Chapter 20

This was the lowest, vilest, dirtiest form of revenge in the world.

There was a soft rap on the door before four men filed into the room. One of them brought a video camera. Vivian was starting to feel an impending sense of danger here. She rolled off the wide bed and scampered backward until her back was pushed against the cold wall.

Edward stood up and walked up to her. He stopped when he was a few steps away, and he tossed her a sharp tool. “Take this. Show me how you kill.”

It was a fruit knife, short but sharp, just like the one she held four years ago.

A scrawny man walked up to her and dragged her onto the bed. She struggled desperately. Her hand found the knife, but before she could stab anyone with it, her wrist was pinned back. The fingers of the other person tightened around her wrist like a metal clamp. With an effortless fling, the knife fell to the floor with a clang.

A fist connected with her face, throwing her head to the side. Her ear buzzed from the concussion. Everything swayed around her and seemed to zoom in and out of her field of vision. Through her blurry vision, she saw the man with the video camera. She saw the silent onlookers and Edward, who was sitting on the couch and staring at her.

She gave up struggling and closed her eyes slowly.

Edward was sitting on the couch in a lazy manner. His tone did not change as he drawled, “Is that all you’ve got? This is boring. Let’s switch things up a little.”

The scrawny man got off the bed, and two others took his place. They forced a pill down her throat. She felt as if she was spiraling into hell. She sobbed in despair and attempted another frenzied struggle. “Kill me! Sean Jackson, kill me!”

With a vile smile, he shook his head. “No, I’ve told you that I won’t kill you.”

The effects of the pill kicked in soon enough. Her consciousness was fading as the drug took over her body. This was even worse than before.

Edward Levin seemed to be the only person in the room who managed to maintain his expression from the beginning. His heart was as calm as a lake. He glanced at the person beside him whose face flushed with excitement and said drily, “Wade, you shouldn’t touch this woman. She’s bad luck.”

Wade Rivera tried hard to extinguish the glint in his eyes. He explained sheepishly, “I...I wasn’t thinking about touching her.”

He cast a quick glance at the bed, bent down, and asked Edward carefully, “Mister Levin, how long are we going to let the camera roll? The cameraman’s a foreign professional we hired from the East. He can film all day as long as we don’t tell him to stop.”

Edward glanced at the time on his watch and said drily, “Let’s call it a day. Edit the video and show me how it turns out.”

Naturally, the product of a professional videographer was extremely remarkable.

Vivian was wrapped in a bathrobe as she sunk into the wide couch. Her lips were still trembling despite herself. She told herself not to cry, but her tears would not listen. Edward, who was seated not far from her, turned and regarded her with half a smile. “I was surprised to find you very photogenic in front of the camera.”

“Really? Thanks,” she replied slowly. Her voice was hoarse and rough like rent silk.

Slightly surprised, he looked at her again and asked, “Will you report this?”

“With that in your hands, how am I supposed to make a report?” She could guess what he was planning to do. She curled her lips with some effort in an attempt to craft a mocking grin. However, her tears gushed out even more.

He chuckled nonchalantly. “I knew that you’re a smart woman, Miss Carraway. In that case, we’ll lay out the rules of the game, shall we? There’s only one simple rule, actually. You’ll be at my beck and call, deal?”

‘Live! Get out of here alive!’ shouted a voice in her head. Vivan’s voice trembled as she took a deep breath. She played along and asked, “Are we going to film this again?”

“I think not,” he answered lightly. He held his head askance and gave it some thought before saying, “To be honest with you, filming this takes a lot of time and effort, and I have no plans to make you into a star for now. Maybe I’ll get you to attend some events for me in the future. There might be someone out there who likes your type.”

She closed her eyes and wept silently, not saying another word.