I was freezing. My clothes were still wet, and the floor beneath me was stained with blood.

I didn't know how much time had passed when a splash of icy water hit my face.

Eula stood over me. She looked down at me with a sarcastic smile.

It had been four days since I last ate. My body was so weak I couldn't even lift a finger.

My throat was so dry it felt scorched, and every breath came with a searing pain.

"Tsk, tsk, look at you. So pitiful," she sneered.

She lifted my chin with the tip of her toes.

"Kneel and beg me. Who knows, maybe I'll show you some mercy."

I coughed weakly. The unusually high temperature in my body warned me that I was burning up.

Even as I shivered, I clenched my jaw and refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me broken.

I forced a smile and stared her down.

"No wonder Scott loves you. You're just as despicable as I imagined," I said.

Her expression darkened instantly. She yanked my soaked hair and uttered, "You're so arrogant. Do you really think he cares about you? He doesn't!

"You're just a toy to me. I can do whatever I want with you, and he'll go along with it.

"It's your fault for getting in my way."

"What way?"

Eula froze when she heard Scott's voice.

He was standing by the door and frowning slightly as he took in the scene.

Eula panicked for a moment but quickly played the victim.

"I was just checking on Natalie, but she cursed at me and said I was getting in her way."

Scott's expression changed. He pulled her into his arms protectively. He then kicked me hard in the stomach.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You're not getting in anyone's way. You're my everything. If she still doesn't know her place, maybe the punishment wasn't enough."

The kick sent me into a violent spasm. I coughed up blood, and my stomach ached intensely.

It wasn't over yet.

Scott ordered someone to bring a skimpy dress. They forced it onto me and fastened a collar around my neck.

I was dragged to the back of his car and chained to the rear.

"Come on, let's take her for a stroll." he said before wrapping his arms around Eula as they got into the car.

The car moved slowly down the busy street, forcing me to stumble along behind it.

People stopped and stared. Phones came out.

Some laughed, while others pointed and whispered to each other.

A few men took the chance to grope my exposed body.

I tried to back away, but the collar yanked at my neck until I could barely breathe.

The car window rolled down.

Eula peeked out. Her voice was filled with mock concern.

"Do you think this might be too much for Natalie?"

"Silly girl." Scott chuckled.

"She was so cruel to you, and you still feel bad for her?" He added.

The car stopped at a red light.

A ragged homeless man came toward me and started groping me without shame.

I struggled desperately to avoid his touch, but it was pointless.

He pinned me down and started removing my clothes with brute force.

I thrashed around and screamed.

"Help! Please, somebody help me!"

He leered and bared his rotting, yellow teeth.

"Quit screaming, pretty face. No one's coming for you."

"Let me go! Get off me!"

From inside the car, Eula's laughter was louder than the chaos outside.

She clapped her hands with delight.

"Scott, this is hilarious!"

I saw myself in the rearview mirror. I looked helpless while the homeless man grew more excited.

Scott didn't react.

He glanced at me once before turning to Eula. He let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"As long as you're happy," he said softly.

Just as the homeless man tried to go further, the collar around my neck suddenly tightened. The car had started moving again.

The pulling force was violent. My neck jerked backward, and my body was dragged along.

Although the brutal jolt nearly broke my bones, it freed me from the homeless man.

I laid weakly on the ground and allowed my body to be dragged along.

The friction between my skin and the pavement brought a pain so sharp it felt like my skin was being peeled away. Blood splattered in a long trail behind me.

Eula leaned out the car window and laughed hysterically at the sight of my miserable state.

A high-pitched ringing filled my ears. Lights and shadows danced before my eyes.

More than once, I thought I was going to die right there on the street.

The car door opened, and Scott stepped out. He looked thoroughly bored.

He glanced at my sprawled out state with a cold, contemptuous smirk.

"Don't forget this. Don't ever think you can throw your weight around like you used to.

"You'll keep making it up to Eula until she says you've done enough."

My throat clenched. I didn't have the strength to form a complete sentence. I could only gasp for air.

The butler, Brian, couldn't bear to watch anymore. He finally spoke up.

"Mr. Chapman, if this continues, Miss Smith will die! Please send her to the hospital. This could end very badly!"

Scott merely frowned. His face showed a flicker of impatience.

After a pause, he said coldly, "Stay out of it. Leave her in the storage room and lock the door."

"Scott, don't be mad," Eula cooed while clinging to his arm and swaying it playfully.

"It's my fault. I went too far.

"But she made me suffer so much. I just wanted a little payback."

Scott's expression softened instantly. All his anger vanished.

He gently reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You did nothing wrong, Eula. I promised I'd make you happy. I won't let you get hurt again, not even a little."

With that, he scooped her up and carried her upstairs, soothing her with talk of their upcoming trip to Florraine.

The courtyard fell silent. The servants all looked down. They were too afraid to even glance at me.

I tried to lift my head, but my vision was too blurred to see anything clearly. All I saw was red.

Warm blood trickled down from my forehead into my eyes. Everything soon turned dark.

'I might not make it out alive this time,' I thought.

All I could see in my mind was Ken's face.

If he knew what had happened to me, he would feel terribly hurt.

The bitter irony was that only now did I realize that, aside from my parents, Ken was the only one who had ever truly cared about me.

I thought for certain I was going to die.

However, Brian waited until Scott had left the house before secretly taking me to the hospital.

I once helped him, and he couldn't stand to let me die like this.

With the last bit of strength I had, I borrowed Brian's phone and called Ken.

"Ken, help me."

Meanwhile, in Florraine, Scott was feeling a little uneasy.

He hadn't actually meant for me to die. He just wanted to vent his anger for Eula's sake.

He reached for his phone to call Brian and ask him to let me out and get a doctor to check on me.

However, Eula tugged on his arm and said, "But I was locked in that dungeon for five days with broken bones, and I survived."

Her lie wouldn't have held up under the slightest scrutiny, but Scott believed every word.

He put his phone down.

He figured they'd be back home the day after tomorrow anyway. He could send me to the hospital then.

Just then, his assistant called in a panic.

"Sir, you need to come back immediately! Several of our partners just pulled out of deals. They say the Smith family in Javaris is coming after us."