Chapter 900

Her simple words brought Dorian a sense of peace, even though no one could truly understand the bitterness in his heart.

Dorian didn't treat Leonie like a stranger; he laid out his entire story for her.

Leonie's jaw practically hit the floor in shock. People had always whispered that Dorian's background was mysterious and full of secrets, but she had never believed it. Now, hearing it straight from him, she was utterly speechless.

He was a capable, able-bodied guy. Why would he resort to doing that kind of work? Weren't there a million other jobs in the world?

Glancing over at Dorian in the passenger seat, Leonie swallowed the questions she wanted to ask. Everyone's circumstances were different. She couldn't judge his life from her pedestal of privilege.

For Dorian, he had no professional skills, just a pretty face. If he hadn't attached himself to the woman he mentioned, he probably wouldn't have survived his first few years in Greenvale.

"So, what are your plans now?"

For the first time, Dorian looked relieved. Leaving Felicia was a massive moral weight off his shoulders.

"I don't know yet. I need to find a place to crash first, and then I'll look for a job."

The future was entirely unknown. Dorian decided to drop his own baggage and turned to Leonie. "What about your guy? Have you two made up yet?"

Leonie scoffed.

"He is not my boyfriend. I've told you that a hundred times."

As for making up, Connor had a terrible temper. After she yelled at him, he stopped answering her calls and hadn't tried to reach out to her for a while.

Dorian smiled faintly. "Couples are supposed to fight and throw tantrums. It's part of being in love."

Before Felicia, Dorian had dated a girl he had pampered like absolute royalty. Her bratty temper was almost unbearable.

But that experience taught him exactly how to make women happy, which was precisely why Felicia had adored him so much.

"If you don't have anywhere to be, we can keep hanging out today."

Leonie could tell Dorian was feeling down, and she had plenty of free time.

To her surprise, Dorian declined.

"I want to go see an old friend. He's the director at the theater company. I just got off the phone with him."

Dorian casually placed a cigarette between his lips. Leonie looked at him in surprise.

"You like theater?"

Dorian took a drag, slowly blowing the smoke up toward the roof of the car.

"I wouldn't say I like it. It's just a way to put food on the table. Nobody else is going

to take me in right now, so I have to go to him."

Leonie's eyes widened. She couldn't help but ask, "Is this friend of yours Quinton Slater?"

Dorian shot her a sideways glance. "You know him?"

"Of course I do! I don't have many hobbies, but I love stage acting, so I go there all

the time. I even do charity events for them regularly."

Dorian's lips curled into a smirk. "What a coincidence."

Leonie immediately hit the gas. "Alright, I'll drop you off there first."

The two of them chatted happily on the way to The Greenvale Playhouse. Leonie felt incredibly relaxed around Dorian, a stark contrast to Connor, who was always acting arrogant and insulting everyone.

Leonie pulled up to an intersection and waited for a red light. After about a minute of idling, two black SUVS suddenly boxed her in.

Before Leonie could even process what was happening, the doors flew open. Men leaned into her convertible, grabbed Dorian by the throat, and violently dragged him out of the passenger seat.

Leonie screamed in terror. The light turned green, and the cars behind her began honking furiously.

Pedestrians saw Dorian being abducted, but not a single car stopped to help.

Leonie sped through the intersection and slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road.

When she looked back, the two SUVs were already gone. There was no one around to help. Dorian had been snatched right in front of her eyes.

In a state of pure panic, Leonie finally remembered to call her uncle. She dialed Hawthorne's number and sobbed hysterically into the receiver. She was so terrified that Hawthornes couldn't even understand what she was saying.

It took several minutes for Leonie to calm down enough to explain the situation clearly.

Hawthorne asked sharply, "Did you get the license plate numbers?"

Leonie's mind had gone completely blank. She hadn't seen the plates; she couldn't even remember what color the cars were.

Realizing he wasn't going to get any more details out of her, Hawthorne spoke calmly. "Just come home. I'll take care of this."

Leonie had no choice but to trust Hawthorne. She had no other options.

Meanwhile, Dorian was hauled into the back of the SUV. The moment he hit the floorboards, someone kicked him viciously. He was thrown against the back seat as fists and boots rained down on him.

"Dorian, you little bastard! From the

day you stepped into my club, I treated you like royalty! All you had to do was keep Felicia happy, and you managed to screw that up fl don't teach you a lesson today, I'll be the laughingstock of Greenvale!" Cóntent

Dorian recognized the man standing over him. It was Sully, the guy who had originally introduced him to Felicia. Before Dorian could even attempt to explain, Sully drove a heavy boot directly into his knee.

"Don't hit his face!" someone barked. "That face is his only asset. If you ruin it, he's worthless."

Sully glared at Dorian with unhinged

fury. "You're coming back with me to apologize to Felicia. If she forgives you we go back to normal, and we're brothers again. If not,

I'll ruin you permanently

toss

you into the ocean to feed the sharks. Think about it very carefully."