Chapter 209
Otto poked his head out from behind his father and pointed at Reginald. "Dad! It's him! He had people drag me out!"
Isaac followed his son's finger, his gaze landing on Reginald.
He squinted, sizing him up.
The man sat in the second row of the auction hall in a deep gray suit, posture relaxed yet exuding an undeniable presence. Beside him sat a young woman, head lowered as she flipped through the auction catalog.
For a moment, Isaac felt oddly like he'd seen this man somewhere before—perhaps at some event, from a distance—but he couldn't quite place it.
Still, he quickly dismissed the thought with a sneer.
Who cares who he is? Could he possibly be richer than me?
With that, Isaac marched over with his son in tow, his voice booming even louder. "So you're the one who touched my son?"
Reginald didn't look up. He turned a page of the catalog as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Seeing himself ignored, Isaac's expression darkened further. The prayer beads in his hand clacked loudly as he squeezed them.
He gritted his teeth, raising his voice even more. "Let me tell you something—in Sunrise City, no one dares disrespect me. You touch my son, and I'll make sure you don't walk out of here today. If you're smart, you'll break one of your own hands right now, and we'll call it even!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the slender figure beside Reginald. His tone grew colder. "Otherwise, that woman next to you is going down with you."
Reginald's hand finally stopped turning pages.
He was about to stand when Lucinda moved first.
She closed the catalog, placed it on her lap, then turned her body slightly. She lifted her eyes, her gaze falling unhurriedly on Isaac's face.
The moment Isaac saw Lucinda, his expression froze.
His pupils contracted sharply. His eyes bulged as if they might pop out of their sockets.
"Ms. L?" His voice cracked, dropping a full octave from the aggressive tone he'd been using moments ago.
He instinctively stepped forward, as if to confirm he wasn't seeing things. Then his knees buckled, and with a loud thud, he dropped to the floor.
The entire auction hall fell deathly silent.
Otto stood beside him, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist inside. "Dad! What are you doing—"
"Shut up!" Isaac roared, though his voice trembled.
He looked up at Lucinda's cold, indifferent face. Sweat poured down his temples. "Ms. L… I didn't know it was you… I truly didn't know… This boy is blind and foolish. He offended you. Please, have mercy—"
Lucinda looked down at him without saying a word.
Isaac remained on the floor, his back hunched, his entire body curled into a ball.
He'd been in the game long enough to know exactly who the young woman in front of him was.
Back when he was still running a small business, it was this Ms. L who'd given him his first investment.
Five million dollars. To the Neville family now, that wasn't much. But back then, it had been the foundation of everything.
Later, as the Neville Group expanded, every critical round of funding had Ms. L's shadow behind it.
Without Ms. L, the Neville Group would have been finished long ago!
"Ms. L, I—" Isaac's voice was barely above a whisper, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth. "I'll take this bastard back and lock him up. I guarantee he'll never appear in front of you again. Please, considering how diligently I've run my business all these years—"
Lucinda finally spoke.
Her voice was soft, yet it sent a chill racing up Isaac's spine. "Your son just said he wanted me to be his woman."
Isaac's body went rigid.
His pupils contracted violently. Then he whipped his head around and slapped Otto across the face.
Otto staggered back several steps, one side of his face swelling instantly.
He clutched his cheek, staring at his father in disbelief. "Dad! You hit me? They were the ones bullying me—"
"Shut your mouth!" Isaac's second slap came down even harder. This time, blood trickled from the corner of Otto's mouth.
"Do you know who you just offended?! Ms. L! If it weren't for her investment back then, the Neville family would've rotted in the dirt! And now you dare ask her to be your mistress? Did a dog eat your brain?"
Otto stood frozen in place, clutching his face, his mouth hanging open, unable to close it.
Ms. L?
The legendary biggest investor behind the Neville Group? The person his father wouldn't even dare name when drunk? That was the young woman he'd just publicly harassed?
His legs began to give out. His gaze fell on Lucinda's cold, detached face.
She sat there, her posture unchanged, yet the aura around her pressed down on him so heavily he could barely breathe.
Otto's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
How could he be this unlucky?
He'd hit on some random woman, and she turned out to be the Neville family's biggest backer?
He was done for. His father would never let this slide easily!
He immediately mimicked his father's posture and dropped to his knees with a thud, his kneecaps slamming into the floor. The pain made him grimace, but he didn't dare stop. "Ms. L… I didn't know it was you… I really didn't know… Please forgive me this once. I'll never dare again—"
Isaac knelt beside him, glancing at his son, then at Lucinda's expressionless face.
Looking at her demeanor, he knew this wouldn't end easily.
For the sake of the Neville family, he absolutely could not displease Ms. L!
With that thought, he clenched his teeth and glanced at his son, a flicker of reluctance passing through his eyes.
But for the family, he had no choice. He pulled a retractable baton from the belt of a nearby bodyguard.
He gripped the baton tightly, turned, and under the shocked gazes of everyone present, raised it high and brought it down hard on Otto's hand—the one that had pointed at Reginald.
The sound of bone cracking echoed clearly through the silent auction hall.
Otto let out a bloodcurdling scream, curling up on the floor, clutching his arm as his entire body trembled in pain.
The hand hung at an unnatural angle, the knuckles swollen like dough.
Isaac threw the baton to the floor, knelt back down properly, and pressed his forehead to the carpet. "Ms. L, this hand is my answer to you. If you're still not satisfied, I'll break another."
Lucinda looked down at the two men kneeling before her and stayed silent for two seconds.
Then she withdrew her gaze, reopened the auction catalog, and said flatly, "Don't kneel here. You're blocking the light."
Isaac looked as if he'd just been granted a pardon. He kowtowed three times, grabbed Otto by the collar, and hauled him to his feet.
Otto's face was deathly pale, drenched in cold sweat. Isaac half-dragged, half-carried him toward the exit, the broken arm dangling at his side, dripping blood along the way.
The door closed again. The auction hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Even the auctioneer looked stunned. But when he caught Reginald's glance, a chill ran down his spine. He immediately cleared his throat and continued as if nothing had happened. "The next item up for auction…"