A few bodyguards breathed a sigh of relief, successfully bringing him before Justin Battleson.
This was a shabby old warehouse on the outskirts of the city, long forgotten and rarely visited, except for the occasional sound of distant dog barks from the villages.
"Mr. Battleson, we’ve brought the man in," they reported.
The bodyguards gestured, ordering men to bind Ryan Richard to a chair.
Justin stood, toying with a knife in his hand, his face unreadable.
He walked right up to Ryan, observing him closely.
Ryan hadn’t woken up yet, his head drooping, his face still bruised. A bodyguard immediately started to explain, "He was making too much of a fuss on the road here, so we..."
Justin signaled for him to be quiet. The bodyguard looked panicky, thinking he had done something wrong and was preparing to accept the punishment, only to hear Justin say, "You hit him lightly."
The bodyguards were surprised. The next second, Justin delivered a fierce kick, sending Ryan and his chair crashing to the ground.
Justin did not continue, he glanced at the bottom of his shoe, a look of impatience on his face.
Next, he dusted off his hands and signaled to the bodyguards, "Wake him up."
Following his orders, the bodyguards stepped forward, and with a few punches, Ryan was jolted awake.
Blood spewed from Ryan’s mouth, his words foul, but he was still fearless: "I’m telling you all, I am the young master of the Richard family. You guys are messing with..."
Justin appeared with a scrutinizing gaze, his presence unstoppable. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N()velFire.net
Ryan was unsettled, stammering but trying to feign calm, "Justin Battleson—you..."
Before he could finish, Justin landed another fierce kick, "You think you have the right to address me by my name?"
This time, Ryan kept quiet. However, there was a fierce look in his eyes that actually made Justin wonder if he was capable of something.
Spitting out more blood, Ryan continued, "You’re doing this for Sophie Allen, no, Charlotte Thompson, right? Do you know about her past?"
After finishing, Ryan looked like he was privy to some secret, extremely smug about it.
Justin didn’t mind indulging him in this game, especially if it was an exciting one.
"Do you think crushing the Richard Corporation would be hard for me?"
Ryan’s face changed immediately, "I was wrong, Mr. Battleson, I was wrong. Please, have mercy and let me go."
Tired, Justin suddenly lost interest in playing along.
Meanwhile, on set, things weren’t so smooth either.
Because of Ryan’s appearance, Charlotte’s mood was also fluctuating, making her a bit absent-minded.
Especially during intermission, instead of going back to the dressing room, she stayed on set to get some air with everyone else.
"Sister Charlotte, come and have some water." Coco handed her a bottle of mineral water.
Charlotte took it, her gaze still vacant.
Unable to bear the sight, Coco hurriedly comforted her, "Sister Charlotte, don’t think too much. You weren’t in your best state during the previous segment. Don’t let it affect you."
Charlotte was still in a daze, "Ah? I know." She put on a smile, but only Coco knew her mind was elsewhere.
Just then, there was chatter from the extras.
"Did you hear? They called Charlotte Thompson ’Sophie Allen’."
"You don’t know? Sophie Allen is the little sister of Emily Allen, who was extremely popular back in the day."
"Gosh, they must’ve gotten the names mixed up. It’s nothing unheard of."
"Hey, that’s unlikely. Both names contain the character for ’joy’. Do you think there might be a connection?"