The villa was actually in my name. Had Eugene really just handed it over to her?

I couldn’t sit on it any longer, so I found a moment to call Eugene.

He picked up almost right away. “Hey, honey. Miss me already?”

“Yeah. I started interning at the company, but I haven’t told anyone who I am.”

Eugene sounded surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve arranged a position that suited you better.”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” I asked.

He never mentioned Tessa. Instead, he gave me his usual update on work, told me how the deal was going, and even sent me his flight details.

But almost right after that, Tessa got a call too. One look at the panic on her face told me all I needed to know. So there really was something going on.

*

Soon enough, the weekend arrived.

I followed Tessa into the villa. She moved around like she knew the place by heart, which meant she had definitely been here more than once.

The staff had even prepared dinner for her ahead of time.

Holding a glass of wine, she looked at me smugly. “Anna, bet you’ve never been somewhere this fancy before.”

I let out a cold laugh. “You’re right. I hardly ever come here.

“Oh? Is Mr. Gibson really that stingy with you? Can't even spare a decent bottle of wine?”

I glanced at the wine cabinet. We were drinking the cheapest bottle in the whole collection.

Tessa bristled. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s not stingy with me. You, go get the second bottle from the left.”

One of the coworkers immediately jumped to do her bidding, grabbed the bottle, and opened it.

“See this? It’s a Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. Consider this your lucky day. Most people never get the chance to taste something like this.”

“Seriously. We’d never get to drink wine this expensive under normal circumstances.”

“Mr. Gibson really does spoil Tessa. I bet he bought this whole place just for her.”

I held my wineglass and looked around, hoping to spot something I could use as evidence.

Before I could, someone shoved me from behind. My hand slipped, and red wine splashed across the painting on the wall.

They all rushed over at once.

“Anna! Are you so excited your hands are shaking?”

“That painting has to be worth a fortune. Good thing it’s covered, or you could never afford to pay for it.”

I was beyond annoyed. “Then why don’t we pull the cover off and take a look?”

It was actually an oil portrait of me. I hadn’t been happy with how it turned out, so I had it covered and planned to have it redone later.

I reached up to pull the cloth down, but Tessa grabbed my hand. “What do you think you’re doing? Did I say you could touch it? My darling said it’s a portrait of his grandmother. No one’s allowed to touch it.”

Eugene really could lie with a straight face.

Just then, Dot, the little dog I kept there, came running out.

The second she saw Tessa grabbing my hand, she started barking at her like crazy.

Tessa jumped back in panic. “Where did this nasty little dog come from? Get it away from me!”

“Who are you calling nasty?”

The louder she screamed, the harder Dot barked.

Then one of the coworkers muttered, “Tessa, if it’s just some stray, beat it to death.”

Tessa took the stick from her and brought it down on Dot, beating her until she cried out over and over.

“Tessa, what are you doing? That’s my dog!”

I tried to run over and save Dot, but several of the women grabbed me and held me down.

“Your dog?” one of them sneered. “Like you’ve ever even been to this villa before. You like that dog so much? Then I’ll make sure you get to watch her die.”

That was when I truly panicked.

I didn't care what happened between me and Eugene at that moment.

But Dot was innocent. She had done nothing wrong. She couldn’t get hurt because of this.

I screamed for help. “Somebody help! Mrs. Wilson! Let me go! Leave Dot alone!”

Tessa kicked Dot hard. “Still keeping up the act? Fine. I’m going to beat this dog to death today. What are you going to do about it?”

She raised the stick again, clearly about to go for one last blow, when Mrs. Wilson came hurrying over.

“Oh no, miss, you can’t hit that dog!”

Mrs. Wilson snatched the stick out of Tessa’s hand, but Tessa only looked annoyed.

“It’s just a dog. So what if it dies? It’s just a guard dog. Tell my darling to buy another one.”

“Tessa, how can you be this cruel?”

In her videos, she always came across as sweet and harmless, like she could do no wrong. I never would have guessed she was this vicious.

That was when Mrs. Wilson finally noticed me.

“Mrs...” she began, then quickly stopped herself.

It was obvious why.

Tessa was standing right there.

Had even the staff been helping Eugene lie to me?

“That dog was very expensive,” Mrs. Wilson said awkwardly. “She’s worth a lot of money.”

I shook off the people holding me and got to my feet, straightening my clothes.

“Mrs. Wilson, you seem pretty familiar with Tessa. I’m giving you one last chance. Tell me. Who exactly is the real Mrs. Gibson?”

Mrs. Wilson looked trapped. She glanced at me, then at Tessa. Finally, she clenched her jaw and said, “It... it’s her.”

She pointed at Tessa. “She... she’s Mrs. Gibson.”

The women around us burst out laughing.

Tessa looked unbearably smug. “I honestly don’t know why you’re still hanging on to this fantasy. Are you really still not giving up?”

“Oh my God, this is too funny. Where do you even get the nerve to ask who Mrs. Gibson is? You think the Gibson family staff wouldn’t know?”

“First you ruined a painting in the villa, and now you let the villa’s guard dog scare Tessa. If Mr. Gibson finds out, you’re dead.”

“You all should take it easy,” Mrs. Wilson said nervously. “Don’t make things too hard for a guest, or Mr. Gibson will be upset.”

She didn’t dare look at me again. Hugging Dot tightly, she hurried off.

I tried to go after her, but they blocked my way.

“Move. This is my villa!”

Tessa stepped in front of me and motioned for them to hold me down again. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, yelling at me here. So tell me, how do you think I should punish you?”

“This bitch only has her face going for her. Why don’t we ruin it?”

Tessa looked very pleased with that suggestion.

“You wouldn’t dare. I’m Eugene Gibson’s legal wife. Go pull the cover off that painting and take a good look!”

Smack. Smack.

Tessa slapped me twice across the face.

“Still dreaming? Go get me the fruit knife.”

And those women, who loved watching things get worse, actually handed her a small knife.

As she moved closer and closer, I fought with everything I had to break free, but they held me down so tightly I could not move. No matter how loud I screamed, not a single staff member came out.

Just as the cold blade was about to touch my face, the front door suddenly flew open.

“What the hell is going on here?”