Debbie yelled desperately, "James Huo, you don't deserve to be a father! Oh, I forgot. You're not Carlos' father, are you? That's good. Because you're not worthy of the title."
James cared nothing for what she said. Once again, he held the divorce agreement in front of her. "Sign it, and you can see him."
Suddenly, there seemed to be a strange force surging inside her. A renewed sense of purpose, and a strong sense of self. She wrenched free from the bodyguards' arms and stalked toward James, who had a look of fear on his face. She snatched the divorce agreement, tore it into pieces and threw them in James' face. "You don't get a say in this. Not at all. Carlos and I are a couple. Now and forever! You can just drop dead!"
The scraps floated like snowflakes as they landed lightly on the floor.
Furious, James raised his hand and smacked Debbie hard.
Her face jerked aside because of the force, her head continuing in the direction of the slap. She felt a little dizzy for a moment. Slowly, she righted her head, turning to James. Her eyes turned dark and cold. "How many times is this now? This is the third time you hit me, right?"
James was frightened by her expression. "So what?"
Debbie sneered, "I only put up with you because you were Carlos' dad! But I can't even..."
With that, she aimed a roundhouse kick at his face. His head rocked, and blood flew. Before anybody else could do anything, she clenched her teeth and kicked his fat belly. He crumpled, moaning in pain, blood pouring from his mouth, pooling on the floor. Debbie was like a machine programmed to humiliate James. She pounced on the man, showering him with punch after punch. The bodyguards stirred themselves, but it was too late.
"Ah! Debbie!" Tabitha had been in a daze. When the two bodyguards rushed over to stop Debbie, she finally came to her senses. She screamed and attempted to pull Debbie off of James.
But before she could reach her, the bodyguards already had it handled. Debbie drew her arm back, ready for another strike, and one of the bodyguards had trapped her arm between his elbow and chest, grabbed her wrist, and turned, wrenching her arm. Controlling her with pain, he dragged her to her feet.
They were martial experts. Knowing that Debbie knew martial arts, James had hired them to handle her.
The other bodyguard helped James to his feet, and went to see if he was okay. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket and helped the older man clean the blood from his face. James straightened his clothes and looked around with embarrassment, and more than a little pain. Luckily, he had given orders that no one else was allowed to come here.
"You son of a bitch. I'll never divorce Carlos!"
James' eyes were filled with venom. He waved at the bodyguards. The one that had corralled her took a rag from his pocket and covered Debbie's mouth and nose. Debbie struggled and then everything went black.
She woke up to find that some people were talking around her. Her head ached so badly she felt it was about to explode.
She opened her eyes slowly. And she felt like she had just stepped into a house of horrors.
Some doctors wearing masks stood around her, all manners of medical tools in their hands. Near her was James, wearing a weird expression.
"What are you doing?" Debbie asked, half-mumbling thanks to the stupor she had just awoken from. Instinctively, she tried to protect herself, but she couldn't move. It was then that she found her hands had been tied to the headboard of the bed.
With a document in his hand, James walked up to her. "These are private doctors. Think carefully about what you say next. Otherwise, your baby..." he threatened.
'He's threatening my kid! '
Debbie's eyes blazed with rage. "You bastard! Even though you're not Carlos' father, my baby is still a Huo, and still innocent. How could you do this?"
James sneered, "Actually, I'm not a Huo. Why should I give a rat's ass?"
Debbie was shocked. 'There are so many secrets in the Huo family.'
She tried to calm down. "And you're not exactly a saint either. You cheated on Tabitha with a housemaid. Not worried about a divorce?"
"So you saw me that night. So what? That stupid woman thinks the world of me. She won't believe you."
"Touch my baby, and I'll tell the press about you. Everyone will know you're a cheater."
James laughed sarcastically. "Where's your proof?"
She had to admit, she had none. James spoke again.
"You have two choices. One, sign the divorce agreement; or two, I give you an abortion. You have one minute to decide."
Debbie struggled, trying to wrench free from the rope binding her wrists. "I should have... ugh... let you rot in prison! Boy was I dumb to convince Carlos... ugh... not to press charges! Let... ugh... me go! When Carlos wakes up, he'll kill you."
"He's dead. ZL Group posted an obituary on their website. The company's a mess. Except for Carlos Huo, I'm the biggest shareholder. With him dead, I'm the new CEO. They need a leader to guide them, so I'll announce it a couple days from now. I've severed all your ties to the company. Think I could do that if Carlos were still alive?"
Staring at James' hideous face, Debbie wished she could snatch a knife from one of the doctors and kill that son of a bitch.
"Even a vicious tiger won't eat its cubs. Carlos isn't your son, but you raised him, lived with him for nearly thirty years. How could you do this? Hey, you know what does eat its young? Vermin," she spat.
James laughed. He didn't give a damn. "Cut the bullshit!"
"Why do you insist we get a divorce? Carlos is dead. What's the point?" she asked.
James gave her a creepy smile. "You married into the family. You became one of us. Divorced, you're not."
'Psycho!' Debbie thought. She gritted her teeth, refusing to say anything else. James gave the doctors a look, and one of them picked up a syringe and filled it with some kind of clear fluid.
He pressed the plunger to clear the air from it, and it squirted a bit. The doctor then started walking towards her.
Terror took hold of her. "What do you want? Let me go!"
James said, "This is anesthetic. I'm too soft-hearted to let them do this without anesthetic. You should thank me."
"James Huo, you asshole! I'll kill you!"
Debbie tried to kick the doctor approaching her, but a few more came over and held her legs.
Cold fluid was injected into her veins. Debbie despaired.
"Okay. I'll sign." She had to compromise to keep her baby safe. Her and Carlos' baby.
The doctor withdrew the needle then, when the syringe was half-empty.
A tear left her eye and streamed down her face. 'I'm sorry, old man. I'm sorry, honey. I failed. I failed our marriage, ' she wept inside.
She dully took the pen the doctor handed her. Under James' gaze, she signed her name on the last page of the agreement.
The drug took effect very quickly. Everything began to melt away as soon as she signed her name.