In a certain abandoned building in a remote area, a woman was tied to an iron chair. The cold air reeked of rust and despair. Blood trailed from the corners of her eyes and ears, staining her pale face with a silent agony.
Bai Xia's breath came out ragged and shallow. Her once graceful hair hung in tangled strands, matted with dirt and pain.
Standing before her was Shang Shan, her best friend—yet now a stranger cloaked in cruelty.
Shang Shan was a delicate beauty, the kind whose soft skin and refined features could make men's hearts flutter. But at this moment, that beauty twisted into something venomous; her smile was sharp as a blade.
"You still have the nerve to keep such proud hair?" she sneered. "Cut it off. Shave it clean—I don't want to see a single strand left."
A few large men moved forward. The sound of the blade against Bai Xia's scalp echoed like thunder in the hollow room. Her hair, once her pride, fell to the floor like wilted petals.
Bai Xia's eyes, bloodshot and trembling, glared at the woman before her.
"Shang Shan!" she cried hoarsely. "Why? After all I've done for you… why did you betray me like this?"
Shang Shan tilted her head slightly, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. Her laughter rang out—high, eerie, and beautiful in its madness.
"Why?" she echoed mockingly. "Because you were too good at everything. Why must you have everything while I follow behind like a little servant? But since you're going to die today, I might as well give you the full story."
Her eyes gleamed like cold jade as her voice dripped with poison.
"As we speak, your mother, father, and elder brother's flight had… complications on their way to find you in the States. And now—" she smiled slowly "—they're all dead."
The world around Bai Xia went still.
Her heart stopped.
"No… no… no!" she screamed, voice cracking with grief. "How could you do this to me! They didn't kill me—you did, you b*tch!"
Shang Shan's beautiful face darkened. Rage twisted her delicate features into something monstrous.
"Since your mouth is so foul," she hissed, "I'll make sure you never use it again. Go. Silence her."
The men moved toward her. There was a terrible sound, then nothing but Bai Xia's silent, trembling sobs.
When the heavy door creaked open, Bai Xia's blurry eyes lit up for a moment—James.
Her business partner, her supposed ally, stood there like a figure carved from ice. He was a typical green-eyed American, tall and broad, the very image of confidence. For one fleeting heartbeat, Bai Xia's despair flickered with hope.
But James's gaze was cold—disgusted.
He walked to Shang Shan's side without a word, and before Bai Xia could understand, he pulled her into a fierce kiss. Their lips locked, hungry and shameless.
They broke apart slowly, as if savoring the pain they had caused.
Then James turned, pressing the cold barrel of a gun against Bai Xia's head.
"Thank you, Bai Xia," he murmured softly, "for building an empire for me and my darling Shan-Shan."
The sound that followed shattered the air.
Bai Xia felt her world tilt. Her body grew light, her consciousness fading. She saw herself—floating—while below, flames roared to life, devouring the wooden building. Her body was swallowed in the inferno, her soul untethered.
As the world dissolved into fire, a single vow burned through her fading mind.
If Heaven gives me another chance… I will make them pay.