A loud, resounding slap turned Ava Sterling’s face to one side, her long hair falling to cover her cheeks and the redness swelling there. Ava Sterling’s ears buzzed with temporary deafness. But one slap from Lillian Donovan wasn’t enough; another followed closely. Yet at that moment, something cold pressed against her face, and Lillian Donovan’s raised hand froze. William Wyatt stood there, pressing a knife to Lillian Donovan’s cheek, his expression ice-cold, "Don’t think acting out this scene excuses your debt." "I’m telling you, whether you want to or not, you will repay this money." William Wyatt’s slow, sinister words echoed in Lillian Donovan’s ears, making her tremble. She was too scared to even collapse to the ground. Afraid that any movement would cost her life. Though Ava Sterling’s hearing was temporarily impaired, it soon returned, and she heard William Wyatt’s words, which made her smile. Her tongue rolled over her gums, bringing a taste of metallic tang. She didn’t spit it out but swallowed it directly, then tucked her hair behind her ear and turned to William Wyatt, smiling with curved lips: "You know my assets well, and you know my situation. I’m indeed unable to repay now. Do whatever you want." William Wyatt looked at the swelling on Ava Sterling’s cheek, which had puffed up within seconds, the clear imprint of Lillian Donovan’s five fingers visible on it. Seeing this, William Wyatt’s expression darkened, and he pressed the knife even harder against Lillian Donovan’s cheek. Instantly, the sound of trickling water filled his ears. He frowned, looking down at Lillian Donovan’s feet. A puddle had spread beneath Lillian Donovan’s feet. His expression instantly turned to disgust. As Ava Sterling watched the wetness, her smile deepened. Countless times she resented being born into Lillian Donovan’s family, having a mother like Lillian Donovan, and a father who was cold-blooded and heartless. She even went as far as to test their DNA to see if maybe there had been a mistake, that she wasn’t their daughter. If she wasn’t, that would be wonderful. She could ignore all concerns, do as she wished, and no longer care about them. But the truth is, she was. She was their true daughter, without a single error. There was nothing she could do about it. Time and again, trampled upon, hurt, exploited, they clung to her like leeches, sucking her dry until she had nothing left. What could she do about it? She couldn’t do it; all she could do was run, as far away as possible. But no matter how far, she couldn’t escape. She was always entangled by them. Because their blood ran through her veins. Unless she gave up everything, completely disappeared, died. Otherwise, she would always be bound by them, forever. At this moment, seeing Lillian Donovan’s state, Ava Sterling felt a pleasure in the release of long-accumulated resentment. The feeling of finally being able to retaliate made her feel no pain, no grievance, not even resentment. She felt only joy—great joy and satisfaction. It was like finally being able to cut a wound into the leeches sucking on her, making them bleed. Though the leeches still clung to her, watching them bleed made her happy still. William Wyatt withdrew his gaze and signaled to the bodyguards to move Lillian Donovan aside. This time, there were two bodyguards. By this time, Lillian Donovan was completely limp. The moment the bodyguards grabbed her, she instantly collapsed to the ground, dragged away by them. William Wyatt leaned against the sofa, playing with the knife as he looked at Lillian Donovan: "I remember you have another daughter." Lillian Donovan froze, then suddenly lifted her head as if revived, quickly crawling to William Wyatt’s feet, grabbing his legs in desperation: "Don’t touch Anya!" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet Lillian Donovan, realizing something, pointed at Ava Sterling, her eyes wide with intense resentment: "It’s Ava Sterling!" "She’s the one who owes you money, do what you will to her!" "Find her, sell her, use everything you can from her, just don’t touch my Anya." "Do whatever you want, just leave my Anya alone, anything!" Lillian Donovan clutched at William Wyatt’s leg, highly agitated. Ava Sterling felt numb, uninterested in familial love, but at this moment, hearing Lillian Donovan’s unhesitating words, she felt as if countless needles were piercing her heart, stirring inside, rendering her speechless. Both are her daughters, both a piece of her flesh, how could she be so heartless? At this moment, Ava Sterling looked at Lillian Donovan, utterly puzzled. After speaking, Lillian Donovan felt her words were not enough and quickly added: "Anya isn’t as pretty as Ava Sterling, nor is her figure as good, plus she’s still a student, very young, there’s no point." "Ava Sterling is different. She’s a model, a supermodel. She’s slept with many people; she must have her skills in bed. Take her away, sell her to wealthy men!" Speaking, Lillian Donovan’s eyes lit up as if recalling something, and she quickly said: "You know Omnisphere Group, right? That company’s CEO, boss, Jace Kingsley, he likes Ava Sterling, he even came to see me." "He really likes Ava Sterling, even wants to marry her." "I... I’ll call him to ask him to pay Ava Sterling’s debt, he’ll surely agree!" At this point, Lillian Donovan finally remembered Jace Kingsley, her savior, and immediately went to retrieve her phone to call him. But at that moment, William Wyatt’s voice cut in: "Do you know how much Miss Sterling owes us?" Lillian Donovan froze, instinctively looking up at William Wyatt: "How... how much?" William Wyatt smiled: "Ten billion." Lillian Donovan’s eyes widened, and the next moment, they rolled back as she fainted. William Wyatt gestured to the bodyguards, who immediately pinched Lillian Donovan’s philtrum. Lillian Donovan, who was about to faint, instantly came to. But upon seeing William Wyatt’s cold face, Lillian Donovan felt the urge to faint again. William Wyatt wouldn’t allow her to, saying: "If you faint again, I’ll have someone bring your other daughter too." "Since you’re selling them, sell them together." "No... don’t... don’t sell my Anya!" "My Anya really isn’t pretty, she’s small and skinny, she wouldn’t fetch a price, sell Ava Sterling!" "I’ll sell Ava Sterling!" "Ava Sterling is truly remarkable, those wealthy men love her, only selling Ava Sterling will bring money, our Anya won’t sell for anything." "Really, if you don’t believe, check it out, how many things she’s done, how many men like her, if she wasn’t capable, how could she attract wealthy men." "I’m telling you, one won’t do, sell two, three, Ava Sterling will pay it off." "Plus, she’s a model, if I sell her to you, she’ll make money as a model while keeping men company, she’ll pay it all off for sure." "She used to earn a lot on her own, even billions." "Selling her to you for life, you won’t lose." William Wyatt stood there, listening to Lillian Donovan, unable to fathom, without witnessing it, that a mother could say these words. Truly vile, terrifying. William Wyatt didn’t want to hear more and said: "For life? Are you sure?"