CHAPTER1
In the last room on the right corner of the second floor, moans escaped through the slightly opened door. The smell of hormones filled the air as two people were tightly entwined in the middle of the bed, tossing and turning their bodies. Lea tilted her head back and moaned continuously, even though her throat felt dry and sore.
She reached out to grab the other person, who seemed to be saying something she didn’t understand.
“What are you saying? Are you Leo? Say something!” she asked. She endured the discomfort and tried to sit up, but the other person reacted quickly, pressing her back on the bed and going deeper with every thrust. The pain became unbearable, and eventually, she passed out.
The next morning, Lea woke up to an empty room, feeling sore all over—especially in her lower body. She felt as if she had been run over by a car. She struggled to sit up, oblivious to the pain she was going through.
When her feet touched the ground, she felt like fainting from the pain. Images from the previous night started flashing in her head, and a headache began to build. She suddenly remembered something and pulled off the covers—only to see bright red blood stains on the white sheet.
Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the floor with a loud thud, covering her face with her hands as tears streamed down. The door creaked open, and a waiter walked in holding a tray. Lea quickly grabbed the bathrobe on the floor to cover herself.
The waiter saw Lea sitting on the floor, looking disheveled, and was stunned. He quickly set down the breakfast tray and ran to help her.
“Miss, what happened? Is everything alright? Do you want to go to the hospital—” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the bloodstains on the bed. He looked back at Lea on the floor. She blushed, embarrassed, and pulled the covers over the stains.
George swallowed his words and helped her sit on the bed. She felt uneasy in her heart. Who would harm her like this? She hadn’t done anything to make anyone angry—so why this treatment? The thought made her nose sting as she tried to hold back tears. Unconsciously, she started mumbling under her breath.
George, on the other hand, was at a loss. He had never had a girlfriend and didn’t know how to comfort a girl. An idea popped into his mind. He quickly took out his phone, opened a music app, and started playing music, gently patting her back to the rhythm.
Slowly, Lea calmed down and began to process what had happened the previous night.
She asked the waiter, “Do you guys run shifts?”
He hesitated, thinking. “Yeah… but last night, the person who was supposed to take my place was unavailable, so I didn’t switch yesterday,” he answered truthfully.
She forced herself to stay calm on the outside while panicking inside.
“Did you see anyone coming inside this room last night?” she asked.
George shook his head. “Although I didn’t change shifts with anyone, I’m not allowed to come upstairs unless summoned by a guest.”
Lea knew this but still asked, just in case. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the time. It was already 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. She cursed under her breath, wiped her face, and dialed Rose’s number.
(Friday Morning — Lea’s POV)
Rose came running into the office looking excited, holding an ash-colored envelope in her hands. She slapped the envelope down on my desk, then put her hands on her waist without saying a word. Seeing her like this, I knew she wanted me to open it and read it out loud.
“Rose, come on! I don’t want this!” I said as I pushed the envelope back toward her.
She frowned, looking displeased, but I wasn’t bothered. Suddenly, I heard a soft, eerie laugh from above that sent shivers down my spine. I knew exactly who made that laugh, but the problem was — what was she planning to do again? The last time she laughed like that, I ended up sleeping in my own closet.
Rose and I had known each other since our freshman year in high school. I had saved her once from being assaulted, and since then, we’d been best friends. We both went to the same college and coincidentally ended up working in the same office as co-workers. She was like a sister to me.
I groaned in frustration and picked up the envelope. With a smirk, she pulled her chair closer to mine and stretched her neck, curious to see what was inside. As soon as I opened the envelope, a black postcard caught my eye. On it was an address and a time.
Immediately, Rose grabbed her laptop and began searching.
“Got it!” she exclaimed, placing the laptop on my desk to show me the results.
It was the address of a famous hotel in the city. It had been recently built by a start-up real estate company but instantly became popular, surpassing other hotels within a week. It was said that the owner was unknown, but he loved parties — so every Friday night, he turned the hotel lobby into a nightclub. Most of the big shots in Quinstine went there to have fun.
Looking at the postcard on my desk, I felt annoyed.
Why would someone send me this address and the exact time of the club opening? Did they think of me as some kind of party girl? Did they think I’d just go somewhere to meet strangers? Do I look stupid?
“Earth to Lea!!” Rose snapped her fingers in front of my face when she saw me staring blankly at the screen.
“So are you going to check it out?”
“Check what out?”
Rose rolled her eyes and pointed at the postcard.
“What else do you think I meant?” she said, a little annoyed.
“I don’t want to!” I shook my head. “Although we don’t know what the other party wants, we can’t just do what they say. What if it’s a trap?”
“What if it’s not? Look closely — doesn’t the handwriting look familiar to you?” Rose pointed at the writing on the card.
It did look familiar. I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t remember where. Coupled with Rose’s persuasion, I decided to go and have a look. What do you know? Maybe at the end of the day, a miracle might happen, I mumbled to myself before continuing with my work.