"Henry, the door's stuck. Go on ahead. I'll come after touching up my makeup."

Henry was about to say something when he heard someone call him. He couldn't ignore that. So, he said, "Okay. I'll be waiting."

"Alright," Cecilia immediately replied. Her tense body relaxed instantly.

With his arms folded across his chest, Bennett studied her. When she spoke to Henry, her tone was demure and innocent. Pretentious, even, just like a naive bunny.

"Layla, is that an act you put up before Henry? Are you pretending to be innocent?" As he spoke, he untied her.

"Bennett, take that thing out of my body!"

"No way. Without me, you won't be able to remove it this time."

Cecilia tried to take it off. However, the belt fit her body well. It was impossible to remove it.

They glared at each other, and the tension in the room rose. Cecilia knew Bennett always meant what he said. This time, he was surely going to gain the upper hand over her. She couldn't imagine the consequences if Henry discovered the belt.

"Bennett Spencer, you're truly a pervert!"

Her words didn't bother him one bit. Bennett watched on with interest as she picked up her underwear and went to the restroom to spruce herself up. He followed her and leaned against the door. Smiling, he raised an eyebrow as he watched her touch up her makeup through her reflection in the mirror.

When she left the lounge, he didn't attempt to stop her. Cecilia walked on for some distance before looking back at the lounge, feeling uneasy.

The odd sensation in her private area caused her discomfort when she walked.

She looked at the lounge again. The door was shut. Was Bennett here to exact revenge on her?

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she anxiously pulled out her phone. A call came in before she could do anything.

"Layla, Bennett is back."

It was Yvonne Shaw. They both worked under Bennett back then. When he was in trouble, they fled Bryndale to Jacksonburg. If he could locate Cecilia, he would definitely find Yvonne too.

"I know," Cecilia answered in a lowered tone. "Be careful. If anything happens, run."

"Alright."

Cecilia ended the call. She felt extremely uncomfortable. It wasn't easy for most to escape Bennett unharmed. Back then, everyone knew she and Yvonne betrayed him. Now that he was back, he would never let them off the hook that easily.

As her mind wandered, she stood rooted to the spot.

"Cecilia."

There was a sudden weight on her shoulders, and it made her jump. Turning around, she saw Henry, clad in a white suit, standing behind her.

He put his arm around her shoulders. However, he could clearly feel her shudder. Looking down, he noticed her lips were scraped. He frowned. "What happened to your lips?"

He didn't sound stern, yet he didn't ask that out of concern either; he was questioning her.

Cecilia clenched her fists, cursing Bennett under her breath. That lunatic.

"I rolled off the couch in my sleep and banged against the edge of the table. There was so much blood." Pursing her lips, she grumbled coquettishly. Her soft body squirmed in his embrace.

Henry chuckled and teased her.

She covered the marks on her wrists with setting powder, but they were still pretty obvious. However, Henry's attention was elsewhere, so he naturally missed it.

He left the manor with his arm still around her. Cecilia realized it only after a while. Looking up, she asked, "Are we leaving? Where did the bigshot go?"

Henry nodded. "He said he had something else to attend to, so he wouldn't be coming."

"I wonder who it is. How arrogant." She was truly curious to know who could make Henry wait that patiently for him.

"Have you heard of the Sullivan family?"

She nodded.

Henry led Cecilia to the passenger seat and went to the driver's side.

Cecilia knew about the Sullivan family. Being the wealthiest family in Jacksonburg, the Sullivans were influential in politics and business and operated freely across all areas, illegal or not.

However, they had only one daughter, who eloped decades ago and was never heard of since. Therefore, they had been educating descendants of the other branches of the family to be the heir.

After all these years, they must have nurtured dozens. The competition must be tough.

"I heard they found their estranged grandson. Now, the entire city is seeking an opportunity to meet him. The Lewis family organized the party tonight, but he stood us all up." Henry scoffed and stepped on the accelerator.

"Their grandson?"

"Yeah. They say he used to be active in Bryndale and went with the surname Spencer."

He braked and stopped just on the line for the traffic light to turn green. Cecilia leaned forward due to the momentum. Her hair fell loose from the force as her mind became jumbled.

Dazed, she stared at the hems of her dress. Anxiety crept into her when she remembered the item she wore underneath. If Henry found out, she wouldn't live to see another day.

Back then, he only noticed her because she schemed to make it happen. He'd always thought she was an innocent woman who mistakenly fell into the traps of sensual desires to save her severely ill younger brother.

"I'm staying the night at your place," Henry said casually. However, Cecilia's hair stood on end at that.

If he wanted to be intimate, her secret would definitely be exposed. She couldn't imagine what might happen to her when he found out she was wearing that thing.

Her face changed. She was coming up with an excuse to decline him when his phone rang. He told her he had some family matters and had to head back home. Therefore, he dropped her off on the way.

Used to it, she got out of the car. However, she missed the drastic change in his expression when he answered the call.

She watched his car speed off as she stood at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn green. She fell into a trance.

Several people were standing before her, chatting away. Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Oh my god, Yvonne Shaw died!"

"What?" Two other young women walked toward the one who said that. "Are you talking about the celebrity, Yvonne?"

"She jumped off a building?"

The light had turned green, and they walked off.

Yvonne? Cecilia snapped back to her senses and searched for her phone in her bag. She was trembling so much she almost dropped her phone.

Yvonne was just on the phone with her just now, yet now she was dead?

Yvonne even had plastic surgery to escape those people from Bryndale. Was that how influential Bennett was in Jacksonburg, so much so that he could kill someone so speedily?

When she turned on her phone, Yvonne's death was all over the internet. Everyone had something to say about it.

Some said she died due to her sponsor demanding unrestrained intimacy with her. Some said she committed suicide. Some even found photos of her before she was carried into the ambulance. Blood soaked her shirt thoroughly.

Cecilia continued scrolling, but suddenly the webpage stopped loading. When she reloaded it, she could no longer see any news about Yvonne's death. Nothing even came up when she searched Yvonne's name.

Yvonne died just when Bennett returned. There was no way that it was a coincidence. If that were true, wouldn't Cecilia be the next in line?

She froze on the spot. Horns blared at her. The driver yelled at her through the open window. It was then she realized she had crossed the road when the light was still red.

Emotionally shaken, she apologized and continued walking.

"Are you crazy?" the driver yelled after her as he drove off.

Cecilia reached the other side of the road, trembling all over. She was terrified that Bennett would kill her. After all, it was impossible to clear her name after what happened to Bennett back then.

Suddenly, a black car screeched to a stop before her. Several men came out. They covered her mouth, knocking her out, and pulled her into the backseat. Within a few seconds, they disappeared into the night.

Nearby, a black car was flashing its headlights.

Upon regaining consciousness, Cecilia realized she was in a dark private room. The interior decor of the room was unique. It was different from the style people from Jacksonburg preferred.

She thought the decor style was more to the taste of Samuel Lance's lackeys from Bryndale.

Wine bottles were scattered on the table. A few of them still had some wine in them. The wine glimmered slightly.

Feeling uneasy, Cecilia budged slightly. Suddenly, the lights turned on. However, it wasn't very bright.

A woman with sunshades on was sitting on the bench near her. Behind her were several muscular men. When she waved, one of them stepped forward and grabbed Cecilia by the face. He then grabbed a bottle of wine and forced her to drink it.

As the pungent taste of alcohol filled her senses, her face contorted. Her eyes reddened, while her insides felt like they were on fire.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The woman remained silent. She merely rose to her feet and signaled to the men, who surrounded Cecilia.

In a blur, Cecilia caught a whiff of a familiar scent. What was it? She tried her best to remember, but she was slipping off into unconsciousness.

"You can have her."

Those words sent chills running down Cecilia's spine. She stared at the men in fear as drowsiness overcame her and hallucinations filled her line of sight. She bit hard on her lips until she slowly regained consciousness.

"I'm Henry Gibson's lover. He won't let you get away with this when he finds out!" she screamed. Panic engulfed her as she watched them close in on her. She could see her flustered self reflected in their eyes.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud as the door flew open. The commotion sent dust flying everywhere as a man entered, giving off a menacing air.

Trying her best to move, Cecilia fell to the ground as her chair toppled. She stared at the black leather shoes as they came nearer.

…

Cecilia had a dream. There were many people in that dream.

She had a throwback to three years ago when she was thrown into the sea. She floated with the current, and her life was on the line. In the confusion, she clearly heard someone calling her name.

"Layla."

That was the name Bennett gave her. He said the nights he spent with her were nothing short of beautiful dreams.

In her dream, she sobbed as she reached out in a panic. Screaming, she woke up with a start.

Bennett was sitting by her bedside. His expression was cold. Cecilia wiped her eyes frantically. She was unnerved. "W-Why are you here…"

"Why? Did you think it was Henry?" Bennett scoffed. "If I hadn't come to your rescue, do you know what would've happened to you?"

Memories of the events that happened before she lost her consciousness resurfaced. As stubborn as she was, she knew she had to thank him. "Thank you."

There was a knock on the door. Someone entered holding an item. "The medicine is ready."

Cecilia frowned and instinctively cowered under the blanket. Bennett noticed her actions and smiled slightly. He took the syringe from the newcomer.

Cecilia's eyes widened, and her hair stood on end. She stared at him warily. He snapped open the ampoule and drew the liquid in it into the syringe.

With a calm expression, he held the syringe up. As though oblivious to the shock and fear on her face, he instructed, "Come here."

Cecilia shook her head violently and backed away from him. "No, no! Please let me go, Bennett!"

Bennett attempted to grab her. Screaming, she slapped his hand away and resisted him with all her might.

"Come, or I'll force it on you." Bennett didn't have much patience. When he said that, his gaze was stern.