The night in the city was quiet and dark.

"Wham!—"

Alicia Blanchard's face was burning hot. When she opened her eyes, she found herself awkwardly squatting on the floor next to the bed. Her fair arms were covered in purple marks, and under the thin quilt covering her, she was...n*ked!

"What... what's going on?"

She quickly clutched at the quilt and tried to cover herself. Suddenly she saw a pair of strong legs in front of her eyes. The very next second she couldn't breathe. Someone was trying to strangle her.

"Speak! How long have you been following me? Who sent you here?"

The low and angry voice of a stranger entered her ears and Alicia instantly felt puzzled, "Who is it? What is he talking about?"

Her head was still dizzy and the air seemed to become thin. The world felt shrouded in grey. Instinctively, Alicia stretched out her hands to pry the hands from around her neck.

"Uh... let me go..."

"Speak! How dare you! How dare you scheme against me?"

She heard the angry voice again and Alicia felt as if she smelled the breath of Death. She could not speak, and she could only continue to shake her head.

Just as she thought she was about to be strangled to death, the pressure on her neck suddenly stopped and her body swayed. She pounded her chest and fell to the ground vulnerably.

"Ahem..."

Before she could come back to her senses, someone's fingers pinched her jaw. The enchanting face of a man instantly filled her sight, and a pair of dark blue eyes flashed with a strange cold light.

Surprisingly, his eyes were... dark blue!

She had seen many foreigners, but this was the first time she had caught sight of such a pair of special eyes!

Seeing the change in her eyes, the man suddenly became a bit gloomy.

"Don't you dare think that if you have something to do with me, it will change anything! If you dare to say one word about today, I'll kill you!"

Suddenly he let go of her and then he turned and walked to the bathroom. Alicia fell on the floor again and the last thing she heard was the sound of running water.

She was still dizzy. Facing this strange room, she felt absolutely sapped.

Before she could gather her thoughts... 'Clang!' She heard the sound of a mirror breaking.

Shivering, she looked up and saw the man coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He picked up the scattered clothes. She could see that his knuckles were covered in blood.

Before he left, the man stared at her with a malicious look for some time. "Remember what I've told you!"

He slammed the door so hard that the floor shook. A chill started climbing up her back. Only then did she notice that the bed was a mess.

She felt uncomfortable. Besides, the air was so thick with that ambiguous odor that she couldn't ignore it!

Boom—

The color suddenly drained from her face. She quickly picked off her clothes and randomly started examining her body with trembling hands. "What's going on? Wasn't I here to attend... Uncle Crouch's birthday party?" she thought to herself.

Her mind was still a mess, as another rush of footsteps approached!

Oh no!

This time, as the door was pushed open and a crackling flash of light entered the room.

"Aaah—" Alicia screamed and instinctively pulled the quilt up to cover her face.

"Hey, is it a young woman? Is this a private party for spoiled rich young people?

"Who is she? What a waste of time!"

......

As the sound of the voices faded away and she could no longer hear the footsteps, Alice poked her head out from under the quilt. She saw a familiar tall grey figure appear before her eyes without warning. Her face turned pale.

Jeremy Pitcher, he's back?