By then, the burglars had lost all patience. One of them yanked Margaret by the hair and slammed her onto the floor with brutal force.
“You old woman! Aren’t you supposed to be some billionaire’s mother? And yet, you’re not even worth ten million dollars? What are you good for?”
Margaret cried out as pain ripped through her scalp while her body writhed against the ground.
“Jess, run! Run now!”
Even in the face of terror, Margaret kept urging me to escape.
But her agonized screams did the opposite—they didn’t paralyze me with fear. Instead, they fueled my courage. I sprang to my feet, determined to snatch her away from them.
“Agh!” Before I could even reach Margaret, another burglar shoved me hard from behind.
My head slammed against the sharp edge of a table, and blood gushed out instantly.
“You shameless woman! Are you trying to fight back?”
Through the haze of pain and crimson, I saw the burglar grab a heavy ashtray. He raised it high before bringing it down on my fingers again and again until I heard the sickening snap of bones.
The searing pain sent me into unconsciousness multiple times, but each time, Margaret’s cries yanked me back to the surface.
When the burglars finally got tired of beating me, another one grabbed Margaret and flung her to the other side of the room. Then, he pulled out his phone and started a live stream.
Their voices were cruel and heartbreaking.
“They say seeing is believing, right? Since a phone call isn’t enough, let’s start a live stream and let that bastard witness it for himself!
“I refuse to believe a man that rich would sit back and do nothing while his own mother and wife suffer!”
That day, two headlines dominated social media.
First, a 60-year-old woman was livestreamed undressed during a hostage situation. Second, the business mogul Henry Larson had announced his engagement.
Both trended at the top, neck and neck, flooding every corner of the internet.
Henry was all smiles in the video as he gently stroked Derrick’s head.
Facing the media, he declared, “That’s all for today, everyone. The interview is over. Derrick is tired, and Beth and I need to take him to rest.”
Bethany lowered her gaze, and a soft smile tugged at her lips as she said, “Henry has always been like this. Family always comes first for him.”
Meanwhile, back in the hostage room, the burglars had torn Margaret’s shirt from her body, leaving bruises in the wake of their hands.
They shoved her toward the camera like a prop, laughing and treating her suffering like entertainment.
