."
The price skyrocketed relentlessly. The entire auction hall fell dead silent. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Lucien and the other two quietly lowering their paddles as Rachel gazed longingly at the painting.
How ironic. Just ten minutes ago, they had sworn with such conviction: "Whatever Sienna wants, we'll buy it for you."
My nails dug into my palms as I raised my paddle again. "Fifty million."
"Eighty million."
"One hundred million."
In the end, Derek made the final call! As he rose to swipe his card, his long legs in the tailored suit strode across the red carpet. He didn't spare even a glance at my ashen face.
"Sienna, don't be upset," Lucien rushed to comfort me. "If you love this painting so much, I'll go backstage right now to see if there's anything similar. I'll bid on it for you immediately..."
"Me too!" Caleb chimed in instantly.
"Count me in!" Raven followed suit.
Their retreating figures blurred in my vision. I took a deep breath, forcing down the bitterness surging in my chest, and walked straight toward Rachel, who stood surrounded like a star in the center of attention.
"Name your price for this painting." My voice was terrifyingly calm. "Five times, ten times, twenty times the value—whatever you want."
Rachel let out a soft laugh, a flash of smugness gleaming in her eyes. "So even the precious heiress begs sometimes?"
She tilted her head, blinking with feigned innocence. "But money isn't everything. I don't want to sell this painting right now. However, if you truly want it, kneel down and beg me. Then I'll give it to you."
My breathing hitched slightly.
This face—always playing weak and fragile in front of men, yet so arrogantly disgusting in front of me. This was exactly why I'd never liked Rachel, in both my past and current life.
I still couldn't understand why all four of them had fallen for her!
I clenched my fists. "I told you, money isn't a problem."
"But I want to see you kneel." Rachel's smile was sickeningly sweet. "Otherwise—"
My gaze fell on the painting Rachel held so carelessly in her hands. That was my mentor's final masterpiece, the object of his widow's endless longing. Thinking of the old woman's tear-stained face, my heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand.
"Fine. I'll kneel!"
Finally, I slowly bent my knees and knelt down under everyone's watchful eyes. The cold marble floor sent bone-chilling coldness through my thin dress, yet it was nothing compared to even one ten-thousandth of the ice in my heart.
My voice was terrifyingly calm. "Can you give it to me now?"
Rachel suddenly laughed—a laugh filled with chilling malice. Right in front of me, she gripped both ends of the frame with her hands—
"Riiip!"
The sound of canvas being torn apart echoed harshly in the silent auction hall.
"You!" Rage instantly shot to my head as I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.
"Sienna!" The next second, Derek's voice exploded like thunder. "What the hell are you doing!"
"Derek..." Rachel covered her face, tears flowing on command. "Don't blame Miss Sienna. It's all my fault for coming to the auction with you..."
Her delicate fingers clutched Derek's sleeve, her voice choking with perfect timing. "Miss Sienna likes you. Seeing you buy me so many things made her angry, and that's understandable."
"I know my existence has made things difficult for all of you..." Rachel suddenly pushed Derek away, staggering backward. "If that's the case, then let me disappear completely!"
She spun toward the floor-to-ceiling window with startling speed.
"Rachel!"
Derek's roar echoed throughout the auction hall, but it was too late—
"Crash!"
The sound of shattering glass mixed with the dull thud of a heavy impact amplified endlessly in my ears. I rushed to the window to see Rachel lying quietly in a pool of blood like a butterfly with broken wings, yet her lips curved into a bizarrely triumphant smile.
Derek completely lost it.
His eyes blood-red, he rushed downstairs and scooped Rachel from the pool of blood, his voice hoarse and terrifying. "Someone get her to the hospital—now!"
He stared at me with eyes that seemed ready to tear me apart. "Sienna, you better pray Rachel's okay. If anything happens to her, I'll make you pay with your life!"
Under the harsh white lights of the hospital corridor, time seemed frozen.
A doctor rushed over, panic in his voice. "The patient is hemorrhaging severely and needs a blood transfusion. But she has a rare blood type, and our blood bank is running critically low..."
Derek whipped around, his gaze cutting into me like a blade as the bodyguards held me. "I remember you have the same blood type."
"No..." Rachel weakly opened her eyes from the hospital bed. "Whatever mistakes were made, they're all mine. Miss Sienna has anemia—please don't make her give me blood..."
"At a time like this, you're still worried about her?! Rachel, how can you be so kind?" Derek immediately grasped her hand, his voice impossibly gentle, as if soothing a frightened child.
But when he turned to me, his eyes instantly turned cold as arctic ice. "Tie her down!"
"Derek, you wouldn't dare!"
"Watch me!"
I was roughly forced onto the operating table, the cold metal surface pressing against my back. I struggled desperately, my legs kicking over the nearby instrument tray. Surgical tools clattered across the floor.
"Hold her down!" Derek barked.
Three or four bodyguards swarmed me, pinning down my limbs. My hair came loose, my evening dress torn in the struggle, exposing my pale shoulders.
"Derek!" I screamed his name with unprecedented desperation. "You'll regret this..."
"You're the one who should regret." Derek sneered, personally inserting the needle into my arm.
Blood flowed steadily through the tube as my consciousness began to blur. In my haze, I seemed to return to that rainy night in my past life—
Blinding headlights, the screech of brakes, and across the street, the cold, indifferent eyes of Derek and the other three. Only Asher—that mortal enemy I'd disliked since childhood—stumbled through the rain toward me, trembling as he lifted my mangled body.
"Asher..." My tears mixed with blood, blooming into haunting flowers on the operating table. "When will you come back... I miss you so much..."
My voice grew weaker and weaker, finally disappearing into the cold air.
End of Betrayed by Four: Reborn, Their Rival Mafia Lord Became My Husband Chapter 3. Continue reading Chapter 4 or return to Betrayed by Four: Reborn, Their Rival Mafia Lord Became My Husband book page.