He Betrays Me, So I Take Revenge

Chapter 5

The air was still thick with the cloying sweetness of roses. Samantha sat motionless on the sofa, her face devoid of expression.

Once or twice might have been a coincidence.

But now, for the third time, he'd been called away without hesitation.

Samantha could no longer lie to herself.

A dull, throbbing ache spread through her chest, demanding she reevaluate this relationship.

The next day, she received a message from the publisher: Your comic has copyright issues! Do you not understand that plagiarism carries legal consequences?

Samantha's mind went blank.

This romance comic was based on her relationship with Archer. She'd been serializing it online since college.

This couldn't be plagiarism.

Her hands shook as she typed her reply: Impossible! This is my original work. There must be some misunderstanding.

The publisher replied: Resolve this within three days, or we'll take legal action.

Thirty minutes later, she stood at the publishing house.

The receptionist led her down an eerily empty hallway to a back office, not a single staff member in sight.

Samantha's eyelid twitched as unease coiled in her gut.

"Samantha, this is... tough." David Powell, the chief editor, sighed, closing in until she could taste his stale breath.

"What do you propose then?" Samantha asked.

She inched backward, putting as much space between them as possible.

Without warning, he seized her hand, stroking it with a greasy smile. "There's a way out. It's up to you..."

Samantha froze, disgusted by the greasy shine on his nose and the reek of liquor and sweat clinging to him.

"Be good, and we can make this go away..."

David's slick fingers crept up her arm like a venomous snake, leaving her skin crawling with revulsion.

Samantha's restraint shattered. She shoved him back with all her strength. "Get the hell away from me!"

David's face twisted. "Who the f**k are you pretending to be? Ms. Donovan already exposed what a slut you..."

"Wait. Which Ms. Donovan?" Samantha asked.

Realizing his slip, David averted his eyes. "You heard wrong. No Ms. Donovan here. Either you cooperate, or I'll..."

He suddenly slammed her against the wall from behind, tearing at her collar.

As his foul breath hit her face, Samantha thrashed wildly. "Let me go!"

She drove her knee upward, connecting brutally with his groin.

"You f*****g b***h! I'll kill you!"

A stinging slap struck her face, the searing pain blurring her vision.

But there was no time to think. She spun around and sprinted for the door.

The hallway stretched endlessly before her, as if she'd never reach the end.

At last, the exit was in sight.

However, frigid fingers dug into her from behind, crushing like a vise.

Samantha instinctively tried to scream, but another hand clamped over her mouth, dragging her toward a nearby room.

An unidentified man barked at the hastily arriving David in fury. "I warned you not to screw around. She nearly got away! If Ms. Donovan finds out, we're all finished!"

David groveled. "Yes, my fault. So now..."

The man cast a sinister glance at the struggling figure in his grasp, grinning viciously. "Obviously, we've got to please Ms. Donovan. Come here. Hold her down!"

David obediently stepped forward, pinning Samantha as she writhed wildly.

Then, the man lifted the hammer and brought it down savagely.