Chapter 4
Shannon grinned triumphantly as she released my chin, forcefully flipping me onto my back. Her stiletto heels dug mercilessly into my stomach—once, twice, three times.
“Aaah!” I screamed, the pain so intense I nearly passed out.
"Trying to kidnap my child, huh? I''ll make sure you can never have another one!" she snarled, grinding her heel into my abdomen like she was trying to crush my uterus.
My shirt had been pulled up, revealing the distinct line of a cesarean scar. For a moment, panic flickered in Shannon''s eyes, but she quickly masked it with a smirk.
"Oh, so you’ve had a child before, huh?" she sneered. "I bet your own kid''s dead already! That’s why you''d do something so inhumane."
Anger surged within me, so strong I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Through gritted teeth, I said, "Shannon, instead of lying here, you should ask Jeremy who I am!"
“Ask?” She let out a derisive laugh. "Do you think the CEO has time to waste on nobodies like you? You just want to see him, but let me tell you, it''s never going to happen."
With that, she started tearing at my clothes.
I clung desperately to what little remained, snarling, "You’re going to regret this!"
She ignored me, ripping harder, violently pulling at my clothes.
“I’ll be the one to see who regrets this!” she snapped.
Despair and humiliation washed over me, but the more I fought back, the more they seemed to enjoy it.
At that moment, Shannon pulled out a phone from somewhere, pointing it at me as she started a live stream.
"Hello, everyone! I’m here at…” she trailed off, moving the camera to focus on me, her face twisted into a fake look of sorrow. "This woman is a child trafficker! She tried to kidnap my son, who is none other than the young heir to the Zane Corporation!"
An overzealous woman nearby grabbed the phone and said outrageously, "Let me help you! These kidnappers are getting bolder by the day! Kidnapping kids right from the preschool gates!"
Shannon smiled in satisfaction as she cried out fakely to the camera, "How many children are kidnapped every year? How many families are shattered by traffickers like her? Today, we’re standing up for justice! We can’t let her hurt any more children!"
"Yeah! We can’t let her get away with it!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"Strip her! Shame her!" another yelled.
Fueled by Shannon''s words, the parents around me roared in anger, their voices deafening. In no time, they ripped the remaining clothes from my body, leaving me completely exposed. As if that wasn’t enough, they dragged me over to the streetlamp at the entrance to the preschool and tied me there for all to see.
Shannon grabbed my chin again, forcing my face toward the camera. "Take a good look, everyone. This is the face of a kidnapper! She had the nerve to target the son of the CEO of Ziegler Industries!"
I was consumed by shame and fury but was powerless to resist.
Suddenly, the shrill sound of police sirens filled the air, growing louder by the second. The crowd began to shift uneasily as the commotion increased. I lifted my head with effort, blood from my split lip mixing with the saliva on my chin.
However, I smiled, knowing Shannon’s reckoning had come.
