Chapter 4

He kept his sly grin, a mischievous glint in his eye as he took her camera. The surprise left her defenseless.

“What are you doing?” she questioned.

Her one hand clung to the sheet that barely covered her body, void of clothing. Her body jolted, and the other hand extended towards him to reclaim the camera.

“Ah...”

Aching from the pain in her lower body and the all-consuming fatigue, she had no choice but to collapse back onto the bed.

“Give it back to me.”

His smirk deepened as he swiftly removed the memory card from the camera and tossed the device back onto the bed.

“What the hell are you doing? Give my memory card back.”

Admiring his new possession, he flashed a triumphant grin.

“Holding onto this clip could jeopardize your life. So let me keep it for you.”

Despite his blatant robbery, she refused to give in, forcing herself to lunge at him despite the physical agony.

“I said give it back now! You bastard!”

Her pleas were brushed aside as he entered the bathroom. Having stored the vital memory card in his phone case, he carried the fruits of her risk-filled endeavor. She refused to accept this outcome.

“Stand right there! Give me back my memory card, you...”

The slightest movement was unbearable, causing intense pain in her lower body. Looking at her fair skin, she noticed numerous red marks left by that detestable man.

She wanted to get up from the bed, but the pain made it impossible. Her torn clothes were scattered around the room. She didn’t know what she could wear now.

Before she could finish her thought, the scoundrel had returned. Her glare of resentment only seemed to excite him further. Dressed neatly in a suit, his gentlemanly appearance contrasted starkly with the beastly act he had committed.

“You can stay here.”

Suddenly, he bent down, one hand resting on the bed, his face close to hers.

“I guess you’re in too much pain to go anywhere right now?”

She tried to slap him in her rage, but he caught her hand in his.

“Fool.”

He spoke with a tone of mockery before retrieving a wad of cash from his wallet and tossing it onto the bed.

“Compensation for you...”

He leaned in close to her ear, uttering his following words in the voice of a true bad boy.

“Your first time was amazing.”

She felt cornered, passive, and unable to fight back.

“I don’t need your money, you bastard.”

She’d lost count of how many times she’d cursed him since their first encounter, but it was far from enough to express the brutality of this dangerous man.

He calmly responded.

“That’s up to you. I have things to do. If you’re good and stay here, when I get back, we can...”

His words trailed off, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. Sensing his perverted intent, she quickly raised her hands to shield her chest.

“Get out!”

He smirked slightly and turned to leave. He had used her entirely without asking for her name or age, the girl he had shared a bed with. This man was even worse than the word ‘terrible.’

Looking at the smear of blood on the bedsheet, she couldn’t stop the tears of resentment towards the one who had stolen her innocence. Moments later, wiping her tears, she attempted to drag her aching body out of bed. But the harsh aftermath of her first time was excruciating, and she toppled onto the floor before she could take a step.

“Bastard.”

She incessantly cursed him, clutching at the torn remnants of her clothes, wishing she could pull him into a hundred pieces. She dragged herself to the wardrobe with tremendous effort and grabbed one of his striped shirts haphazardly to cover herself. She needed to leave quickly before the beast returned; she never wanted to see him again.

Luckily, she found a baseball cap in the wardrobe. The woman quickly changed, brushed her hair, and wore the hat, shielding half her face. His shirt was oversized on her, making her look like she was wearing a large dress, but she had no choice.

She was slightly worried about being discovered by the demons from this morning, but on reassessing, she realized they wouldn’t recognize her; she had dressed in black and covered her face when breaking in.

With every painful step, she slowly left the room that had been the stage of a haunting encounter. As she approached the elevator, seeing the doors about to close, she called out:

“Wait a moment.”

Fortunately, the person inside held the doors open for her. But her heart leaped into her throat as she recognized two of the five men who had chased her this morning: “I’m doomed. It’s them!”

Summoning what little calm she had left, she positioned herself upright. Thankfully, she had grabbed a cloth bag from the beast’s room to conceal her camera, and else they might have discovered her.

“Which floor are you going to?”

One asked, his attitude more amicable as he saw her beauty.

“The... ground floor.”

He nodded and pressed the button for the ground floor. Feeling uneasy, she slightly lowered her head, fearful they might recognize her. Recalling the breathless chase, she found herself in the same elevator with the men who wanted her dead.

Once they exited on the first floor, she exhaled in relief. She had been so nervous that she forgot about the pain; her limbs were stiff, and even breathing felt laborious.

...

A day later.

The office was heavy with tension as sharp sounds continuously echoed.

“Chairman Edwards... please... I beg of you...”

He sat on his swivel chair, imposing and frosty, his handsome face exuding a chilling aura.

“Beat her until she can’t speak.”

His henchmen complied without hesitation, not caring that their victim was a woman. After being slapped so hard her lips bled, she scrambled towards him to plead for mercy.

“Chairman Edwards... I beg of you... I made a mistake... I won’t do it again...”

Seeing her swollen face, he sneered disdainfully, gripping her face so tightly as if he intended to crush it.

“Dared to d*** me? Looks like a woman like you wants to die!”

As soon as he finished, he flung her to the floor, coldly ordering: “Continue to slap her until she no longer has the strength to talk.”

Ignoring the desperate pleas, she was forcibly dragged away by his henchmen and brutally punished.

The cold-blooded man continued to watch with piercing eyes as his minions beat her relentlessly. Raymond Edwards, chairman of the Enda Corporation and direct CEO of the Uri gemstone company, was the man of power. In addition, he was the boss of the Blood Moon gang, an underground organization in the black market specializing in the trade and smuggling of gemstones, fiercely competing with other established organizations for influence.

He had just returned from a few business trips in Summer City and was staying at Pansy Hotel. His female assistant, Willow Gary, accompanied him to meet with his partners. She unexpectedly added an aph******ac to his lunch meal with a hidden agenda to “climb the corporate ladder.”