Chapter 4
I stared at the champagne flute in Brandon’s hand, unable to stop the ache that rose in my chest.
“I’m still pregnant,” I said, my voice trembling. “You want me to drink alcohol?”
He waved it off with a casual shrug.
“It’s just a glass of champagne. I already cleared it with the doctor-eight months in, the baby’s stable. A little sip won’t hurt.”
I pushed the glass away. “I’m not drinking it. I haven’t done anything wrong. Why should I apologize?”
Brandon’s expression darkened instantly.
“Rachel, I’ve been patient enough tonight. Don’t push me.”
Madison stepped in, her voice syrupy sweet. “Don’t be so harsh, Brandon. She’s still pregnant, you’ll scare her.”
She handed me a glass of water, blinking innocently “Here, Rachel. Just some water to help you calm down. Brandon didn’t mean to sound so intense.”
I looked down at the clear liquid, my fingers tightening around the glass.
“If I drink this… can I leave?”
Before anyone could answer, I brought it to my lips and swallowed.
The warmth slid down my throat-and then the heat hit. My skin prickled, my limbs grew heavy, and a crawling sensation spread across my body, like something was burrowing beneath my skin, eating me alive.
“What did you give me?” I asked, panic rising as my legs gave out beneath me.
I collapsed into someone’s arms.
Through my haze, I saw Carter’s twisted smile. His hands were already on me, roaming freely.
“Oh yeah,” he breathed. “Now this is way better. That sedative crap made her dead weight. This-
this is more fun.”
1 heard Madison’s laughter before I saw her.
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“That’s the newest stuff from overseas,” she said, beaming. “It’s called ‘Obedience Serum.’ Makes people forget everything and do whatever you say. Tonight? She’s all yours. No limits. And
tomorrow, she won’t remember a thing.”
“Let me go,” I managed to choke out, the last scrap of my awareness burning in my throat.
But my limbs were useless. My voice was fading. All I could do was turn toward Brandon, silently begging him to stop this.
He didn’t even blink.
He just glanced at Carter and said coldly, “Take it easy. She’s still pregnant. We can’t afford to lose the bet.”
I stared at him in stunned silence.
“You’re going to regret this,” I whispered.
Madison clung to his arm, giggling uncontrollably. “Oh please. You’ll wake up tomorrow and still be my perfect sister-in-law. That’s the beauty of the serum.”
Carter leaned in close, his face twisted in anticipation.
“Good girl,” he sneered. “Now get on your knees.”
And just like that, my body obeyed. I dropped, helpless, my mind still conscious enough to feel the last flickers of horror before everything went black
In the darkness, I felt something tear me apart-body and soul. It was agony. Unrelenting. Total.
When I came to, I was lying on the floor.
Blood. So much blood. Pooling beneath me, staining everything red.
“Help…” I croaked, dragging myself toward the door my fingers slipping in the mess.
I banged weakly on the door. “Please… help me…”
“Quit faking,” someone muttered behind it. “You were moaning loud enough earlier. Get some
sleep. You’ll forget everything by morning anyway.”
Brandon’s voice followed a moment later. “Now that that’s done-let’s get started on round two.”
Then came the slam of the door as they locked me in again.
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Alone.
I clawed the door open with what little strength I had left and crawled out.
A trail of crimson followed me-my blood streaking behind me like a twisted red carpet.
The next time I woke up, I was in a hospital room, the air thick with antiseptic.
“Miss Moore,” the nurse said softly, eyes filled with pity, “you lost the baby. Do you want us to arrange for the remains…?”
I stared blankly at the bundle in her hands.
“Call a courier,” I said flatly.
Meanwhile, Brandon and his buddies had partied the night away-completely forgetting about me.
It wasn’t until morning that someone reminded him hadn’t come back.
Just as he stepped out of the Rosewood Elite Club the manager rushed over.
“Mr. Whitmore, your wife was rushed to the hospital last night. She… she may lost the baby.”
Brandon froze.
And then, as if summoned by fate, a delivery man approached, holding a square box.
“Hi, are you Brandon Whitmore? I have a package that needs to be signed for personally.”
Chapter 5
Brandon stood frozen, his gut twisting with a sick sense of foreboding.
His hand trembled as he took the package from the delivery guy. The moment the box was in his
hands, a sharp metallic scent hit his nose-iron and blood.
His spine went cold.
His fingers shook as he lifted the lid.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
A beat later, Madison let out a high-pitched scream, her hands flying to her mouth. “No… no way…
this can’t be real!”
The box slipped from Brandon’s hands and hit the floor with a heavy thud. Something rolled out,
dark red and wet, staining his shoes in thick blood.
Everyone went silent.
Brandon’s gaze dropped to the back of the box, where a sentence had been scrawled in jagged red
letters:
“This is the price of your million-dollar bet.”
His face drained of color. Panic flickered in his eyes as he fumbled for his phone and dialed
Rachel’s number.
No signal.
Blocked.
“She knows,” he muttered under his breath, voice shaking. “She knows everything.”
His eyes went bloodshot as he turned and grabbed Carter by the collar.
“What the hell did you do to her last night?!”
Carter paled. “W-Wait, why are you asking me? Shouldn’t you be asking Madison? She’s the one
who said that stuff was some new drug from overseas. She swore she’d forget everything by
morning.”
He pointed a shaking finger at Madison.
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“And besides, wasn’t this whole party your idea? You and Madison planned the whole damn thing!”
Madison flinched, clearly caught off guard. Her hand darted out to clutch Brandon’s sleeve.
“I-I didn’t know the drug would fail! It’s really common abroad-I didn’t think it’d… I just brought it. I didn’t do anything else. Carter and the others… they’re the ones who went too far. It wasn’t me!”
Just like that, she shoved all the blame back at Carter.
Carter shot her a venomous glare and muttered a curse under his breath. Then he turned to
Brandon and sneered.
“Seriously, man? You never even liked Rachel. Now that Madison’s back and the baby’s gone, this is your golden opportunity. Just kick her out. Hell, the rest of us already had our fun-she’s old news
now anyway.”
He barely finished the sentence before Brandon’s fist came down hard across his jaw.
“Shut your goddamn mouth! Rachel is my wife. You don’t get to talk about her like that.”
The punch sent Carter flying. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and two of his teeth clattered to the
floor, riding the stream of crimson.
He clutched his face and staggered back up, fury boiling in his eyes.
“You’re joking, right? Playing the loyal husband now” Carter spat blood at the floor. “Don’t forget- you were the one who served her up to us in the first place. You put her in our beds. You wanted
this.”
Brandon’s eyes blazed with fury.
“Shut up!”
He tackled Carter to the ground, fists flying.
One blow.
Another.
Then another.
Brandon pummeled him without mercy, his rage uncontrollable. No one dared stop him. The others just stood there, frozen, watching the madness unfold.
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It wasn’t until sirens pierced the air outside that anyone moved.
Red and blue lights flashed against the club windows.
Two officers rushed in and tackled Brandon off Carter, pinning him to the ground.
“Brandon Whitmore, you’re under arrest for multiple charges, including assault and the sexual
abuse of your wife. You’ll need to come with us.”
