Chapter 168: Chapter 168

Anna Thornton didn’t come today for nothing; she got five million in one go.

The remaining five million is in the form of an IOU, and she still holds damning evidence against Jean Zane and these socialite daughters, so she has no fear of being defaulted on.

With the joy of victory and a five million check, the debt-collecting trio descended from the twentieth floor. The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor.

The elevator doors opened, and a girl rushed in unexpectedly.

Immediately after, taking advantage of the open doors, a few men also entered.

As soon as they came in, they started to get handsy with the girl. Riley Osborne glanced at the original three occupants of the elevator, one man and two women, and opted to seek help from the sole male, Quinn Locke.

Quinn Locke was taken aback by the situation: "I-I don’t know you."

The girl clutched tightly onto Quinn Locke’s sleeve, only to be pulled away by the men who had caught up with her the next second: "Tonight, you’re paid for by us brothers, trying to run?"

"I was deceived into coming here, not here to sell myself!"

Hearing the injustice in her words, Quinn Locke was just about to speak when he was slapped with a contract: "See this? It’s written in black and white that this chick belongs to me tonight, and she signed it herself. You want to stick your neck out, hick? Can you cough up twenty million to buy her freedom?"

Quinn Locke’s face showed a ’sorry to interrupt’ expression, and he instantly dared not speak.

"I wasn’t the one who signed; it was a trap by my agent!"

Riley Osborne cried bitterly but was eventually dragged out of the elevator by force.

This club is very private, and discovering such an incident, no one cares, probably because no one dares to.

Spoiled rich kids rely on their family backgrounds to act recklessly, and even Quinn Locke, wanting to rush out and stop them, was firmly pushed back and warned: "Mind your own business!"

The elevator doors finally closed again. Mary suddenly came to her senses, patting her frightened chest: "How messy is this?"

"That girl said she was tricked by her agent; is she also in the entertainment industry?" Anna Thornton asked.

Mary had a mental encyclopedia of the industry and quickly remembered: "I think so, her name is Riley Osborne! Anna, remember when you participated in the ’Food and Love’ show, and Ethan Hawthorne was rumored to be in a scandal? The girl who was drugged by Ethan Hawthorne and taken to a hotel, almost raped, was her."

"I heard she’s been suing Ethan Hawthorne for justice ever since, so she probably offended these people." Mary felt pity, "I hope nothing happens to her."

The elevator reached the ground floor, and Anna Thornton handed the check to Mary for safekeeping: "You guys head back first."

"Anna, what about you?"

"I’ll go back up and check." Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by noᴠelfire.net

Mary knew that given Anna Thornton’s character, she wouldn’t just stand by after witnessing such a thing, so she didn’t stop her.

"Even if Ethan Hawthorne says all grievances are settled, be careful, Anna. This place is full of the elite’s children, offending anyone could cause trouble. If you don’t contact me within thirty minutes, I’ll call the police directly."

Seeing Anna Thornton was about to go back, Quinn Locke seemed eager, and he asked Mary: "Should we go help too?"

Mary rolled her eyes at him: "Us going up isn’t helping; it’s adding chaos."

Based on Anna Thornton’s actions earlier, the so-called debt-collecting trio was a facade; Anna Thornton alone could handle Jean Zane.

Mary and Quinn Locke accompanied her purely as decor, unnecessary.

Mary, having cooperated with Anna Thornton for years, already had self-awareness about this.

And the director who didn’t dare speak up at the time of the request for help now wanted to follow Anna and play hero, but was promptly dragged away by Mary.

Back on the sixteenth floor—

Anna Thornton heard cries for help from a corner box room.

Riley Osborne was still resisting!

She was sold out by her agent and deceived into this place.

The agent said a good project had recently been negotiated, inviting her to shoot a commercial with a six-figure reward.

Ever since she sued Ethan Hawthorne, Riley Osborne had been virtually blacklisted in the industry with no work for a long time.

The promise of six-figure pay for a commercial was suspiciously too good to be true.

But she was merely a new recruit, recently signed to the company, eager for success, never realizing she’d been led into a trap, falling into a den of wolves.

"You dared offend Young Master Hawthorne, don’t you know your own worth?"

"You want to sue? Today, after we’re done with you, we’ll record videos and photos and post them online, then see who will believe you?"

"Your school’s girls, selling themselves for money and chances at the clubs is common. Who will dare accuse Young Master Hawthorne of attempted rape after this?"

Riley Osborne was still just a young girl who hadn’t entered society, although in the entertainment industry, it was her first time facing such sordid humanity.

Her good friend was deceived by Ethan Hawthorne, suffered a miscarriage, resulting in uterine damage, unable to bear children ever again.

And she herself, after Ethan Hawthorne’s attempted rape, wanted justice but found herself targeted .

How can those who do evil dare to brazenly threaten victims?

Just because they have money and power?

At this moment, Riley Osborne’s eyes were filled with despair.

She desperately fought off the hands pinning her to the bed and rushed toward the sixteenth-floor window, prepared to jump.

The windows faced the street outside, if anything happened to her, it would certainly attract a lot of attention.

Everyone knew Ethan Hawthorne was at the club today, and everyone knew she’d sued Ethan Hawthorne; if a death occurred, the man would not escape responsibility.

Riley Osborne had decided to make a statement with her death when the box room door was pushed open from outside, and her agent suddenly rushed in.

"Apologies, gentlemen! The previous agreement was signed by me for Riley, she isn’t willing to sell herself."

The agent hurriedly threw a coat over Riley Osborne and pulled her down from the window while handing over a check for twenty million.

"We are willing to compensate you a hundred times over the contract price! This is twenty million, it’s all yours! If you still mess around, don’t blame me for calling the police."

Despite Riley Osborne being just a student and her agent having little experience, could they really come up with twenty million?

"I won’t sugarcoat this for you, this money doesn’t belong to me nor the company. It’s from someone you can’t afford to offend, who’s willing to pay Riley’s compensation!"

The agent’s words were vague, making the rich kids who still wanted to violate Riley Osborne glance at each other.

Someone they couldn’t afford to offend, who could it be?

Many female stars in the industry have wealthy backers.

Though Riley Osborne lacked fame and experience, she was young and beautiful. Since Young Master Hawthorne fancied her, others might as well.

Perhaps it’s someone from the four major families?

To be safe, they initially planned to send Riley Osborne as a birthday gift for Ethan Hawthorne, solving his trouble without implicating themselves.

So, they decided not to touch Riley Osborne for now and would ask Ethan Hawthorne later.

After they exited the room, Riley Osborne fell down like a puddle of mud from the window, and the agent quickly embraced her.

"It’s okay now, Riley! I’m sorry for you, but I was forced too. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to save you, avoiding disaster!"

Riley Osborne took a deep breath, regaining composure before breaking free from the agent’s hug: "Where did you get twenty million? You didn’t sell me again, did you?"

"No, no! The money is borrowed from President Sterling; he said there’s no need to rush to repay and we won’t owe interest."

"President Sterling? Which President Sterling?"