He had just ordered the manager to throw out the woman who drugged him, showing no regard for past connections.
But now, he no longer wanted to suppress his urges. This woman suited his taste perfectly.
Just holding her slender waist made him unwilling to hold back any longer.
"Whoever you are, I want you."
"..."
In the darkness, Janelle couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Afraid you can't afford me." Even utterly exhausted, Janelle would never submit without a fight.
However, the next moment, the man pressed hard on her wound.
"Mmm." Janelle cried out in pain. This man was truly vile, deliberately pressing on her injury.
His solid, scorching body pressed down on hers.
"I gave you a chance. You chose not to leave. Now, don't blame me."
"Do you want to die?" Janelle wished she could tear the man off her, but he gave her no chance to refuse.
Their bodies pressed tightly together; his body was already reacting.
The exhausted Janelle was no match for the man. Again and again, he showed no restraint.
The girl's body held a fatal allure for him.
Only when dawn broke did the man finally release her. He placed a kiss on the corner of her lips.
"Good girl. Stay with me from now on." He had taken her virginity, so he would naturally take responsibility. Moreover, though it was their first meeting, he was deeply intrigued by this girl.
Janelle didn't speak, just turned over, presenting her back to the man.
Gazing at her exquisite back, his desire stirred again.
As he moved closer, Janelle pushed him away.
"It hurts."
Remembering it was her first time, the man held back, though he still pulled her into his embrace.
Only when the man fell asleep did the girl open her beautiful eyes. She hadn't been asleep at all.
She picked up her clothes from the floor and dressed. Retrieving her dagger, she plunged it straight into the man's chest, precisely where his heart should be, catching him completely off guard.
"You..." His eyes snapped open, staring at her in disbelief.
He had never trusted anyone. This was the first time he'd been interested in a girl, even wanting to take her back. Yet, he never imagined she would deal him this fatal blow.
"You asked for it. Don't blame me." Janelle never considered herself a good person. A girl surviving in the S-country borderlands couldn't possibly be kind-hearted.
He took her first time; she gave him a fatal strike. They were even.
She walked out of the booth, found the manager, and drove away in Mr. Lorenz's Cullinan as if she owned the place.
The man turned on the booth lights. On the white sofa, streaks of blood – hers and his.
The manager, sensing something wrong, entered the booth and saw Mr. Lorenz, blood still seeping from his chest.
"Mr. Lorenz! Who did this? That little girl?" The manager stared in disbelief.
The man before him was a figure who wielded immense power even in S-country. Yet he'd been injured like this by a little girl? And that was the heart area!
"Call a doctor! Now!"
The girl truly meant to kill him. However, his heart was positioned differently from most people's, which was why he wasn't dead yet.
Doctors arrived at "Temptation" swiftly and treated Erik's wound.
"Find her. Find that girl for me. Do not harm her." Erik's eyes burned with a predatory light.
In his hand, he rubbed a bracelet the girl had left behind. Inside it was engraved the name "Janelle".
The manager immediately dispatched people to search. With Mr. Lorenz's influence in S-country, they should find the girl within a day.
However, they turned the border region upside down and found no trace of the audacious girl.
Meanwhile, Janelle had switched cars and arrived at the Huaxia border.
A team was already waiting there, led by a strikingly handsome young man in his late twenties.
Janelle brought the car to a sharp, stylish stop and got out.
She handed a miniature USB drive to the young man.
"Coming back with us?" the young man couldn't help but ask. She'd been in S-country for five years now.
"Hand this over. Don't lose it again." This item concerned the entire Huaxia nation's cybersecurity.
Hearing this, the young man nodded solemnly. "Rest assured. Even if I die, I will protect it."
Janelle nodded.
The young man stood at attention and gave Janelle a crisp military salute.
The dozen young men behind him mirrored the gesture in perfect unison.
"Head back." Janelle waved her hand dismissively and turned to leave with effortless grace.
That evening, Janelle returned to the sanatorium where her mother resided.
Seeing Janelle, her mother's emotions spiraled into hysteria.
"Janelle! Come here to Mommy! There are bad people!"
"Don't be afraid! Mommy will protect you!"
"Westin! I didn't! I didn't cheat! I was framed!"
"I didn't kill anyone! I'm not crazy! Don't touch me!"
"I'm not insane! Aaaaaahhhh..."
Janelle held her mother tightly, preventing her from hurting herself further.
Her mother, once 168 cm tall, now weighed less than 80 pounds, gaunt and heartbreakingly frail.
"Mom, it's Janelle. Don't be afraid."
"Don't worry. I won't let a single one of those who hurt us get away." Janelle's beautiful eyes filled with boundless hatred.
Five years ago, she and her mother were betrayed by the people they trusted most, becoming the laughingstock of all Graham City.
While the mistress and her daughter moved in, seizing everything that belonged to Janelle and her mother.
Five years had passed. It was time to go back and reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
After soothing her mother to sleep, Janelle took a taxi back to her rented apartment.
Rushed from delivering the item, she hadn't bathed yet. Janelle stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower.
Afterwards, she fetched the first-aid kit to dress her wound.
Thinking of the man from last night, a flicker of anger crossed Janelle's eyes.
That man had acted like he'd never touched a woman before – again and again, utterly without restraint. She was still swollen down there.
She regretted not stabbing him a few more times.
But that stab had been aimed at the heart. There was a ninety percent chance the man was dead.
Janelle packed her things directly and headed to the airport, boarding a flight to Graham City.
Just after disembarking, her phone rang.
"Janelle, I'm at T2 exit. Are you out yet?"
"Waiting for luggage. Don't come in; I'll be right out."
Janelle bent down to retrieve her suitcase. Before she could straighten up, someone grabbed her arm.
"Janelle? Is that really you?"
Janelle frowned, looking at the woman clutching her arm.
"Let go." Janelle warned coldly.
Confirming it was indeed Janelle, Elora's eyes filled with contempt.
"Janelle, why come back now? Right when my brother is getting engaged to your sister Lillie? What? Still not over him?"
"Five years ago, you shamelessly followed my brother around, clinging to him. You were only fifteen then! Already so brazen."
"But then again, your mother brought men home to sleep with. You must have learned plenty of tricks for seducing men growing up with her. Though I heard you and your mother even shared a man..."
The airport bustled with people. Elora's outburst quickly drew a crowd.
"Elora, I haven't even come to settle scores with you yet, and here you deliver yourself."
Five years ago, the Hills' second daughter had been instrumental in spreading vicious rumors about Janelle and her mother.
Janelle twisted Elora's arm sharply. A loud crack echoed, followed instantly by Elora's piercing, pig-like scream.
"AAAAAAH! What are you doing?! Let go! My arm's broken!"
"When it comes to skills in pleasing men, no one could rival the Hills' second daughter. Didn't you sleep with your chauffeur's son long ago?" Janelle whispered softly in her ear.
"I still have the photos. Do you think the reporters in Graham City would find them... interesting?"
Elora's face instantly paled.
How did she know about that? It was just a foolish mistake from her youth!
Now, she had painstakingly secured an engagement to the prestigious Lorenz family from the capital.
If the Lorenz family found out about this... would her engagement survive?
"Apologize. Or else..."