“Why are you still standing there? Take the photos! Let the fans of The Wheelers take a look at what kind of trash they've fallen for,” Clayton said to his assistant.
Once his assistant snapped back to his senses, he quickly took recordings of the scene.
When that was done, Clayton began kicking and punching Sunny.
“Little sh*t, did you think you were capable of going up against me? You're a hundred years too early for that!”
With that, Clayton kicked Sunny to the ground.
Sunny lay on the floor, on the verge of unconsciousness.
Yet, he did not want to admit defeat.
He was going to go all out against Clayton.
However, it took little for Clayton to step on Sunny's hand and twist his foot.
Crack!
The agonizing pang of pain shot up Sunny's arm, and he passed out.
Clayton's assistant hurried over.
“Clayton, I doubt he'll be able to perform with his hand anymore.”
Clayton then asked his assistant to hand him a piece of tissue, which he used to clean his hands.
“Call Mark and get him to come over and pick this guy up. I have zero tolerance for traitors,” Clayton ruthlessly said.
His assistant bobbed his head instantly before calling Mark.
“Let's go. Something has happened to Sunny,” Mark said as he leaped to his feet after ending the call.
The four people then entered the car and drove to Sky Media to look for Sunny.
The moment they reached Sky Media's building, they found Sunny unconscious.
“This is too much! They've crossed the line, Mark. I don't care about anything anymore. I'm going to kill Clayton today!”
“He's right. They're crossing the f*cking line!”
Knowing that they had arrived, Clayton stepped out of the building. After letting his gaze rake over Mark and the others, a sneer manifested on his face.
“Mark, do you see this? This is what will happen to you if you betray me,” Clayton uttered in arrogance.
Mark tightened his fists.
“Clayton Zales,” Mark hissed as he stood up and grabbed Clayton's collar, “you've gone overboard!”
Clayton grabbed his hand.
“So what if I pick on you? What can you do? Come on, hit me!”
Clayton's assistant was ready with his phone by then.
If Mark were to punch Clayton, The Wheelers' misdeed would be all over the internet and media.
“Mark, come over here! Sunny can't hold on any longer!” That was the only thing a band member could say to stop Mark from doing something irreversible.
Moreover, their priority was to send Sunny to the hospital. They could settle the score with Clayton another time.
Hearing that, Mark let go of Clayton.
“Just you wait, Clayton. I'm not done with you yet,” Mark snarled. He then darted over to carry Sunny into the car and drove straight to the hospital.
Jonathan arrived at the hospital after the members of The Wheelers.
All he could think when he saw the grievously injured Sunny was, How is this going to be resolved? Clayton has crossed the line. Sunny's still in the emergency room, so no one knows what's going to happen. Plus, Sunny's hand has been hurt badly. Who knows if he can still play the drums after this?
“Jonathan, don't tell Sophie about this for now.” After all, at the end of the day, it was their private matter, and he was going to deal with it in his own way.
However, Jonathan could not be at ease at Mark's demeanor.
“Mark, I know that you're on close terms with Sunny. We're all upset to see Sunny like this, but you mustn't do anything rash, got it?”
The members of The Wheelers were talented, but their tempers were bad.
Even though their time in the entertainment industry forced them to learn to hold themselves back, this was something they found extremely difficult to tolerate.
Right then, the three other teammates angrily voiced out their opinions. “Jonathan, you know that the only thing we want to do is perform, but they just won't let us go. If that's the case, there's no point for us to keep holding ourselves back. Nothing horrible is going to happen. At most, we'll stop being in the entertainment industry.”
“That's right. We can't keep tolerating things like these!”
“We're going to beat Clayton into a mush right now!”
Each member seemed more agitated than the other, and it seemed like none of Jonathan's words could change their minds.
It was the first time he had encountered something like this, and he had no idea how to resolve it.
“Calm down. None of us knows the details of this issue. If we do anything rash, we'll only be giving Clayton another chance to strike us down,” Jonathan pointed out.
Mark remained quiet the entire time.
Regardless of what Jonathan said to them, this was something they were not going to stay silent about.
They were young men. How could they possibly keep their cool after encountering something like this?
“Okay, okay, calm down. I promise you that I'll give you a satisfactory result for this case,” Jonathan continued reassuring them.
“Jonathan, I know you have it hard because no one can go up against Clayton in this industry.”
“I'm sorry for being so powerless. I couldn't protect you guys...” Frankly, Jonathan wished he could act less cowardly, but they were nothing but ants to be squashed in the face of the powerful.
“Jonathan, I know that you've done your best. Don't come with us anymore, okay?” That was the first time Mark had said something along those lines.
“Mark, what are you talking about? Do you think I'm worried about myself? I'm worried about you all. All of you have bright futures. You shouldn't be stopping here.” Indeed, Jonathan had been asking them to hold themselves back so that their dreams could be fulfilled.
“That isn't what I mean, Jonathan. I just want to tell you that I'm not going to let Caleb go this time. I don't want to drag you into this mess, so leave now.”
“You—”
Jonathan sighed in exasperation. Still, he could understand their fury.
They then waited outside until the doctor wheeled Sunny out. It was only after the doctor's continuous reassurances that Sunny's life was not in danger did Mark and the others relax.
After that, they stayed by Sunny's side.
Sunny did not have any family in the city, so they were the only ones who could take care of him.
Terrified that the members of The Wheelers would do something reckless, Jonathan discreetly made a call to Sophie.
It was almost midnight when Sophie received the call.
When she saw Jonathan's name on the screen, she did not hesitate to pick up the call.
“Jonathan, it's quite late. Is something the matter?” Sleepiness was already lacing Sophie's words.
“Ms. Tanner, I know I shouldn't be disturbing you at this time, but I've run out of ideas. Please come quickly. Something bad has happened to Sunny!”
“All right, I got it. I'll be there right away.”
With that, Sophie climbed out of her bed and changed before leaving her room.
The moment Tristan heard the sound of the door, he rushed out of the bedroom.
“What's going on? Why are you going out so late in the night?” Tristan questioned. Knowing that Clayton was a despicable man, he wanted to know where Sophie was at all times.
“Jonathan said Sunny has been hurt! I'm going to go and take a look,” Sophie replied, the panic evident in her voice.
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