Chapter 3

3

Encouraged by the crowd, Raina reached down and tore away the last of my clothing.

"No!"

I let out a blood-curdling scream, trying to cover my chest with my bruised and bloodied hands.

"Get away! Get out of here!"

"Why are you screaming? We aren't Jace. We don't care about your fake tears. Save the noises for your clients!"

"She thinks she's still performing! Hold her down, I'm going to post this all over the internet. I want her life to be over by morning."

Raina's friends pinned my wrists to the floor with such force I thought the bones would snap. She moved the camera in close, a sickening smile on her face.

"Smile for the fans, bitch. Show them that 'seductress' energy you're so proud of."

She filmed me from every angle. I felt like a piece of meat being inspected at a market. I was drowning in a sea of despair.

Someone in the crowd finally seemed to have a conscience. They whispered, "This might be illegal. What if she really is his sister? That's going to be awkward."

The girls holding me down hesitated. One of them looked at Raina. "Maybe we should check? Just in case?"

"In case of what? My sister-in-law wouldn't be a tramp like this. Jace told me his sister isn't even in the country until tomorrow. Don't let this bitch trick you."

Raina looked at me with such pure hatred it made my soul shiver. I regretted everything.

I had lied about arriving a day late because I wanted to surprise her. I wanted her to feel like I truly welcomed her into our family.

That one act of kindness had led to this. I was being beaten to death because of a surprise.

"Enough. Drag her to the car. We're taking this show to the city square. Why should we be the only ones to see this?"

Raina's eyes gleamed with a dark, twisted excitement. Her friends cheered. They were treating my humiliation like a game.

I was too weak to fight. They dragged me across the floor like a dead animal and threw me into the back of a car.

The hotel manager started to step forward, but Raina tossed a black credit card at him.

"The Winthrop family will cover the damages. Jace Winthrop. Look up the name."

The manager's face changed instantly. He bowed, took the card, and stayed silent. He didn't call the police. He didn't help me. He just took the money.

The Winthrop Group―the company I had built with my own blood, sweat, and tears―was now the weapon being used to keep me silent.

The crowd dispersed, no one wanting to get involved with a powerful family.

I was trapped. Raina drove us to the busiest plaza in the center of the city. Even before we stopped, I could see the throngs of people.

"Stop this, Raina. Please. I am his sister. You will regret this for the rest of your life."

I struggled to speak. I knew if they dragged me out there, my life would be effectively over.

Raina pulled me out of the car by my hair and slapped me across the chest.

"Scared now? We're just getting started. You shouldn't have messed with me. My future sister-in-law is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. Once I marry Jace tomorrow, she'll make any trouble I get into disappear. And you? You'll be back in the gutter where you belong."

She dragged me across the pavement. The friction tore the skin off my legs and back. I was shaking, my vision blurring with tears.

A crowd gathered instantly. They looked at my exposed body and began to whisper.

"Look at that. Another homewrecker getting what's coming to her. How old is she anyway?"

"Easy money comes with high risks, I guess. She got caught!"

I couldn't look at them. Suddenly, a heavy, middle-aged woman―Raina's mother―sat on my chest and started throwing punches.

"You tried to seduce my son-in-law? You thought you could climb your way into a rich family? Look at you! You're nothing!"

Her weight was crushing the air out of my lungs. I felt like my ribs were about to cave in.

I finally understood where Raina's cruelty came from. She was a perfect copy of her mother.

"Cut her face! How dare she try to take Jace away from Raina? She needs to learn her place!"

"She just wants the Winthrop money. We have to make sure she never forgets this lesson."

A group of people stood behind the older woman, their eyes filled with a terrifying, self-righteous rage.

Someone put a small folding knife into Raina's hand. They encouraged her to leave a mark.

"Go on, honey. Don't be scared. Your sister-in-law is a CEO, she'll protect you."

The irony was a knife to my heart. I felt like I was dying. Everything hurt.

Raina pinned my head down and sliced two long gashes into my cheeks. The pain cleared my head for a split second.

I didn't know how long this would last. I just prayed for Jace to find me.

Raina had planned this. She had seen Jace's post, told him she was going out, and gathered her entire clan to destroy me.

An older woman in the crowd finally felt bad and threw a coat over me.

"That's enough, girls. You're going to kill her. You've had your fun."

"You've beaten her. If you keep going, it's a felony. This is too much."

Raina's mother turned on her like a rabid dog.

"You're defending her? Is your daughter a side piece too? Only a tramp's mother would feel sorry for a tramp!"

I gasped for air, listening to the woman's screeching voice.

Raina didn't argue. Her phone rang, and she answered it with a smug grin.

"Jace? Don't think you can hide her from me. I found her. I'm not just beating her, I'm making sure she never looks at another man again. Mistresses don't deserve a happy ending."

Jace's voice on the other end sounded horrified. "Raina? What the hell are you talking about? I told you, I don't have a mistress! We're getting married tomorrow! If my sister finds out you're acting like this, it's over!"

Raina lost it. She took her anger out on me, stabbing the knife into my shoulder before shouting her location into the phone.

I was barely breathing. The last few hours felt like a lifetime of torture. I was physically and mentally shattered.

Raina's mother smoothed her daughter's hair, acting like a proud parent.

"Don't be upset, baby. Tomorrow you'll be royalty. That sister-in-law of yours will be gone eventually, and all that money will be Jace's. You just have to play nice for a little while."

"Exactly. Wealthy families are all the same. A woman can be a CEO, but she still has to answer to her brother. Just keep Jace happy, and the world is yours."

They stood there, plotting how to steal my life's work while I lay bleeding at their feet.

I stared at their ugly faces, memorizing every single one of them.