After Friend and Online Lover Scammed Me, Three Crime-Lord Brothers Raged

When my best friend found out I'd won a $500,000 scholarship, she immediately set me up with a great guy.

We chatted for three months, and on the day we finally met in person, he ordered a whole table of food, then slipped off to the bathroom and vanished when it came time to pay.

When I saw the bill, it was $880,000. I froze on the spot.

I'd stumbled into a scam joint, and I refused to pay.

The boss didn't say a word. He just had his men tie me up, then snarled at me viciously, "You don't pay, we finish you off today!"

I looked him over carefully, and instantly flew into a rage.

Wasn't this one of my eldest brother's men?

My mom is an underworld heiress. To keep me safe, she adopted three orphans.

She paid for their schooling and their studies abroad, and even handed the family businesses over to them to run.

My three brothers spoiled me rotten. If anyone dared touch a single hair on my head, they could make that person's entire family disappear.

Later, Mom grew tired of the killing and fighting and decided to retire.

She strictly forbade my three brothers from ever getting mixed up in underworld business again, or they'd never set foot in the house.

Eyes red, my three brothers vowed to go straight.

But who would have thought that years later, my eldest brother's men were still pulling this kind of thing, and they'd damn well kidnapped me!

...

"You've got the nerve to eat for free on my turf? Take a piss and look at your own reflection!"

"Pay up now, or I'll sell you off somewhere!"

Several thick-faced, burly men surrounded me, the one in front bald with a knife scar across his face.

He twirled a butterfly knife in his hand, waving it back and forth in front of my face.

A chill ran down my spine.

Four dishes and a bottle of wine cost me $880,000? Was this food made of gold?

I forced myself to stay calm and asked them, "Where's my friend? Where did he go?"

The bald man sneered. "Looking for your sweetheart? He's the one who had us grab you!"

"Said you were a fat pig, that your scholarship alone was worth half a million, and your family's sitting on a fortune!"

"Turns out we misjudged. Dressed up all fancy, and you can't even cover an $880,000 tab!"

"What rotten luck! Wasted a whole table of good food!"

I was stunned.

After I told my best friend Mila Fox about the scholarship, she insisted on introducing me to some rich, handsome guy.

We chatted for three months, and I figured he seemed decent, so we became a couple online.

Today we met in person. He'd booked this private club and said he had a surprise for me.

But after he ordered the food, he said he had to take a call, and never came back.

Was this a romance scam?

Seeing that I wouldn't speak, the bald man slammed his hand on the table.

"Can't come up with the money? Fine. You're pretty enough. I'll ship you off to a club to service clients, and you'll clear the debt in six months!"

I panicked when I heard that.

"I'm not going! This is extortion, it's illegal, let me go right now!"

The bald man acted like he'd heard a joke.

"I am the law! Don't want the club? Fine, pay the meal off, or I've got plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead!"

As he spoke, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my head into the wall.

My forehead struck the corner, and blood ran down my brow into my eyes.

I fought through the pain and shouted, "I'll pay! But I don't have that much in my account! Let me make a call! I'll get someone to bring it over!"

I wasn't lying. My mom always gives me the best of everything, so I hardly ever have anywhere to spend money.

Even this scholarship, I only kept 0-000,000 for myself and handed the rest over to her to manage.

Who knew a single meal could cost a fortune!

The bald man slapped me again. "Designer from head to toe, and you don't even have $800,000? Who'd believe that!"

"Making a call, huh! Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You dare call the cops, and I'll tear your mouth off first!"

The henchman beside him got impatient. "Butch, quit wasting your breath on her, just ship her off already!"

"Look at her, she'll fetch a good price for sure!"

I looked harder, and suddenly the scarred face seemed familiar.

Wasn't this Butch Reed? My eldest brother Ray Whitney's right-hand man back in the day.

My mom is an underworld heiress. Back then she adopted three orphans and raised them specifically to protect me.

My eldest brother, Ray Whitney, is vicious in his methods, a notorious underworld boss.

My second brother, Benedict Whitney, looks refined, but he's actually crueler than the eldest.

My third brother, Bertram Whitney, is even more terrifying.

But my three brothers spoiled me rotten. If anyone dared lay a finger on me, they could make that person's whole family disappear.

Later, though, my mom grew tired of the killing and fighting and decided to retire, keeping my three brothers out of underworld business for good.

Who would have thought that years later, my eldest brother's men were still doing this kind of thing.

And they'd damn well kidnapped me!

If I hadn't been away studying abroad so long, and I weren't nearsighted, I wouldn't be recognizing him only now.

I was furious enough to burst. "Butch Reed! Are you blind? You dare tie me up!"

The thug froze for a second, then whipped a hand across the other man's face. "You think you can say Butch's name? You want to die?"

As he spoke, he raised a foot to kick me.

Butch grabbed his arm and squinted. "You know me?"

Thinking he'd recognized me, I quickly shouted, "I'm Ray Whitney's sister, Lisa! Let me go right now!"

"Because if he finds out, he won't let you off!"

Butch was startled for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Little brat, of all the people to impersonate, you pick our boss's sister? You must be tired of living!"

"Just now at dinner your boyfriend called you Lisa Sanchez, plain as day! You think I'm deaf?"

I quickly explained, "I really am Lisa! I changed my surname to Sanchez because my parents divorced and I took my mother's name."

"If you don't believe me, look at the screensaver on my phone! It's a photo of me and my three older brothers!"

Butch had been my eldest brother's right-hand man back in the day. There was no way he didn't know my mother's surname.

But he just spat on the floor. "The boss's parents love each other. There's no way they got divorced!"

"You dare spout any more nonsense, and see if I don't rip your mouth open!"

I sucked in a cold breath, and only then did I remember: to keep the stock price from swinging, my mother had always hidden the divorce from the outside world.

I never imagined it would end up sinking me now.

Just then the thug handed my phone to Butch.

My hope flared up again. Once he saw the screensaver, me surrounded by my three older brothers, he'd have to recognize me.

But Butch held the phone up, waved it back and forth comparing it to my face, then suddenly sneered.

"I actually fell for your tricks, letting you play me again and again!"

"You really think I'll believe you just because you photoshopped a few pictures?"

"Our boss's sister is round and chubby, with a blessed little face. A net-celebrity pinhead chin like yours dares to impersonate her?"

I choked on my words.

It was true, I used to weigh close to two hundred pounds, but after the college entrance exams my mom sent me off to a weight-loss camp.

Now I was only ninety-five pounds, plus makeup and beauty filters.

Nothing used to make me happier than people saying I'd gotten thinner. Now I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I was about to explain again when a heavily made-up woman leaned in beside him. "Butch, could this little slut be a woman the boss keeps on the side?"

"If you touch her and the boss comes down on you, what then?"

Butch slapped the woman across the face. "Bullshit! The boss doesn't touch women!"

"It's too late even if she pays up now! Shameless sluts like her are what I hate most!"

As he spoke, he yanked off his belt and swung it at my face.

I was scared out of my wits. "I really am Ray Whitney's sister! If you dare touch me, my three brothers won't forgive you!"

But the belt still came down across my face.

"You dare impersonate the boss's sister? Even the king of heaven couldn't save you now!"

I curled up in the corner, my face smeared with blood, drowning in despair.

Just then someone outside shouted, "Butch! The boss is here! Says he wants to hold his birthday party at our place! He's looking for you!"

Butch lit up. "Really? I'd better make a good showing this time!"

Then he kicked me in disgust. "Lock this bitch up first! Don't spoil the boss's mood!"

With that, he hurried his men out of the private room.

I gave a start. Could my eldest brother really be here?