LOGINThere were men with thick bellies pushing against tight shirts, their mouths stretched into hungry grins. Bald men with shiny scalps and cold eyes. Thin men who stared too intently, their lips curled as if savoring a secret. Men with heavy mustaches, men with patchy beards. Foreigners speaking in low voices she could not understand, their gazes roaming over her without shame.Some were fat. Some lean. Some well dressed. Some rough and unkempt.But their looks were the same.They were perverts.Emily’s breath came out in a broken whimper.Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she instinctively tried to cover herself, forgetting for a moment that she was still bound. Her chest tightened until it hurt. Panic surged so fast it made her dizzy.“No,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “No… please…”Her vision blurred with tears as she shook her head again and again, backing away until she felt hands clamp onto her arms from behind, holding her in place.She felt small. Exposed. Strippe
A sharp voice cut through the air.“Stop it, you idiot!”Emily gasped.Her eyes flew open as the bat froze midair, so close she could feel the rush of air against her skin. Her heart slammed violently against her ribs, her breath breaking apart in short, shallow pulls. For a split second, she could not even move. She was still trapped in the moment where she thought everything was about to end.Then she heard it.The steady, unmistakable click of stiletto heels against the concrete floor.Click. Click. Click.The sound echoed through the abandoned room, calm and deliberate, completely at odds with the chaos inside Emily’s chest.Her vision blurred, then cleared as she focused past Stanley’s raised arm.A woman stepped into the dim light.Emily’s throat tightened painfully. Confusion, shock, and a fragile spark of hope tangled together inside her. Someone had come. Someone had stopped him.Her body trembled harder now, not just from fear but from the sudden release of it. Tears welled
“Stanley,” Emily cried out, her voice cracking. “Stanley, help me!”Her eyes locked onto him as if he were the last lifeline in the room. She still did not understand what was happening. She did not want to. Every instinct begged her to believe that he was not part of this.“Stanley, run!” she shouted, panic spilling out of her. “Save yourself! Get help! Please!”Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. Her wrists burned where the ropes bit into her skin, her body trembling from fear and exhaustion. She was surrounded by strangers, trapped, helpless, and the only familiar face in the room stood frozen a few steps away.This was Stanley Connor.He claimed to be Brian Xavier’s friend. That was he said.The guy who had approached her first on campus, smiling shyly as he introduced himself as Brian’s friend. The guy who always waved whenever they crossed paths, who showed up in libraries and hallways with the same awkward grin. Thin, quiet, bookish. Someone who looked like he could barely
Emily stepped toward the open laboratory door.The room smelled of dust and old chemicals, the kind of place no one used anymore. Sunlight filtered weakly through high windows, casting long shadows across abandoned tables and overturned stools.Two boys stood inside.They were unfamiliar. Not faces she recognized from any lecture or exam hall. They wore school uniforms, but something about them was off. The fabric looked newer, the fit careless, as if the clothes did not belong to this place.They had no business being here.One of them leaned against a lab table, arms crossed, smirk lazy and shameless. The other held a phone loosely in his hand, the screen still glowing.Emily stepped fully into the doorway.“Say that again,” she said calmly.Her voice did not shake. Her spine stayed straight. She met their eyes without flinching.The taller boy laughed. “Oh, she heard us,” he said, amused. “Guess the rumors didn’t scare you off.”The shorter one grinned. “Why would they? She likes a
Emily did not stop walking until she reached her room.She closed the door behind her and turned the lock with a soft click. Only then did she lean her back against the wood and let out a breath she felt she had been holding since the study room.The silence wrapped around her.For the first time that morning, she could breathe freely. But relief did not come. Her chest still felt tight, her thoughts tangled and loud.It was as if she had left her mind behind in that room.She closed her eyes, pressing her palms lightly against them, trying to steady herself. Trying to calm the chaos. But the images would not stop.Nancy standing at the door.Charles inside the study.How close they had been.Too close.Her heart sank at the thought she tried hardest to ignore. The kiss that never happened. The moment that had been interrupted.Had it ended there?Or had Charles turned back to Nancy after she left and given her what had almost been given to her?The idea made her stomach twist.She sh
The next morning, Emily was in the mansion’s study room with her hands clenched at her sides.She did not want to be there.The air was heavy, thick with authority and expectation.Old Master Frederick sat at the center, his cane resting against the arm of his chair like a symbol of rule rather than age.Charles sat beside her, composed, unreadable.On the screen, Warren sat beside the old man.He was smiling.Too happy.His face was pale, almost fragile, but his eyes were bright, filled with hope that made Emily’s chest tighten uncomfortably.“This marriage,” Old Master Frederick said sharply, his voice slicing through the room, “must remain hidden.”The silence that followed felt deliberate.“We cannot afford rumors,” he continued. “If this gets out, people will talk. They will question our family.”His gaze shifted to Emily.Cold. Calculating.“And you, Miss Greyson,” he said slowly, “should not think for a second that you can disrupt what has been arranged.”Emily’s fingers curled
Emily slipped away from the putting green, the day’s sunburn and fatigue weighing on her shoulders. Nancy and Justin were deep in conversation by the clubhouse patio…too absorbed to notice her departure.Inside the spa’s cool marble hall, she paused at a row of doors labeled “Steam Room,” “Sauna,”
The driver gave one final glance in the rearview mirror and smirked…a slow, satisfied smile. The car pulled off the main road, down an overgrown path riddled with potholes and shadows. Emily slumped in the backseat, unmoving, her head bowed, arms limp, her cat nestled unknowingly against her.He pa
A moment earlier, Nancy tiptoed through the dim kitchen, the cold tiles biting at her bare feet. Her head still throbbed from the wine, but something more profound… something restless…had pulled her from bed. She had searched for Charles in all the usual places: his room, his study, even the librar
Justin led them to the VIP lounge, a sleek glass-walled space overlooking the course. Inside, two sets of golf attire were laid out… one for Nancy, one for Emily. Everything was pristine, designer, and clearly expensive.Emily stared at the outfit. A white golf dress, tailored to her measurements,







