Eight years ago, Eleanor was a pampered and arrogant young heiress, while Andreas was just a nameless talent from a humble background. Although she had taken him in, she never treated him with any warmth. Their fates flipped, and now Andreas was a business titan feared by all, while Eleanor wallowed in shame and despair after her fall from grace. Upon their reunion, he pinned her with a venomous glare and declared, "It was my hatred for you that drove me into becoming what I am today."
The winter night in Krixsas was ruthless, each gust biting sharper than a blade.
The cold seeped through Eleanor Harvey, sinking deeper than skin, until it felt like her bones themselves shivered.
As she tried to sit up, a dizzy spell blurred her vision, spinning the room into a disorienting haze.
Before she could steady herself, a rough hand twisted in her hair, jerking her backward. A harsh slap cracked through the silence, and pain flared bright and hot across her face, her dizziness deepening into a dark, suffocating whirl.
After hours at the autopsy table, Eleanor had been bone-tired, already on her way home when she got drugged and kidnapped.
When she came to, she recognized the faint, sweet odor lingering in the air-a scent she knew all too well from her time in the operating room.
Ether. They had used it to incapacitate her. A commonplace anesthetic, low in toxicity, primarily employed to induce general anesthesia.
The dull ache on her cheek was nothing compared to the confusion clouding her mind. She staggered to the window, prying it open with trembling fingers, and gulped the cold night air that flooded in, gradually cutting through the haze.
Then, a low chuckle slid through the silence.
Eleanor froze, turning slowly to find the source.
In the room's faint, flickering light, a woman lounged in a velvet chair, draped in garish attire and exuding an air of calculated menace.
Behind her loomed two silent, stone-faced men, their bulks casting dark shadows across the walls.
Eleanor's eyes darted among them, tension coiling tighter with every heartbeat.
"Who... are you? Why have you brought me here?"
The woman leaned back, lighting a cigarette with practiced grace, inhaling deeply. Her gaze, sharp as glass, fixed on Eleanor.
"Yesterday, did you happen to perform an autopsy on a woman who allegedly jumped to her death?"
An uneasy prickle crawled up Eleanor's spine, but she nodded, uncertain where this was leading.
The woman's eyes narrowed. "What did the autopsy reveal?"
Eleanor swallowed, the grim details flashing through her mind like fractured memories. "She...she'd been brutalized before she died. Broken bones, extensive bruising, and..."
The woman arched an eyebrow, her lips curving into a faint, almost mocking smile. "And...?"
Gritting her teeth, Eleanor forced herself to continue. "There were unmistakable signs of...assault. Sperms from more than ten people were found in her body."
A low chuckle slipped from the woman's lips, dark and mocking. "I'm Gemma Buckley," she said, her tone lilting with dangerous amusement.
She rose from her seat, moving toward Eleanor with a slow, deliberate grace.
Her smile vanished, replaced by a sharp, predatory coldness.
"Now, I suggest you give me every detail. If you're withholding anything...well, let's just say you'd be wise not to follow in that poor woman's footsteps."
Eleanor's pulse quickened, her breaths shallow.
"Where am I?" she instinctively asked.
"Skyline Casino," came the clipped reply.
Eleanor stiffened.
Skyline Casino? The infamous hub of Krixsas's darkest dealings.
Did the deceased woman work here before she died?
Eleanor's mind raced, recalling the brutal injuries she'd examined.
"Are you...forcing women into...?"
"Careful with your words." Gemma interrupted, her chuckle light as she stubbed out her cigarette. "I simply gave her an opportunity to make some cash, nothing more."
Gemma's gaze sharpened. "She swallowed a memory card. Did you find it?"
Eleanor shook her head.
The cause of death was obvious-a fall from a great height. Hence, there was no reason to perform an internal examination.
Gemma's silence grew heavy as she studied Eleanor, her expression unreadable.
Finally, she asked, "Where is the body?"
"The morgue. At the police station."
Gemma leaned in, her voice a soft but chilling command. "You're going to retrieve that memory card for me."
Eleanor quickly realized what was going on.
The memory card likely held damning evidence of their crimes.
Perhaps the woman hadn't jumped; perhaps she'd been pushed.
After a tense pause, Eleanor gave a slight nod. "Alright."
Gemma's eyebrow arched at Eleanor's swift compliance, but she let it slide.
With a subtle motion from her, the two men behind her stepped forward, their expressions anything but kind.
Eleanor's gaze darted between them. "What are you planning to do?"
Gemma leaned casually against the wall, twirling a camera in her hand with a practiced, almost bored elegance.
"We don't have any reason to trust you, do we? What's to stop you from handing that memory card over to the police?"
Eleanor's eyes narrowed. Turning that evidence over to the police had been her exact plan.
Gemma's smile widened, her voice a silky whisper. "So, we'll need a little...assurance that you'll follow through."
As soon as she finished speaking, Eleanor turned to bolt, shoving past the two men.
She'd barely made it a few steps when an iron grip encircled her waist, lifting her off her feet.
She thrashed wildly, but in seconds, she was thrown back, landing hard on the bed.
Chapter 1 Slapped
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Chapter 2 Her Boss Would Be Furious
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Chapter 3 I'm Not Working Here
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Chapter 4 This Woman Was Satisfactory
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Chapter 5 You Want To Desecrate Her Further
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Chapter 6 A Life Of Quiet Suffering
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Chapter 7 Alone
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Chapter 8 An Animal In Expensive Clothing
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Chapter 9 A Drug Addict
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Chapter 10 Sudden Focus On Appearances
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Chapter 11 You're Not A Whore
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Chapter 12 Who Told You I Had A Crush On You
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Chapter 13 Not Everyone Can Be A Man
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Chapter 14 Meticulously Planned Setup
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Chapter 15 Is That The Kind Of Certainty An Expert Should Deliver
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Chapter 16 You Look Nervous
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Chapter 17 Apologize To Me
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Chapter 18 I'm Not That Kind Of Woman
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Chapter 19 The Wedding
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Chapter 20 Let's Raise A Toast To Mr. Clark Together
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Chapter 21 He Fancied Another Man's Wife
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Chapter 22 This Is The Price You Pay
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Chapter 23 Have You Seen What's Inside
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Chapter 24 A Woman Who Spends Her Days With Corpses
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Chapter 25 You Actually Think You Can Threaten Me
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Chapter 26 Eleanor, This Is Physical Abuse
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Chapter 27 Eleanor, I Need To See You
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Chapter 28 You Tried To Sleep With Me
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Chapter 29 Were You Worried
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Chapter 30 Dissecting The Body With Her Left Hand
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Chapter 31 You Deserve Far Better Than Him
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Chapter 32 The Shame Of Being Abandoned
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Chapter 33 Miss Archer, You May Leave Now
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Chapter 34 Are You Mute
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Chapter 35 Becker's Girlfriend
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Chapter 36 We Don't Get Along
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Chapter 37 Not A Chance
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Chapter 38 No Date Today
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Chapter 39 Who Was This Woman, Really
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Chapter 40 Introduce Me To Her
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