Chapter 5

Victor didn't hold back and walked straight through the Martinez Villa gate.

Hazel moved close to Aiden with resentment written all over her face.

"Dad, what are you doing? This Victor is clearly looking down on us!"

Aiden shot her a cold glance and lowered his voice, "What do you know? The Ashford family did the Martinez family a favor back in the day—everyone in our circle knows about it. Even though there's no way we'd marry Amelia off to some fallen family's heir, we can't give people something to hold against us or make ourselves a laughingstock."

After saying this, Aiden turned and walked into the house, leaning on his cane.

Hazel stood there, her face dark.

"Mrs. Martinez, what should we do now?" The butler stepped forward cautiously.

A flash of vicious coldness crossed Hazel's eyes.

"We can't touch him openly, but that doesn't mean we can't teach him a lesson in private. Go pick a few skilled bodyguards and teach him the Martinez family rules tonight."

The butler nodded knowingly, turned and left to arrange it.

Hazel snorted coldly, her fingers with bright red nail polish clenched into fists.

Some nobody who came out of nowhere actually dares to try climbing up to the Martinez family.

A few minutes later, Victor was shown into the main hall of the Martinez Villa.

The hall was extremely spacious with luxurious decorations.

Aiden took his seat at the head and raised his hand slightly.

"Have a seat, Victor."

Victor showed no sign of discomfort and sat down directly in the guest seat.

Aiden picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee, and asked tentatively, "Are you here about the marriage arrangement?"

"Yes."

Victor picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee, and set it down casually.

"Mr. Martinez, let me be straight with you. I'm here today following my grandfather's orders, just going through the motions."

"As for this marriage, I personally have no interest whatsoever."

As soon as he said this, the air in the hall seemed to freeze for a moment.

Aiden's hand holding the cup paused slightly.

He thought Victor was here to attach himself to the Martinez family, never expecting he was here to refuse the marriage!

A criminal fresh out of prison—what gives him the right to look down on the Martinez family?

Aiden suppressed his displeasure and asked coldly, "Why?"

"Simple. I've experienced Ms. Martinez's character firsthand."

Victor leaned back in his chair, his tone flat, but his eyes showed undisguised disdain.

"When looking for a wife, I don't need wealth or status, but at the very least she should understand what manners are. Unfortunately, Ms. Martinez doesn't seem to have that quality."

As soon as he finished speaking, the servants standing in the hall all gasped.

The butler standing behind Aiden glared at him angrily.

To criticize the Martinez family's daughter for having no manners right here on Martinez family territory—this Victor must have a death wish!

Aiden's face completely darkened as he slammed his cup heavily on the table.

"Victor, you're going too far!"

Victor paid no attention to Aiden's anger.

"Ms. Martinez personally went to Emerald Island and made quite a scene at the dock. Every word she said was passed on to me by the people at Emerald Island."

The corner of Aiden's eye twitched violently.

He knew all too well about Amelia's spoiled nature.

"Victor, Amelia has been spoiled since childhood. She just speaks harshly, but deep down she's actually..."

"Mr. Martinez."

Victor rudely interrupted Aiden's attempt to make excuses.

"The Martinez family is powerful and used to measuring everything by status and position. But in my eyes, what you're so proud of is worthless."

"We don't share the same moral standards. This marriage—I'm calling it off."

Victor had spent three years in that godforsaken place on Emerald Island, learning all kinds of skills, but never how to compromise.

His words were sharp as knives, leaving no room for negotiation.

Aiden's face had completely darkened.

He'd dominated the business world for decades through ruthless methods and overwhelming power.

Now to be scorned to his face by some young punk—this was trampling the Martinez family's dignity underfoot!

"It's good for young people to have spirit, but being too rigid leads to breaking."

Aiden's voice was ice cold.

"Out of respect for your grandfather, I won't argue with you today. Stay in the guest room for now, and when Amelia returns tomorrow, you two can discuss it."

With that, Aiden picked up his cane and left.

Originally he'd wanted to warn Hazel not to cause trouble behind the scenes, but now he completely dismissed that idea.

If Victor was going to be this arrogant, let him learn a hard lesson and find out exactly what kind of family the Martinez family is!

Meanwhile, the butler led Victor to a guest room on the east side with a cold face.

The room wasn't large but was decorated fairly neatly.

Victor walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, casually picking up a magazine from the nightstand.

The cover showed a heavily retouched photo of Amelia, with the headline "Youngest Female Entrepreneur."

Victor laughed mockingly and tossed the magazine into the nearby trash can.

He had no interest in this kind of fake stuff.

As night deepened, the clock pointed to 1 AM.

Victor lay on the bed. He'd originally wanted to take a short nap, but now it seemed unnecessary.

He knew all too well how these wealthy families operated. After such a tense confrontation during the day, how could the night possibly be peaceful?

Just then, an extremely faint sound came from the hallway.

Through the thick soundproof walls, ordinary people wouldn't notice it at all.

A few minutes later, the guest room door lock made a very soft click.

The door was pushed open silently, and eight dark figures rushed in like lightning, holding high-voltage stun batons and custom steel batons.

These were the top-tier guards Hazel had spent a fortune to keep—all retired from battlefields.

The leader made a hand signal, and the eight quickly spread out, blocking all exits from the room. The eight worked together seamlessly, their weapons simultaneously smashing down hard toward the bed!

But there was no expected dull thud of flesh and blood.

The steel batons hit the solid wood bed frame with a deafening crash.

The bed was smashed to pieces, but the blankets were empty!

The leader's pupils contracted sharply, realizing something was wrong.

"Retreat!"

Without hesitation, he immediately gave the order in a low voice.

Just then, the ceiling light came on.

The harsh light made the eight men instinctively squint.

Victor leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a mocking smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the eight men in the room.

"The Martinez family's hospitality is really something special. Middle of the night, sending eight dogs to guard me?"

The leader's face changed, a flash of viciousness in his eyes.

"Attack together!"

He roared, leading the charge with his stun baton crackling with blue arcs, heading straight for Victor's face!

But as soon as he raised his hand, his wrist was caught in Victor's iron grip.

Accompanied by the tooth-grinding sound of bones cracking, the leader screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Then came the second, the third.

From the moment Victor moved to all eight dark figures hitting the ground, the whole process took less than five seconds.

These eight well-trained top fighters didn't even touch the corner of Victor's clothes.

The leader clutched his broken wrist, staring at the man before him in terror.

He was a tough guy who'd retired from an overseas mercenary group—what storms hadn't he seen?

But in front of Victor, he felt like a baby who'd just learned to walk.