5
638words
I clung to a piece of the broken boat's wreckage.
"Grandfather!" I cried, my voice choked with relief.
One of his bodyguards immediately dove into the water and pulled me to shore.
Grandfather rushed forward, ignoring my drenched clothes, and wrapped me in a fierce embrace.
The assembled household staff, seeing the size of my grandfather's entourage, took a frightened step back.
"My God, who is this man? He has so many bodyguards!"
"Could she really be the daughter of some powerful, low-key family?"
"But this is the Thorpe estate! No matter how powerful he is, he still has to answer to them, right?"
Cassandra, hearing this, seemed to regain her courage. She snatched my grandfather's cane from the ground and tried to strike him, but one of his men blocked her easily.
In a fit of pique, she threw the priceless sandalwood cane into the pond.
"I thought you had some powerful savior coming. It's just some decrepit old man?"
"Oh my God, are you his kept woman?" she shrieked, her hand flying to her mouth in mock horror.
"Hey, old man! Control your little mistress! She had the gall to claim she was Maxwell's fiancée and even stole my ring!"
My grandfather took off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders.
His eyes were dark and unreadable, his mouth a hard line beneath his white beard.
I knew this look. It was the calm before the storm. These people were about to pay.
The entire Thorpe family might not survive this.
But Cassandra, mistaking his silence for fear, continued her tirade.
"The ring wasn't that expensive, only about a hundred thousand. But it was a symbol of Maxwell's love for me. You can compensate me with, say, ten million."
"And she upset me. So, to teach her a lesson, I think she should eat a bowl of mud from the bottom of that pond.
That'll keep her from spouting lies in the future!"
At her words, my grandfather's gaze shot toward Cassandra like a poisoned dart.
The sheer force of his presence, the aura of a man long accustomed to power, made her falter for a second.
"Ten million?" he said, his voice dangerously low. "How about I give you a hundred million?"
Cassandra's eyes lit up.
But her greed was met with the sharp crack of a hand across her face. Before she could even react, another slap, just as hard, landed on her other cheek.
The force sent her staggering backward, her head spinning, until she tumbled into the pond.
"Aah! Help me! Maxwell!" she sputtered, flailing in the water.
Her gossamer dress, now saturated, clung to her like a lead weight, pulling her down.
Maxwell, stunned that someone would dare to be violent on his property, his face a thundercloud, ordered his men to rescue her.
But my grandfather gave him no such chance.
His bodyguards kicked every servant who tried to help into the pond after her.
Then, they seized Maxwell and dragged him before my grandfather.
"You! You old fossil! Do you know whose territory you're on?!"
My grandfather's face was calm. He raised his hands and delivered a series of rapid, open-handed slaps.
"I don't care whose territory this is. Let me tell you something, young man. This entire city is Crawford territory!"
"Even if your grandfather were here, he would praise me for teaching you this lesson!"
Humiliated at being beaten in front of his own staff, Maxwell lost all composure.
"The Crawfords? You mean the family that's been hiding under the Thorpes' protection for years? You dare to hit me?! I'm telling you right now, the marriage alliance between our families is off!"
