Chapter 2The Billionaire Paid a Fortune for My Cursed Diary

When Beatrice saw Adam Sinclair, her hostile expression instantly melted into a sycophantic grin.

"Mr. Sinclair! You came yourself! I have the book right here, let me get it for you!"

She pulled my hair with renewed force, nearly tearing my scalp.

I let out a cry of pain, biting my lip as I threw my weight over the diary, pinning it to the floor.

"Beatrice, stop! If he looks, he's a dead man!"

Adam Sinclair let out a dry, raspy chuckle, leaning heavily on his silver cane.

"Miss Liu, do you really think a man of my age is still afraid of death?"

He leaned forward, the faint scent of medicine and old age washing over me.

"I am already dying. If I can glimpse the ultimate secret before I go, what is a little death?"

I trembled under his gaze. "You have no idea what is actually written in there!"

Adam straightened up, giving a slight nod to his men.

Two muscular guards stepped forward, grabbing my shoulders and lifting me completely off the ground.

With my arms pinned, Beatrice lunged, tearing the diary from my chest.

"Here, Mr. Sinclair! It's all yours! About that reward..."

She held the diary with both hands, her eyes wide with greed as she offered it to him.

"Don't give it to him! Beatrice, you're killing him!"

I thrashed in the air, kicking my legs wildly, but the guards held me like a vise.

Adam reached out a withered, trembling hand, his fingers stopping just inches from the leather cover.

Suddenly, Charles, who had been pinned to the floor, let out a primal roar.

"Don't touch it!"

He broke free from the coworkers holding him, throwing himself across the room.

He tackled Beatrice to the ground, the diary flying from her hands and sliding across the floor.

Charles wrapped his hands tightly around his mother’s neck.

"You understand nothing! None of you do!"

Beatrice’s eyes rolled back, her hands clawing desperately at her son’s arms, but she couldn't budge his grip.

"Charles... Charles... it's me... your mother..."

"No, you're not! None of you are!"

Charles shrieked, opening his bloody mouth and biting down hard on Beatrice’s ear.

A horrific scream echoed through the room as a piece of her ear was torn away.

The guards immediately lunged, pressing taser batons against Charles’s back. The electrical current sent him into violent convulsions, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I brought my knee up sharply into the groin of the guard holding me.

He gasped, releasing his grip. I dropped to the floor, rolled over, and snatched the diary back into my arms.

"Stop her!" Adam roared, his face twisting with rage.

I shoved past my frozen coworkers, burst out of the room, and ran down the emergency stairwell.

Behind me, the heavy footsteps of the guards echoed down the concrete steps.

I burst through the hotel’s back exit, running straight into the pouring rain. The freezing water hit my face, clearing my head.

I had to destroy this book.

As I stepped toward the curb to hail a cab, a dark, unmarked van veered sharply, blocking my path.

Two strong arms reached out from the sliding door, grabbing my coat and hauling me into the dark interior.

The cabin was thick with the chemical smell of chloroform.

I fought wildly, kicking and scratching at the men pinning me down, while keeping the diary pressed firmly against my stomach.

"Quiet down! Move again and I'll open your throat!"

The cold edge of a blade pressed against my neck, sending a shiver through my body.

The van sped into the rainy night, blowing through multiple red lights.

Under the passing streetlights, I finally saw my captors.

The person sitting in the passenger seat, turning to glare at me, was Florence, Charles's sister.