It was none other than Seraphina.She had bribed the nurses working on the floor Quinton was on, and had found out that Renee and the others had gone to the cafeteria to eat. Once they had left, Seraphina had opened the door and entered Quinton's ward. Quinton was now lying in bed after the surgery. He was wearing an oxygen mask and looked very weak.Seraphina walked to Quinton's bed. She stared at him for a while, then put something beside his pillow and took off his oxygen mask. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be cruel, but I just need you to be in a coma so Renee can learn her lesson. I didn't expect you to be so tough. Stefan even helped hire Owen for you..." Her eyes flashed in anger. "You should blame your shameless sister for this. She's been pestering Stefan relentlessly even though he's engaged to me, so unfortunately, you have to suffer the consequences!"After that, she avoided the surveillance cameras and left the hospital quietly.Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Renee was s
Justin stiffened, his eyes widening. "What… What did you say?" "I'm saying that you're a spy! You probably ordered someone to harm my brother. If not, why did this happen right after we left to eat at the cafeteria?" Renee demanded hoarsely, her eyes watery. She and Justin were the only ones aware of Quinton's condition. On the surface, Justin appeared to be taking good care of her. Maybe he was doing it on purpose to divert her attention so someone could harm Quinton. After all, he was a Baldwin. Everyone knew how ambitious the Baldwins were. They might want to take Quinton's place after getting rid of him.Leia tugged on Renee's sleeve and urged her softly, "Ren, that's too harsh. There's no way he could be a spy. If he was, he wouldn't have spent so much time on you, and would have gotten rid of Quinton long ago. The real spy is someone else..."Renee turned to look at Leia immediately. "Do you know something about this?" "I..." Leia clenched and unclenched her fists hesitantl
"Renee..." Quinton moved his fingers as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I've let you down. You must have suffered a lot worrying about me.""Don't say that. I should take care of you since you're my brother. I'm… I'm just glad you're awake!" Renee sobbed as she laid beside him. "I know that I was in a coma. It felt like my soul was locked away in some small part of my body, and I wanted to stay there forever, but I couldn't forget about you. So, I tried my best to escape, and I'm so grateful I did," Quinton said softly, his voice raw with emotion. He seemed gentler somehow, as if he had lost his sharp edges and ferocity."Ah, don't say such things. You'll live long, and you'll see Adie and Abby grow up and get married and have kids of their own. You've just been asleep for a long time, you weren't dying!" Renee wiped away her tears and smiled at Quinton tenderly. "Alright, I won't give up so easily, for your sake and the kids'. I have to live a long life, and we can stay together
After Leia and Renee walked out of the ward, Leia pulled Renee to a corner near the stairs. "That ring... It's Stefan's, right?""Yes." Renee nodded tiredly, unable to run from the truth any longer. "I'm sure you've gained some information, right?" Leia knew that she could no longer hide it since things had turned out this way. She could only tell Renee everything she knew. "I'd been wondering if someone had done this on purpose after something went wrong with Quinton's accident. So, I went to the medical staff and interrogated them.""What did they say?" Renee asked cautiously."That nurse claimed that the main surgeon received a call before Quinton's surgery telling him to do the surgery well or something like that. The caller was Shirley, so I went to find her and confront her. She claimed that it was Stefan's order..." Leia told Renee everything. "I thought Shirley was just trying to create problems, so I wanted to get more evidence first, but… it seems that the evidence came
Justin was wearing a thin shirt, and shrugged half-heartedly. "We came at the same time.""You're ridiculous. Weren't you bored sitting here for five to six hours?" Even so, Renee still moved aside a little to give him some space.Justin gladly sat down next to her and smiled. "Didn't you do the same thing though?""It's because there's something troubling me. Time passed by very quickly.""Well, we're the same. Watching you is like watching the most beautiful scenery in the world—hours passed in the blink of an eye.""Stop that!" Renee playfully pushed him and sighed. After a while, she said slowly, "This afternoon... Umm, I'm sorry. I was so anxious that I accused you for no reason. I wasn't targeting you; I would have scolded a dog too if it came at that time."Her explanation amused him. "It's fine. Anyone in your position would've done it." He didn't want her to blame herself. Despite everything, he still wanted to marry her and bring glory to his family. It was fine if she
Renee did not broach that topic, feeling embarrassed to do so."Let me guess... Is it Stefan?" Justin instantly guessed from the look on her face, but there was one thing he couldn't figure out. "If he wanted to harm Quinton, why would he go to all that trouble to hire Owen? It doesn't make sense." "Who knows? Maybe he wanted to make me let my guard down and then use a crueler way to get rid of my brother. If my brother's gone, both the Everheart family and my brother's status in Water Dock will no longer be a threat to him," Renee suggested. She generally didn't like to see the bad in people, but she had seen how complicated and wicked people could become with time."It could be, but I think you should ask him about it. He's rather straightforward, so I'm sure he won't deny it if he was the one who did it," Justin said slowly.Renee stared at him for a while, then smiled oddly at him. "You're... weird."He grinned back at her. "I'm being nice, okay?" "That's what's puzzling me
Stefan's shock surprised Owen. Raising his brows, Owen asked, "You didn't know about it?"Stefan was speechless, a solemn expression on his face. A waiter immediately came forward with a new glass for Stefan, and carefully filled it with wine. "You really didn't know?" Owen found it strange. "Shouldn't Miss Everheart inform you if something happens to her brother? You two seemed pretty close." "Close? Hardly," Stefan scoffed and drank his wine grumpily."Stefan, you can't be that blind. It's obvious you both have feelings for each other, but you both keep trying to hide it!" Owen always traveled, so he wasn't aware of the news in Beach City. He also didn't know that Stefan and Renee were once married to each other, and as an outsider, he only noticed that the two had feelings for each other. "We did have history, but I had an accident, and I forgot all about my past with her. All the people around me claimed that she did a lot of things to harm me, and even she admitted that I
"Have you got a minute? I want to ask you something." Renee sounded very cold on the phone."Come to Tipsy Grove." Stefan ordered the driver to stop the car at the door of Tipsy Grove and waited for Renee. Renee arrived not long after. When she saw his car, she knocked on the car window.Joel Montana, Stefan's driver, opened the door and said to Renee, "Miss Everheart, there you are. Mr. Hunt, uhh… had a bit too much to drink tonight. Should I drive you guys to a hotel or..." It was late, and Joel felt a hotel was suitable given Renee's relationship with his boss.Renee glanced at Stefan, who was clearly drunk. She then sighed heavily. "Drive us to Hunt Villa.""Okay. Please get in the car, Miss Everheart. I'll get you guys there." Joel asked nothing more. All he needed to do was to drive his boss to his destination. Renee took the shotgun seat. She did not converse much with Stefan, who just kept his eyes closed. Nobody knew if he was actually sleeping or if he was just drunk.
"But if I keep you guys here and make all the films I want for sale, I can earn a lot of money in the long run. My company will also get more famous. Which do you think I'll choose?" Lucas went on.Renee nodded. "You're right, but it's boring to just conduct the punishment. Why don't we use another method as a form of punishment?""Oh, what do you have in mind?" Lucas' eyes brightened. After spending so many days and nights here, he was gradually losing his rationale. The thought of new torture methods for victims who refused to obey filled him with excitement. "You want us to act, don't you? Let's not waste time. We should start filming now." Renee smiled seductively. "I'm eager to be the first.""So, you're saying that you can't wait to start?" Lucas stood up, excited. He rubbed his hands together as he sized Renee up. "Yeah, I guess. I can't wait to earn money for you," Renee said. "Great! You're a sensible one!" Lucas clapped. "Well, let's start… How about this? Since it
"Watch me!" the guard said fiercely. He walked to the table and placed a basin filled with hot water on it. Then, he grabbed a sheet of white paper and drenched it with water. He then put it on Leia's face. "Mmph!" Leia's face was fully covered, her mouth and nose blocked. She couldn't make a sound or breathe properly. Her face flushed from the suffocation, and she was in great pain."Let go of her now!" Renee screamed, anxious and restless. Though handcuffed, she rushed toward Leia and tried her best to remove the paper from Leia's face.Suffocating for five to ten minutes could kill. If Renee didn't stop them and let them have their way with Leia, she might die!However, Renee slipped and fell. She tried to get up, but failed due to her handcuffed limbs restricting her movement. "Mm, mm!" Leia struggled violently at first, but she slowly stopped moving as though she was dying.At the critical moment, Renee finally got up and hurriedly yanked the paper off Leia's face."W
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh
"Flying Clouds? What does that mean? What do you want?" Leia demanded. She trembled all over and subconsciously retreated.Two guards held her and pushed her on the table. They untied her shackles and tied her limbs to the four corners of the table. Then, another guard carried a basin of hot water over. It was steaming."Just start!" Lucas ordered as he sat. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Leia's slightly revealed figure while struggling. He looked very obscene. Renee, standing at the side, grew nervous. However, she tried her best to put on a smile and said to Lucas, "Lucas, we can talk it out. You told us we could help you earn a lot. We're your best tool for earning money. But if you do this and ruin your tool, you'll suffer." "Calm down…" Lucas turned to Renee, finding her quite obedient and sensible. He said to a guard, "Bring a chair for this pretty girl and make her learn well. When our business gets big, she can be a manager!"The guard quickly carried
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur