Elise quickly pulled James away from danger, shielding her son with her own body.

William laughed coldly, his voice dripping with venom as he sneered at the boy. "Your mother is a fraud! Do you actually believe William Levine, heir to the wealthiest family in Crestwood, is your father? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror! See how cheap your mother acts! You think a man like William Levine would ever touch her and have a child with her? Keep dreaming!"

"William Levine is my—"

"Enough! We're wasting our time with them," Eva snapped impatiently. "Jerry's next competition is starting soon."

William nodded, turning his threats back to Elise. "Final warning! Are you going to cooperate or not?"

"Never!" Elise stood her ground, unwavering.

"So you want to do this the difficult way?"

The man's face twisted with malicious intent as he raised his thick hand, aiming directly for Elise's face.

Elise clenched her jaw—she had stalled for as much time as possible.

With so many people surrounding them, there was no escape for her and James.

Even if she tried to fight back, James could get hurt in the struggle.

So she simply watched as William's palm swung toward her.

Just as William's hand was about to connect with her face, Elise saw a large hand abruptly catch William's wrist, stopping him mid-swing.

William glared furiously at the hand gripping him like a vise and turned angrily, his expression savage as he faced the other man.

After a moment of shock, pure terror instantly washed over his features.

Before he could utter a word, William shoved him away, sending him stumbling backward several steps.

But William didn't even glance at him as he turned to Elise, asking softly, "Was he harassing you?"

Elise nodded. "His son bullied James."

A cold glint flashed in William's eyes as he crouched down to look at James, whose face was covered in grime.

"Daddy," James called out, his voice clear and loud.

That single word sent a chill creeping down William's spine.

He definitely knew who William was; even if they had never met personally, he had worked with subsidiaries of Levine Holdings on one of his construction projects.

As a prominent principal contractor in Crestwood, he had handled various major projects and was the typical nouveau riche who had surpassed most of his peers.

His wealth had made him arrogant, leading him to believe that any problem solvable with money wasn't a problem at all.

Naturally, realizing he had crossed William made his mind go completely blank.

Meanwhile, Eva didn't immediately recognize William.

But she could see that William looked as if his soul had left his body, and she quickly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

William remained speechless, while James complained loudly and angrily, "Daddy, they were bullying Mommy and were going to hit her! They called me a bstrd and said you'd never love Mommy, and that you wouldn't have a child with her!"

"His son beat me up because I won the swimming competition, and he threatened me to let him win the other events! I refused, so he put a trash can over my head and said his father would bankrupt us!"

William's glare turned absolutely terrifying in that instant.

Victoria had never seen him so enraged, despite having spent years hovering around him.

They had left earlier, and Victoria knew it was because William wanted to give Elise time alone with James.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity and seeing neither of them emerge, William had rushed to the dressing room so quickly that Victoria could barely keep up.

His face was etched with deadly worry that something might have happened to James and Elise, his concern palpable for everyone to see.