"No... mm, no, please don't..."

The room was dim, almost swallowed by darkness. Clothes were scattered all over the floor in a mess.

Lily Hargrove's small body was pinned beneath a tall man.

"Please... let me go!"

"Be good. Don't move around, you'll get hurt."

Her breathing was totally messed up, and her voice was already turning hoarse from crying out.

But the man on top of her had zero intention of stopping. His low voice brushed against her neck, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Her skin was sticky with sweat. He reached out with one big hand, flipped her over, and started another round like he still wasn't done.

"Mmm..."

In the end, Lily really couldn't hold on anymore.

She blacked out.

The next morning.

Lily moved with difficulty, but the sharp soreness all over her body snapped her fully awake in an instant.

Something heavy pressed against her. The moment she lowered her eyes, she saw a large, well-defined hand resting across her front.

Even in his sleep, he still held her like he owned her.

Her eyes turned red. She tilted her head to look at him. His face was buried near her shoulder, so she couldn't see his features clearly. He was still fast asleep.

The longer she stared, the stronger the urge rose in her chest. She wanted to reach back, wrap her hands around his throat, and kill him right there.

But in the end, she didn't dare.

Last night, she had run into this room herself. Vivian Everett had said something happened and asked her to come save her.

But in the end... Vivian wasn't here.

Instead, there was only this strange man.

What the hell was going on?

Lily bit down hard on her lip, climbed out of bed, hurriedly put her clothes back on, and ran out of the room.

...

The Hargrove family villa sat on the mountaintop, cold and silent.

Lily Hargrove clutched her clothes shut with both hands and hurried inside. It was still very early. The servants in the villa clearly hadn’t gotten up yet, and the whole place was so quiet it felt eerie. She rushed upstairs, but when she passed the study, voices drifted out from inside.

"Vivian, are you sure it worked? Did Lily really sleep with Raymond Blackwell?"

"Dad, relax. I watched her walk into that room with my own eyes last night. By now, it’s basically a done deal. I’ll call Fourth Master Blackwell later and ask if he’s satisfied. If he is, he’ll definitely transfer the ten million!"

That was her father Gerald Hargrove’s voice. That part alone didn’t shock Lily.

What did shock her was hearing Vivian Everett too.

Vivian was supposed to be at the hotel. Why was she here at this hour? And more importantly... what had she just called her father?

If Lily hadn’t misheard, it was clearly one word—

"Dad."

What the hell was going on?

And what were they even talking about? "Worked"? "Lily slept with Raymond Blackwell"? Ten million?

Lily felt like she had dropped into some giant whirlpool, one that was spinning faster and faster, ready to drag her under whole. Her breathing turned uneven. She couldn’t help stepping closer to the study door, straining to catch every word.

Gerald spoke first again.

"Good. As long as we get this ten million, our business can finally survive."

Then came her mother, Diana Hargrove.

"Who would've thought that little bitch Lily, plain as she looks, would actually be worth so much money?"

Then Vivian said, all smug and vicious, "Exactly. She’s already sold her first time now, so there can be a second and a third. Ten million each time. Dad, if you want cash flow to expand the business, there’s nothing to worry about anymore."

Every word in her voice dripped with malice, with calculation. The target was Lily. But the people inside—her parents—didn’t care at all.

Why?

Just as Lily’s mind was getting more and more tangled, Diana spoke again—

"As expected of my biological daughter. She’s way smarter than that fake Lily. I kept saying it all these years—why did Lily look nothing like me from the day she was born? Turns out she was never my child to begin with!"

She gave a cold snort.

"Who knows what backwater family she really came from? They actually dared switch my baby. If I ever find out who they are, I’ll skin that whole family alive."

"Mom, no rush," Vivian said. "Once we find Lily’s real family, we can deal with them then. Right now the key is to make full use of Lily before she finds out who she really is."

"Yeah, Vivian's right. It's just..."

Diana Hargrove looked worried. "That little bitch isn't a virgin anymore. Will anyone still want her after this? And this time, we set her up. Next time, it probably won't be that easy to control her."

Before Vivian Everett could answer, Gerald Hargrove spoke first.

"What are you scared of? Medicine's so advanced now. If we run into one of those men who insist on a first time, just take her to get her hymen repaired. As for whether she's willing..."

He let out a cold, ugly laugh. "Hmph. That's not up to her."

Vivian said at once, "Dad's right. She has no right to blame us. Who told her she isn't even a real Hargrove? If she can use her body to repay our family, that's her blessing."

Inside the study, the Hargrove family was calmly discussing how to ruin Lily Hargrove.

Outside the study door, Lily was in so much pain she could barely breathe.

At last, she understood all of it.

She was not Gerald and Diana's biological daughter at all. By some cruel twist of fate, Vivian was. And after learning the truth, they hadn't planned to tell her. Not once. Instead, they had plotted against her, pushed her into a trap, and wanted to trade her body for business deals.

The "Raymond Blackwell" they mentioned—she remembered now.

He was from the Blackwell family, the number one powerhouse in the capital. But he wasn't Ethan Blackwell, the current heir. He was Ethan's fourth uncle.

He was old enough to be her father.

How could they be this vicious?

Lily felt like her whole world was caving in.

Right then, she almost forgot one crucial thing: the strength of the man from last night was nothing like that of a man pushing fifty. And this morning, even though she hadn't seen his face, that body alone had said enough.

But her mind was already drowning in despair. She couldn't think straight at all.

She turned to leave, but then a maid's voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"Miss, why are you standing here?"

"Who's there? Who's outside?!"

The three venomous people in the study were instantly alarmed.

Outside the door, Lily's face went white with panic. Without even thinking, she spun around and bolted downstairs.

She couldn't let the Hargroves catch her.

Their filth had already been exposed. There was no way they would let her go now.

She had to leave.

She had to get out of the Hargrove house.

Get out of this place that ate people alive and didn't even spit out the bones.

Lily ran like crazy, lungs burning, heart hammering wildly in her chest. She sprinted out of the villa and onto the main road.

Just then, a luxury car sped straight toward her.

Bang!

A deafening crash split the air.

Lily's small body dropped hard onto the ground.

Then everything went black, and she lost consciousness...