The Sovereign Auditor: World Liquidation.

Chapter 2: The Sound of Breaking

The lead pipe whistled through the air. A dull thwack echoed in the suite as it buried itself into my ribs.

The air left my lungs in a violent spray of spit. My knees hit the plush carpet. Hard.

"Down already?" Zhao chuckled. I heard the rustle of fabric. He was pulling out his phone. "Hold him up. I want to make sure the lighting is perfect."

Two sets of hands gripped my shoulders. They yanked me upward. I couldn't find my feet. My left side felt like it was on fire.

"Smile for the camera, Han Sen," Zhao sneered. He held the phone level with my face. The little red light was blinking. "Say: 'I'm a pathetic dog who doesn't know his place.'"

"Go to hell," I wheezed.

The lead guard didn't wait for an order. He drove a fist into my stomach. My head snapped forward. Bile burned the back of my throat.

"Wrong answer," Zhao said. He turned the phone toward Lin Xiao. 

"Baby, look at him. Isn't this the 'noble' man you were dating? Look at his face. He looks like a crushed grape."

Lin Xiao leaned into the frame. She didn't look away. She didn't flinch. "He looks exactly like what he is, Zhao. A burden."

"Hear that, Han?" Zhao stepped closer. He poked the camera lens against my forehead. "The whole company is going to see this. 

The shareholders. The board. Your 'clean' reputation? Wiped out. You’ll be the joke of the city. A man who gets beaten in a five-star hotel while his girlfriend watches."

"Finish it," I spat. Blood leaked from the corner of my mouth. "Just finish it."

"Oh, we’re just getting started," Zhao said. He nodded to the guards. The grip on my arms tightened. The pipes started moving.

One hit my thigh. Another caught my shoulder. Every strike sounded like a wet hammer hitting a slab of meat. 

The hotel staff—the maids, the room service waiters, stood by the open door. They watched. Some looked at the floor. Some looked at me with pity. None of them moved.

"Look at them!" Zhao shouted over the sound of the blows. "Nobody is coming for you! You’re nothing! You’re a trial employee! You’re a zero!"

I stopped feeling the individual hits. There was just a dull, rhythmic throb of pain. My vision started to blur. 

I saw Lin Xiao sipping her wine, watching the scene like it was a boring movie. Suddenly, a high-pitched trill cut through the room.

My phone. It was in my pocket, vibrating against my bruised leg. "Wait," I gasped. "Stop. My phone."

"Don't stop," Zhao laughed. "Hit him harder."

"It's the hospital!" I screamed. The desperation in my voice made the lead guard pause.

I managed to reach into my pocket with a shaking hand. I pulled out the screen. It was cracked. Blood smeared across the glass. St. Jude’s ICU.

"Answer it," Zhao said, his voice dropping to a whisper. He held his own phone closer to mine to capture the audio. "Put it on speaker. Let’s hear the bad news."

I pressed the button. My hand was shaking so hard I almost dropped it. "H-hello?"

"Mr. Han Sen?" It was Nurse Miller. Her voice was frantic. "Mr. Han, you need to get here now. There’s been a change in your sister’s status."

My heart plummeted. "Is she... is Yue okay?"

"Her vitals are stable for now, but we have a major problem," the nurse said. 

I heard papers shuffling in the background. "The billing department just received a notification. Nova-Tech has cancelled the 'Charity Insurance' policy for your family. Your sister is being evicted from the ICU immediately."

The world stopped spinning. It just went cold. "What?" I choked out. "They can't. The surgery is in two days. She needs the machines!"

"They’ve already cut the authorization, Mr. Han. The administration is moving her to the general ward in the basement. 

They’re saying without the company’s guarantee, we can’t hold the bed. I’m so sorry." The line went dead.

I looked up at Zhao. He was grinning. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

"My father," Zhao said, clicking his tongue. "He’s a very efficient man. He doesn't like paying for 'broken' assets. 

Since you’re no longer an employee, why should we pay for your sister’s slow death?"

"You monster," I whispered. "I worked for you. I did your shifts. I took the blame for your mistakes!"

"And I paid you in experience," Zhao countered. He pocketed his phone. "Now, the bill is due."

I felt the last of my pride dissolve. It didn't matter anymore. The ’clean’ name, the dignity, the hate—it was all worthless if Yue died in a basement hallway.

I let my body go limp. I slid out of the guards' grip and collapsed onto the floor. I didn't try to stand. I crawled.

My fingers dug into the expensive carpet. Every movement sent a spike of agony through my ribs. 

I dragged myself across the floor until my forehead touched the toes of Zhao’s hand-made Italian leather shoes.

"Please," I sobbed. The sound was pathetic. It was the sound of a man being erased. 

"Zhao. Master Zhao. Please. Don't do this to Yue. Kill me. Beat me. Do whatever you want. Just put her back in the ICU."

I felt Lin Xiao’s gaze on the back of my neck. She let out a small, disgusted huff. "Look at him," she said. "He’s actually begging."

"It’s a good look for him," Zhao replied. I looked up, my eyes stinging with tears and blood. I grabbed the cuff of his trousers. 

"I’ll do anything. I’ll be your dog. I’ll sign whatever you want. Just help her. She’s only nineteen. She hasn't done anything to you."

Zhao looked down at me. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked satisfied. He reached out and adjusted his silk tie, then leaned over, getting his face inches from mine.

I expected a deal. I expected a condition. Instead, I felt a warm, thick glob of saliva hit the top of my head.

"Let her die," Zhao said. His voice was calm. Methodical. "The world doesn't need more losers, Han Sen. And it definitely doesn't need a loser’s sister."

He kicked my hand away from his shoe like he was shaking off a piece of filth.

"Throw the trash out," Zhao commanded the guards. "I’m done with him."