"Be good. It won't hurt..."
"Get away from me! Don’t touch me!"
Brielle Morgan fought back with everything she had, but the man—Damien Crowe—was too strong. He pinned her down, overpowering her completely.
She screamed. "Ah—!"
Tears blurred her vision as the terrible truth set in. Her innocence... stolen.
Her resistance only seemed to excite Damien more. His grip tightened. His force grew more violent.
The long night blurred into pain and horror. Brielle never noticed when the marks were left on her body. In the end, her strength gave out. She blacked out.
When she came to, he was gone.
Only a check sat quietly on the bedside table.
Brielle stared at it. Her whole body trembled. She burst into tears and tore the paper into shreds.
She scrambled to put her clothes on, covering the shame etched into her skin. Her body ached with every step as she fled the hotel and hailed a taxi.
In the backseat, Brielle sobbed quietly, piecing everything together.
It had to be Camille. Her stepmother had set her up.
The Morgans were strapped for cash, and her father, Adolf Morgan, had been pushing her to marry some bloated old tycoon just to bail the company out.
She’d refused—loudly. They argued. Then Camille handed her a glass of water, and… nothing. Her memory had gone black after that.
Camille must’ve drugged her.
Rage twisted in her chest.
They'd sold her. Her own father and stepmother had delivered her into Damien's hands.
Her mind flashed to the past—how her mother, Serena, had died.
During Serena’s final illness, Adolf cheated with Camille and got her pregnant. When Camille returned with her bastard children, she pushed Serena out of the family entirely—and Adolf let it happen.
Serena couldn’t bear the betrayal. She jumped off a building and died.
Less than a month later, Adolf married Camille.
Brielle wiped her tears as the car pulled up to the house. She exploded out of the cab, fury in every step.
"Lillith! Camille! Get out here!"
Camille appeared with a smug scowl. "What are you yelling for? I'm your elder. Who do you think you are, calling me by name like that?"
Lillith, her stepsister, smirked as she followed. "Mom, don’t be mad. Sis probably thinks she’s above us now. After all, she just spent the night with Mr. Damien. Guess she thinks having a sugar daddy makes her special."
Brielle's fists clenched tight. She stared at them in disbelief.
Damien. That was the man who assaulted her last night?
Her voice shook with rage. "I’m not marrying him. If I go to the police, you’ll all pay for what you did."
Camille snorted. "Damien slept with you and still wants to marry you. That’s a blessing. Don’t be like your mother—she couldn't even keep a man when she had one."
The words hit like a blade. Brielle’s hand flew out and slapped Camille across the face. "You shameless mistress! You have no right to speak about my mother. If Damien’s such a prize, why don’t you marry Lillith off to him?! You think you can trade me for money and power? Keep dreaming."
She turned to leave—but didn’t make it far.
Adolf was waiting. His slap hit her like a hammer.
"You ungrateful brat! Where were you last night?"
"Damien waited for you in that hotel all night! Now he’s furious and pulling out of my deals. Do you want to see The Morgan family ruined?!"