Chapter 1

The drug's effects crept through my veins, and even the slightest movement of my fingers sent a dull ache through my bones. I peeled my eyes open and focused on the hand-painted, gold-gilded irises on the ceiling.

It was the Harlan family's crest. Before I turned 18, that flower had been embroidered onto the collar of every one of my haute couture nightgowns.

My fiance Kai Vaughn's voice was thick with greed beyond the door. "Eliana, are you sure this intel is reliable? Tristan is really coming back to this suite tonight?"

My best friend, Eliana Sinclair, could barely contain the excitement in her voice. "I bought this intel from his driver for 20 grand. He'll be here at 11:00 pm on the dot. Once he pushes open the door and sees a woman lying in his bed who looks exactly like the woman he's always loved…"

She scoffed. "There's no way he would pass up a meal that's been served right to his mouth. Who knows? If Mr. Harlan likes what he sees, that ten-billion-dollar project in the south of the city will be ours!"

After hearing the two of them snickering incessantly outside the door, I bit down hard on the tip of my tongue. The metallic sweetness of blood instantly flooded my throat.

I had worked myself to the bone for Kai's lousy startup, pulling all-nighters until I was coughing up blood. I had treated Eliana as my best friend, only to find them in bed together in the apartment I'd rented with my own hard-earned money.

And now, they had no qualms about acting like pimps, putting a clear price tag on me and sending me to another man's bed.

My stomach spasmed violently. My nails dug in so deep they broke against the leather upholstery, yet even that pain was nothing compared to the agony roiling inside me.

Little did they know that my father was Tristan Harlan.

Years ago, he had cheated on Mom with a starlet, and in her despair, Mom had slit her wrists and taken her own life. I had run away from home in a fit of rage.

All these years, Dad and I had tacitly stayed out of each other's lives. He had done nothing but deposit money into my bank account, terrified that I might suffer hardships or go without.

Kai and Eliana thought I was an orphan who was living off my parents' inheritance and squandering it. That was the only reason they dared to treat me as a bargaining chip without a moment's hesitation.

Dad might've been a lecherous bastard, but he was fiercely protective of his own. Many months ago, when a spoiled scion made an inappropriate remark to me, Dad immediately drove him into bankruptcy.

If he ever found out that these two scumbags had sent me to his bed as a plaything… By the time he was done with them, even death would be a luxury they could only dream of.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Eliana deliberately raised her voice. "Once we secure the deal with Harlan Group, we should hold our wedding. I want that diamond ring Abigail had her eyes on but never had the heart to buy."

Kai chuckled indulgently. "Sure. I'll use the money I make from selling her to buy you that ring."

I stared at the ceiling, the chill in my eyes turning to solid ice.

Their intel was right. Dad would indeed come here because it was his and Mom's wedding anniversary.

Mom had taken her own life in this very room. Every year, he came back here to mourn her.

Every single year on this day, countless people would send women to his doorstep. This year, however, that little surprise happened to be me.

The very next second, the door swung open. Kai strode toward me and yanked me by the hair. A searing pain shot through my scalp.

"Don't hold this against me, Abigail Harlan. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for having no power or influence. You deserve to be sold off like cheap goods! Even if you're toyed to death tonight, you must make Mr. Harlan happy!"

I didn't have any power or influence? I looked at his triumphant face, the corners of my mouth curling into a derisive smile. "Kai, you'd better pray that when the night's over, there's enough left of you to bury!"

"You've still got the nerve to run your mouth?" Eliana marched forward and slapped me hard across the face. A deafening ringing exploded in my ears.

"Let's change her clothes. Mr. Harlan will be here any minute now!"

Eliana smirked as she ripped open my coat and slipped a skimpy, translucent lingerie slip onto my body. "You really do look like a filthy whore," she snickered, patting my cheek in satisfaction.

I lay face down on the waterbed, drowning in humiliation. Slowly, I clenched my fists.

These two idiots had stripped Tristan Harlan's own flesh and blood bare and delivered her to his bed. The sheer depravity of it was beyond anything I'd ever heard of.