Chapter 1:

Lena Hayes clutched her torn knit cardigan, slipping stealthily away from the suite.

As she closed the door, she saw the man lying still in bed, his eyes tightly shut. She sighed with relief.

She pondered about what had happened the night before.

When she had taken advantage of his drunken stupor to shamelessly seduce him to bed, she felt immense regret!

Touching his taut abdominal muscles in wild abandon had been euphoric...

However, she then remembered that he was her boss. He was the stern, serious man she was terrified of, and she shivered at that thought.

Indeed, chasing temporary pleasure led to disastrous consequences.

Lena's legs trembled, and she fled from the "crime" scene.

Upon reaching the dormitory, she steadied her breath before opening the door, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Her roommate, Aria Smith, was applying makeup, meticulously dabbing adhesive on her false eyelashes.

She wanted to slip into the room unnoticed but was caught off guard when Aria asked, "Why didn't you come back last night? You didn't answer the phone when I tried calling you."

Aria's question was nothing but casual.

Despite that, Lena felt a lurch in her heart.

Stumbling over her words, she lied, "I did return, but I didn't know you called. I only realized it when I was tidying and saw it on my phone. You were asleep, so I didn't wake you up..."

"Really?"

After putting on her false eyelashes, Aria turned and looked at Lena, noticing how she was holding onto her jacket. "Don't you always wear a jacket with a tank top?"

It was another normal question, and yet, it made Lena's heart race. "It's... It's hot. I had to run to Mr. Walker's place for some work."

She was Ethan Walker's dedicated assistant. Her duty was to be at his beck and call, so this explanation made sense.

Yet, her wavering gaze made Aria feel that something was off, and she scrutinized her from head to toe.

Narrowing her eyes, she queried, "Why is your left ear so red?"

"What?" Lena was startled.

"Perhaps... I was bitten by a bug last night," she replied, brushing down the hair from her left side to deliberately cover it up.

"Something is off with you."

Aria set down her eyelash curler, ready to interrogate Lena thoroughly.

However, at that moment, Lena's phone began to vibrate.

The word "Mr. Walker" that flashed across the screen made Lena shudder.

"Come to the break room!"

It was just a simple sentence, but she could almost feel his anger through the screen.

"I... I'll be right there."

Lena ended the call, disregarding Aria's puzzled gaze. She instantly dashed into the room to change into a black suit and then raced into the bathroom to freshen up. Then, she bolted out the door like lightning.

Seeing that it seemed like an urgent command from her boss, Aria did not bother to question her further.

On her way to the resting room, Lena felt as if she was being led to the execution grounds, with various conjectures blowing up in her brain.Being summoned by Mr. Walker... Could it be because of what she did the night before?

However, he was fairly drunk, he should... not have been able to remember, right?

Lena, filled with uncertainty and experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, found Ethan in the resting area.

His features were stern, his eyes hiding an unusually intimidating darkness.

His aura was so intense that it made Lena involuntarily tremble!

Lena clenched her fists, wore a courteous smile, and approached him with the utmost respect. "Mr. Walker, were you looking for me?"

With a clatter, a solid object was thrown onto the cold coffee table, its glimmer catching the light.

Lena's blood ran cold as she identified the object—her black swan pendant!

She had actually left such an important item in the room!

She cautiously scrutinized Ethan's expression. She noticed his pursed lips and penetrating gaze that felt like a sharp blade pressing against her neck. Just when she was pondering if admitting to her mistake right then would lessen her punishment...

Ethan gestured towards the pendant and in a voice laden with cold severity, he asked, "Do you recognize this object?"Lena swallowed, trying to remain calm as she looked at Ethan. "Mr. Walker... What do you mean by this?"

Her face had already turned incredibly pale.

Ethan ordered coldly, "You have one day to find the owner of this item!"

What?

Find the owner?

The stress she felt grew like wildfire within a short time.

Lena's mind buzzed, and it took a few seconds for her to regain her composure. She looked at Ethan perplexedly.

"You want me to... look for someone?"

Did that mean that he did not know that she was the owner of that black swan pendant?

Lena let out a sigh of relief subconsciously, but immediately after, her breathing became more rapid.

How could she find the owner of the pendant for him when she was its true owner?

Seeing her hesitation, Ethan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is it difficult?"

His familiar intimidating aura quickly brought Lena back to reality. She stepped forward and snatched the pendant away.

"Not at all, not at all. Rest assured, Mr. Walker. I'll immediately begin the search!" After saying that, she turned and hurried away.

After taking two steps, Lena thought of something and turned back nervously. "Mr. Walker, what should I do when I've found the owner?"

Ethan's gaze turned frosty.

"Hand them over to Marcus ."

Handing herself over to Marcus Hale.. The consequence of that would definitely be getting booted out of Lenora City and never being able to work in the industry again...

Lena's legs trembled as she made her way to the conference where Aria was working.

Upon seeing her, Aria frowned and asked, "Why do you look so pale? Were you scolded by Mr. Walker? Did Mr. Walker look for you-"

Before she could finish, Lena hugged her, whimpering, "I don't want to... leave Lenora City..."

"What happened?" Aria asked urgently.

Several colleagues at that moment turned to look their way.

Lena felt a tight knot in her heart, recalling the last time a female colleague was crying at work in the office and how it had resulted in her entire department being fired, instantly silencing her.

She took Aria to a secluded spot and told her about what happened the night before.

"I... D*mn! You actually forced—"

Aria stared at Lena in disbelief, taking three steps back.

She thought she was hallucinating. How could Lena, a timid woman, have forced herself onto Ethan?

Most importantly, if Lena was telling the truth, once...