The commotion in the scenic corridor caught the attention of many. Waiters arrived, and even those in private rooms came out to watch the spectacle.
Lawrence thought something serious had happened. When he stepped out, he saw Leland pinning Liam down, delivering punch after punch. Teeth flew out, and blood gushed from Liam’s nose.
Leland seemed crazed, as if he intended to beat Liam to death right there. He pinned Liam down and kept hitting him while his eyes were fixed on Winifred, who stood nearby with an indifferent expression.
Three people: two men and one woman. The situation needed no explanation; it was obvious what was happening.
Leland was furious over a woman.
Liam had always been foolish, like an old-time nouveau riche. To put it nicely, he was uneducated; to put it bluntly, he was stupid. Did he not realize that messing with Leland’s woman was a death wish?
Before today, who had ever seen Leland so close to any woman? If not for him bringing a woman today, people would have thought he had a fear of women.
Anyone could see that Leland treated this woman differently. He spoke softly and tried to please her. Yet, Liam, in his stupidity, didn’t understand and dared to provoke Leland.
He deserved the beating; without it, he’d never learn.
But Lawrence was worried that Leland might go too far. Seeing Leland’s increasingly heavy blows made Lawrence’s heart race and his eyelids twitch.
Lawrence had organized this gathering and felt responsible. If something happened to Liam here, dealing with the aftermath would be complicated since the Burkhart family was not a simple one.
Lawrence stepped forward. “Mr. Burns, that’s enough. Teach him a lesson and let it go this time. Do it for my sake…”
Leland stopped his fists and glared at Lawrence with bloodthirsty eyes like a demon possessed.
“How much is your face worth?”
It felt like a bucket of icy water was poured over him-cold and painful. Lawrence didn’t dare speak further and could only watch Leland’s fists in anticipation of his next move.
Just as Lawrence was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Leland lowered his fists, Leland suddenly kicked Liam hard in the side, sending him crashing into the wall with a dull thud.
Liam spat out more blood and clutched his injured side in agony, writhing on the ground like a worm.
But it wasn’t over. Leland walked over and stomped on Liam’s stomach, grinding his foot while smiling sinisterly. “Liam, did you enjoy touching my woman?”
…
The sight of the enraged Leland terrified everyone. Even Winifred, usually composed, turned pale at the scene.
She watched as Leland trampled Liam like a mouse underfoot. This ferocious side of Leland was new to her; she realized how restrained he had been around her.
Winifred began to regret her decision today but knew there was no turning back now that it was done.
Liam screamed in pain, but no one dared help him. Leland had trained for this; he had a ruthless streak that once led him to stab his father without blinking an eye.
Gasping for breath, Liam finally spoke up after hearing Leland’s words. “Leland, do you think your woman is so pure? She seduced me first! If you don’t believe me, check her bag right now-you’ll find my business card in there! She’s been wanting to leave you for me! In our circle, there are plenty of women like her who’d do anything for money. Yet you treat her like a treasure and fight me over her!”
Lawrence’s heart nearly stopped at Liam’s words; Liam truly had no filter.
Liam had only come to Peachshire Town this year and knew nothing about its high society. He knew Leland’s humble beginnings but not what he used to do or who “Miss Dawson” really was beside him.
Ignorant as he was, he dared provoke them both-truly foolishly brave.
Seeing that Leland was about to lose control again, Lawrence knew he couldn’t stop him alone and approached Winifred instead.
“Miss Winifred, could you please ask your man to stop? He’s going to kill someone.”
Winifred looked at Lawrence in surprise; she hadn’t expected him to know her. She replied coldly, “He’s not my man.”
“That doesn’t matter now. What matters is if someone dies here, you’ll be held responsible too-it’ll be very troublesome.”
Winifred hated trouble; she lacked patience. If she had more patience, she wouldn’t have taken such drastic steps today; she’d have stayed by Leland’s side until he lost interest in her naturally.
After thinking for a moment with her head down, Winifred hoarsely said, “That’s enough… You’re going to kill someone.”
Leland had been about to crush Liam’s mouth but stopped at Winifred’s voice. He turned around and stared deeply at Winifred’s cold face.
He hated that indifferent look on her face-she’d worn it when she learned his mother was dying when she saw him kneeling at the police station when she said she wanted to leave years ago.
He wanted nothing more than to destroy that calm facade!
“Is what he said true?”
What truth? Winifred took a moment before realizing he meant the business card in her bag.
“It’s true.”
Leland said “good” with a chilling smile more terrifying than his earlier rage. He loosened his tie and took deep breaths before walking over to Winifred and lifting her up to take her away.
Once Leland left, people dared move again-calling for help or assistance-and soon the sound of an ambulance siren filled the air outside.
Winifred didn’t know where Leland was taking her as he dragged her into an elevator, startling the attendant inside.
“Ninth floor, room 903.”
The attendant understood immediately.
That room was Leland’s private suite-a place he’d booked regularly for both leisure and business dealings-and sometimes stayed overnight if it got too late.
Without needing a keycard, they entered using Leland’s fingerprint scan.
A ninth-floor attendant greeted them respectfully but stayed outside upon Leland’s instruction.
Inside the room, Leland shoved Winifred against the wall; her bag fell from her arm scattering its contents across the floor-including that incriminating business card which caught Leland’s eye immediately.