로그인“The color must be identical to that painting. No mistakes,” Kenzo Alberto commanded, his voice echoing through a dressing room larger than Lyra’s old apartment.Three strangers in sleek black uniforms stood rigidly before a floor-to-ceiling mirror. They carried metal cases filled with hairstyling tools and makeup palettes that looked like surgical instruments. The team leader bowed respectfully to Kenzo before glancing at Lyra with an unreadable expression.Lyra sat gripping the edge of a velvet chair. She stared at her reflection, still dressed in last night’s emerald green nightgown. Her hair, usually left loose, had now become the target of expert eyes intent on turning her into a ghost.“I won’t allow you to change anything about my body!” Lyra snapped, stepping back as she glared at everyone.She jerked her shoulder away when a stylist’s hand brushed her hair. Rising to her feet, her breath came fast, anger surging to her head.Her foot lashed out, kicking over the ceramic bowl
“Throw everything out. Don’t let a single item from her past remain in this room.”Kenzo Alberto’s voice sliced through the silence of the dining room like a blade. He sat calmly at the end of a long table made of black teak.In his right hand, he held a porcelain cup filled with dark coffee, a thin curl of steam rising from its surface. Across from him, Martha, the head housekeeper, bowed her head deeply, not daring to interrupt.In the corridor, the hurried footsteps of the servants echoed. They carried large black trash bags. One by one, the bags filled with items that should have belonged to Lyra. Thick college textbooks covered in handwritten notes. Pencil sketches of her mother’s gentle face. Even the underwear she had bought with her own savings.Lyra stood at the threshold of her room, her body trembling violently. She watched her favorite novel tossed carelessly into one of the plastic bags. Her eyes burned as a small keychain, a gift from her best friend, was swept in along
“Miss… this card will only work for three minutes. After that, the system will notice,” the cleaning staff whispered, glancing left and right to make sure everything was under control. His hand trembled as he handed over the gray access card.Lyra snatched it immediately, her fingers cold. Her lips curved upward as she imagined freedom from Kenzo’s golden cage.“Where’s my payment?”Lyra shot him an annoyed look. Reluctantly, she handed over the gold ring her mother had left her. There was no turning back. No matter what, she wanted out of that place.“Three minutes is enough,” she murmured. “I just need to get out of here.”“I’m so unlucky to have run into that old man. Whatever his personal business is, I don’t care,” Lyra cursed inwardly.She refused to think about Elena. Not now. If she started digging into it, she might hesitate and trade away her own freedom.And she could not hesitate.After making sure the situation remained safe, she dismissed the cleaning staff before anyone
“You know, Lyra, Elena used to hate the color crimson, but tonight you look absolutely perfect in that dress,” Kenzo Alberto said, his voice hissing like a serpent behind Lyra’s ear.Lyra froze at the bathroom doorway, clutching the edge of the crimson velvet evening gown that had been delivered by a servant just minutes ago. The dress clung tightly to her body, its back cut dangerously low, exposing her pale skin.“I’m not her, Kenzo. Stop comparing me to your past. It’s disgusting.”Lyra slowly turned, trying to hide the tremor in her hands. Elena’s diary, the one she had found earlier, was still tucked beneath the bathroom sink. The secret about the camera hidden in the wedding dress button throbbed in her mind like a ticking bomb.“Comparison is the best way to measure perfection.”Kenzo stood in the dimly lit main area of the penthouse, holding a small wooden box carved with ancient patterns. His gaze swept over Lyra from head to toe. There was something deeply unsettling in the
“Thinking too much isn’t good for you. Look at you now. Instead of daydreaming, you should enjoy the facilities here.”Lyra snapped out of her thoughts by the massive window of the fiftieth-floor penthouse. She didn’t turn, her gaze fixed on the glittering city lights below, scattered like unreachable diamonds.“I prefer freedom to being here.”Lyra turned around, folding her arms across her chest. The ivory silk nightgown she wore clung to the tense lines of her body, the crystal chandelier casting reflections over the sapphire necklace around her neck.“Too dramatic, and ungrateful.”“What? You think I like it here? On top of that, you’ve cut off my access to the outside world.”Kenzo stepped closer. He had already removed his jacket, the collar of his expensive white shirt left open.He held a glass of whiskey, ice clinking softly.“I’m not a stupid girl. You didn’t save me from that bastard. You just moved me somewhere higher so you could watch me fall more clearly.”Lyra pointed
“Wake up.”Lyra felt her blanket being yanked away. Through the haze of sleep, she heard the rasp of curtains being pulled aside, then light sliced into her eyes.“What the hell…” she muttered, still half-asleep.“An additional contract, Miss. It must be read before breakfast.”Lyra opened her eyes. A middle-aged maid stood at the foot of the bed, holding a black folder as thick as a palm.Lyra sat up immediately.“An additional contract? I just signed one last night.”“It’s from Mr. Alberto.” The maid’s voice was flat. “He calls it a lifestyle alignment.”Lyra let out a harsh laugh. “Alignment? You mean oppression, right?”The maid didn’t react. She placed the folder on the nightstand and waited for Lyra’s response.“Sir is waiting at the dining table. Fifteen minutes.”She bowed and left without a sound. Lyra stared at the folder, her stomach suddenly churning. She opened the first page with trembling hands.Her eyes widened at once, shock flashing across her face as she read.Safet







