Chapter 17

The next day.

Winnie stayed at home to rest. Lawrence had already gone to work when she woke up. She did not know what his job was; she only knew he had luxury cars and a few assistants. His life was also very regimented and strict.

Before Lawrence left, he left a message for her.

Taylor came to deliver's message, saying, "Mrs. Rodriguez, Mr. Rodriguez has a long meeting today. He wants me to remind you to not mistreat his child while he's away. He said that you should stay at home today since you got caught in the rain yesterday."

Winnie was speechless. Why would she mistreat the child? She thought that Lawrence really could hold her grudges. Not only that, but he was also strict. In any case, due to the awkward scene yesterday, she was glad that he had gone on a business trip.

Winnie was very relaxed. After having lunch with Melissa, she stayed in her room, researching; drawing; and preparing for the competition.

She continued working even when it was almost dark.

At this time, her phone suddenly rang. She was so engrossed in drafting her design that she did not pay attention to the caller ID, answering the call directly.

"Is this Miss Anderson? Your father had a business meeting at a bar, and now, he's drunk. Can you please come and pick him up?"

Winnie's hands stopped moving. She refused decisively. "Please call Mrs. Anderson or Ava. They're his family."

"The both of them did not answer their phones. Your father gave me your number, saying that you're his daughter. Moreover, he fell earlier. He says he has high blood pressure. I don't know if it's life-threatening" the bartender said anxiously.

Winnie felt a twinge in her heart. No matter how terrible of a beast Matthew was, she was still her father after all. She could not just watch him die. She hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she still could not bear it. She said icily, "Send me the address."

She briefly tidied up her things before she changed. Then, she avoided Taylor and the others before she left the house.

At Twilight Bar.

After getting out of the car, Winnie walked in immediately. She found an employee and asked, "Excuse me, which room is Matthew Anderson in? Is he okay?"

"He's in Room 8. Miss, he's in a terrible condition. Please come with me quickly."

Winnie frowned and followed the employee into a narrow corridor. She counted the room as she walked, and when they arrived at Room 7, she asked, "Where's Room 8?"

Under the dim light, the employee looked at her and said, "Miss, you just need to make a turn here."

Winnie felt that something was amiss. The employee's gaze was strange. Not only that, but if Matthew was truly injured, why would they place him in a remote room instead of calling for an ambulance?

Winnie clenched her hands tightly before she said, "Please bring him out. I'll wait here"

However, before Winnie finished speaking, the employee suddenly grabbed her with one hand before covering her mouth with the other. Then, he dragged her with him as he turned a corner and forcefully pushed her into a room.

"What are you doing?!"

Winnie was alarmed. She fell to the ground, but she quickly stood up, surveying the room she was in. It did not take long before she saw Matthew sitting calmly on the couch. His eyes were alert, and he looked completely fine. He did not look like he had fallen at all. At the same time, Sophia stood next to Matthew with a cold smirk on her face.

'A trap, huh?'

In that instant, Winnie's heart turned cold. Once again, her father used their relationship to deal a heavy blow to her, bringing about unimaginable pain.

Winnie's eyes reddened as she asked, "You went to such great lengths to trick me here. What do you want?"

"You're simply outrageous! You have no filial piety at all! How could you humiliate Ava yesterday? Do you want to turn the Anderson family into a laughingstock? Ava's videos are going to go viral!"

Winnie scoffed. She said fiercely, "Is that my fault? Who told her to fake a miscarriage and frame me? Based on your words, it seems like you want me to stay silent and allow her to falsely accuse me. Is that filial piety?"

Then, she said mockingly, "You're not worthy to be my father. I advise you to go home and educate your daughter. Tell her to stop faking pregnancies and miscarriages. If she didn't do those things, would she become a laughingstock now?"

Matthew exploded in rage.

"Shut up! How dare you mock me! You got pregnant with an illegitimate child; you're the biggest laughingstock of the Anderson family! Do you know how many people have mocked me because of this matter? If you know what's good for you, you should follow me to the hospital and get rid of the child!"

Sophia chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, "Winnie, you went too far yesterday. Your father is just trying to seek justice for Ava and help her vent her anger. Moreover, if she's affected by this incident, she won't be able to marry into the Davis family. Regarding the fake pregnancy, she's a dignified lady, after all. How can she really get pregnant when she's not married? She's not like you, after all. You and your illegitimate child are an embarrassment to our family."

Sophia was successful in making Matthew angrier. His eyes darkened as he said, "Get someone to drag her to the hospital!"

Winnie's body froze. She thought that her heart had grown cold, but at this moment, she still felt pain. She smiled bitterly as she said, "To help your precious daughter vent her anger, you really didn't hesitate at all to trick me with our relationship and harm my child. Matthew, Sophia, both of you will face retribution for this!"

After saying that, Winnie made a desperate dash to the door.

Sophia motioned with her hands, and a few thugs rushed into the room immediately and restrained Winnie who was trying to escape.

Matthew ordered icily, "Take her away!"

"No! I won't go! I'm also your daughter! How can you be so heartless toward me?" Winnie questioned as she struggled violently. She hoped to awaken his last sliver of conscience with her words.

Matthew's face turned pale, and he hesitated.

However, upon seeing this, Sophia quickly stepped forward and said, "If you don't teach her a lesson today, she'll only become more and more rebellious. If she insists on participating in the competition and defeats Ava, she'll return to Triton."

After a beat, Sophia added viciously, "Since she doesn't want to go to the hospital, let's do it here. Tell them to beat her up"

In regard to the company, Matthew knew that Winnie was a threat to their financial security. He looked at the thugs and said cruelly, "Teach her a lesson, and let her know what fear is! You can do whatever you want."

After that, Matthew left without looking back.

Sophia exchanged a look with the thugs. Before leaving the room, she stepped on Winnie's pale face and said, "Remember to pay special attention to her stomach when you beat her up. Make sure she loses her baby. Not only that, but it's even better if you can make her infertile! After all, her father wants her to know what fear is."

Winnie's eyes brimmed with pain and tears at this moment. She hated herself for being soft-hearted and easily deceived. She protected her stomach. This was hers and Lawrence's child, the foundation of their marriage. She could not afford to lose the child they created together.

Winnie tried to escape again, but the thugs caught her and threw her to the ground. She rolled to the side and hit the sharp corner of the table, causing her to scream in pain. Her face paled as she tried to endure the pain and crawled desperately under the table, hoping to avoid the thugs' attacks.

"Want to hide? You damn woman! Hold her down and make her behave!"

The burly thugs kicked the table over. One of them grabbed Winnie by her hair, dragged her out of the room, and threw her outside. A few of them held her down to stop her from struggling.

The commotion quickly attracted people's attention.

One of the thugs smiled sinisterly and said, "Alright, hold her down. I'm going kick her stomach."

"No, please!" Winnie screamed. She tried to struggle, but she could not move at her. She could only watch in horror as the thug's foot approached her stomach.

"No!"