"Come, Evelyn, have another drink."

"As for the play, we're relying on you, Lucas."

Men and women surrounded the table, taking turns toasting Evelyn. She lost count of how many drinks she had had.

Desperately, she turned to her best friend and agent, Ava, for help.

"Evelyn, since Director Gary and Producer John are being so respectful, you should accompany them with a few more drinks." As she spoke, Ava refilled Evelyn's wine glass.

Evelyn had no choice but to humour them. One was Gary, known as the "national teacher", and the other was her own company's golden producer, John. Both were people she could not afford to offend.

Feeling hazy and dizzy, a splitting pain enveloped her.

Evelyn opened her weary eyes, and the sight in front of her sobered her instantly. Three or four men were stark naked in front of her, and she, too, was completely unclothed.

"What... what are you all trying to do?" terrified, Evelyn backed away, but there was nowhere to go.

"Ava, Ava, where are you? Help! Help..."

Her cries for help went unanswered.

An impatient Gary, a man of large stature, roared, "Stop pretending to be innocent. We've all had a turn with you."

Boom!

Evelyn's mind went blank. The horror of it all was unbearable. She could only shake her head desperately, trying to escape.

No sooner had she set foot on the ground than she was dragged back onto the bed again.

The torture came in shifts; as soon as she returned to consciousness, it began again.

She felt as if her body was being torn apart, tears dropping from the corners of her eyes. She had no strength left, not even to clench her fists.

Every minute for her was an ordeal.

The room was a disaster; clothes were scattered everywhere, the air was filled with a pungent odor.

Evelyn lay sprawled on the bed like a corpse, her eyes empty.

The door was pushed open and Ava walked in. With a look of disapproval, she glanced at the Evelyn, whose human form was hardly recognizable after severe torment. A smirk pulls at her lips, "Evelyn, how are you? Wasn't it comfortable?"

Her eyes, wide and disbelieving, stared back.

"Why?" Her voice was raspy and weak.

"Because you're easy to fool. All it took was a small spark of manipulation, and don't you now harbor hatred towards the brother who treasures you?" Ava crossed her arms, proclaiming her victory with pride.

Evelyn glowered, bloodshot eyes nearly going red, "Lucas will not let you off."

"Is that so? Ha ha..." Ava scoffed.

"Do you know who orchestrated all of this? It's your precious Lucas. When a man gets ruthless, there's nothing we women can do about it. See, he didn't hesitate to send his girlfriend to another man's bed just to land a lead role in Director Gary's movie.

Oh, and the company, it's now in the name of Lucas. As for you, getting ganged up in the unavoidably grim side of this industry, I'm afraid you won't be able to hang around in City A anymore. Evelyn the Movie Queen, enjoy being utterly despised, it's an experience to remember for a lifetime."

Pfft!

A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Evelyn felt dizzy and the world spun around her.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, he's not your boyfriend anymore, he's mine. Here's a hundred thousand dollars, consider it as compensation from us." Ava tossed a bank card onto the bed as if dumping trash, then sauntered off.

Evelyn reached out, using all her strength to grasp the bank card.

Thinking back on all the foolish acts she did these years, she suddenly burst into laughter.

"Haha..." Her laughter echoed through the empty room, but it could not be discerned whether she was laughing or crying. It was like the howling of a solitary ghost from the underworld, chilling to the soul.

After laughing, she got up with wooden movements, mechanically walked into the bathroom, and cleaned off the filth remaining on her body.