"Why arrange to meet in a place like this?" Hayley Cole disdainfully kicked away the water bottle by her foot. The old alley seemed to be marked for demolition.

The residents on both sides had already moved away. The windows were covered in thick dust, making it impossible to see inside. The old wooden doors, reflecting a sense of age, were chipped and peeling.

Probably due to years of exposure to wind, sun, and rain, the wooden doors had become deformed and couldn’t close tightly with the door frames, creaking unpleasantly with each gust of wind.

Not to mention the uncollected garbage, emitting a fermented stench that almost made Hayley Cole vomit.

A few stray dogs were scavenging for food nearby.

"No one’s around, it’s convenient," Daisy Lewis smiled and said, "Miss Cole, we’re just here for a transaction. Just give me the cash."

As she spoke, Daisy Lewis’s greedy eyes lingered several times over Hayley Cole.

Hayley Cole was only carrying a delicate women’s bag, which was certainly too small to hold the cash they had agreed on.

"Miss Cole, I only accept cash," Daisy Lewis reminded Hayley Cole again.

"Cash only? Fine, I’ll give it to you now!" As soon as Hayley Cole spoke, several people rushed into the alley from both ends. Daisy Lewis had no time to react before she was knocked to the ground, fists raining down like a storm.

Daisy Lewis attempted to cry for help, but as soon as she opened her mouth, someone quickly stuffed a large wad of cloth in it, silencing her.

She couldn’t even utter a sound of pain, let alone call for help.

The one-sided beating continued silently. In the desolate, abandoned alley, only the cool breeze took away the sound of punches and kicks.

Daisy Lewis, lying on the ground, had stopped struggling. Only then did Hayley Cole speak in satisfaction, "Stop."

The group immediately dispersed, revealing the badly beaten and bruised Daisy Lewis.

Hayley Cole leisurely strolled over, looking down condescendingly at the battered Daisy, and remarked sarcastically, "Daisy Lewis, are you satisfied with this ’cash’ I gave you?"

"You, you... You’re not keeping your promise..." Daisy Lewis muttered, barely managing to force out these words.

The pain was so overwhelming that she couldn’t pinpoint where exactly it hurt; it had numbed away any distinct feeling.

"Promise?" Hayley Cole laughed out loud as if she had heard the world’s biggest joke. "Did you keep your promise? I asked you to ruin Lucy Wells and Kai Bright’s engagement party, but did you do it?"

"I needed to upset Sophie Wilson and Charles Seymour. Did they even get upset?" Hayley Cole became increasingly agitated. Ever since marrying James, she hadn’t accomplished anything, making her feel completely incompetent.

"And you still have the audacity to ask me for money!" Hayley Cole lifted her foot and stomped on Daisy Lewis’s face, grinding viciously with her toe, ignoring Daisy’s screams, "I’ll make you scream, make you scream!"

The noise from Daisy Lewis irritated Hayley Cole’s nerves, intensifying her violent urges, which she released through relentless kicks at Daisy.

Daisy Lewis coughed violently from the assault, then her eyes rolled back as she fainted.