The doors and windows of the villa had been locked and a few people were assigned to keep an eye on me. "Joseph, it’s best if you stay home, or things will get ugly."

Samantha Baldwin stood in front of me, holding a baseball bat, her face serious, like an old servant ready to stab me with a needle.

I had barely taken two steps toward the door when the bat struck my leg hard.

Pain shot through me as I dropped to my knees.

"Joseph, your eldest brother clearly ordered me to break your legs if you disobey."

She suddenly cried out, "Joseph refuses to obey and is determined to ruin the wedding. Stop him now!"

Several bodyguards quickly moved toward me, gripping batons in their hands. I stepped back in fear.

"What are you trying to do? I didn’t even try to run! How dare you use force on me?"

"Joseph, do you really think we don’t know what’s going on in your head? You might not have run now, but who knows about later."

"I’d rather break your legs than keep watch over you. As long as I’m here, you won’t ruin Matthew’s wedding!"

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Mom and Dad?"

"What difference will it make if you tell Sir and his wife? I’ll just say you broke your leg jumping from the second floor, trying to sneak out. They won’t punish me for that!"

"Attack!"

The men charged toward me, swinging their batons. I could already hear the sound of my bones cracking.

My white shirt was soaked with blood and even my black suit had turned dark red, a shocking sight, but they showed no mercy, as if they wouldn’t stop until I was dead.

"If I die here today, the Rodriguez Family won’t let you go!"

"You still think you’re the cherished eldest son of the Rodriguez Family? You’re just a mistake, a bastard who was taken by accident! If Sir and Madam didn’t pity you, they would’ve thrown you out long ago!"

"When Matthew returned, they wanted to send you away. If it weren’t for Cindy begging for you to stay, saying it’s like keeping another dog, do you think you’d still be here in the Rodriguez family?"

"And now you still dream of stealing Matthew’s bride!"

I suddenly laughed. "So you’re not scared I’ll mess up the wedding, you actually want to kill me!"

"It wouldn’t be strange if you fell to your death while trying to escape, right, Joseph?"

I felt scared. I could die, but not this quickly. And this wasn’t the way I had chosen to die. What if I couldn’t return?