Claudia Ellis woke up under the semi-translucent glass dome of the swimming pool of a seven-star hotel.
The pool water glistened with sunlight, yet it was void of visitors, and the deathly silence was like that of the darkest night.
Despite sitting on a massaging couch, Claudia's clothes were crumpled and her body aching all over. She brought her knees to her chest as she glared down at the specks of blood on the white rug, her body trembling as she struggled to register what had happened to herself.
Her fiance Bentley Williams had asked her to deliver a document to this hotel for an upcoming business deal with a client.
Yet as soon as she arrived at the designated room, someone clamped something over her mouth, and she had passed out.
In her hazy slumber, she felt as though she was in a fleeting fantasy.
In that dream, a man engulfed her with his heavy breaths, and his arms wrapped around her like solid shackles, twisting her into various shameful postures as he liked.
Yet that man wasn't Bentley.
When she awoke to the blood and the aches, she realized it was not merely a dream.
Claudia's lashes quivered as she struggled with reality.
How could such a thing happen in broad daylight?
What should she do now? Call the police? Collect the evidence?
That's right, she thought, she must keep the evidence safe.
There must be some traces of that man left in her undergarments.
Suddenly, the wall window by the pond creaked open.
Claudia's eyes widened as she glanced back.
The tall and handsome man had a white towel draped over his shoulders, and beads of water dripped down from his hair. He seemed to have just taken a shower, and his refined features emanated the intimidating aura of a ruler. Despite his bath, the blush on his high-bridged nose was a giveaway of love-making.
At this moment, his deep and serene gaze turned and landed on Claudia.
Their eyes met with a searing spark, and the burning sensation jolted her back to reality; this stranger was the very man who slept with her—
She immediately lunged forwards like a bristling cat, "You b*stard! You're coming with me to the police station."
Yet, she underestimated the difference in their strengths. The man gripped her wrist before she could close the distance and lifted her up, washing her down with his hot breath and deep, rumbling voice. "Are you going to sue me? You know that it was Bentley Williams himself who brought you to my bed?"
Two hours ago, he and his nephew Bentley, had a business deal at their family-run hotel. As soon as the client left, Bentley had asked a subordinate to bring two glasses of wine to celebrate his first time accompanying his uncle on a legitimate business deal.
He had downed the wine unsuspectingly, only for his body to go up in fire within. He couldn't process what was wrong before his assistant heaved him back to his suite by the pool on the first floor.
Yet as he entered the room, he found a slender figure lying on his bed.
The girl's appearance was somewhat familiar.
He remembered a visit back home a few days prior; he'd peered over Bentley's shoulder and glimpsed a photograph of this very girl on his nephew's phone album.
At that time, he grabbed the phone and spent a while looking at the girl's picture critically.
Did Bentley send her to his bed under the assumption that he'd taken an interest in her?
In hindsight, it couldn't have been anyone else other than his nephew.
Bentley even had the nerve to drug his wine and cause him to lose control!
Hearing his words, Claudia shivered with fear.
It was simply impossible...
Bentley had her come to deliver the documents! How and why would he trick her into sleeping with someone else?
But if this man was lying, how could he be acquainted with Bentley?
"Impossible! Bentley's my fiance!" She cried, suppressing the fear bubbling in her heart. "Why would he...do such a thing?"
Lawrence Bennett frowned. He hadn't expected the girl to be Bentley's fiancee.
That said something about Bentley's generosity.
To think that he'd present his uncle with his own fiancee over a few glances!
"You'll have to take my word for it," Lawrence said coldly as he glared down at Claudia.
Claudia's teeth chattered; it was as though she was falling down a bottomless abyss.
Did Bentley really call her out just to gift her to some stranger like some kind of souvenir?
She swallowed down the wave of anger and pain surging up and glared at the man with naked hatred.
So what if Bentley screwed her over? This man was still an accomplice!
She bit her lips as she glanced about for an exit like a cornered, injured animal.
Sensing her intentions to alert the police, Lawrence's gaze hardened. He strode forwards and pulled her towards the poolside.
"What are you doing?" Claudia screamed in fear. "Let me go! Help, help!" Yet the only responses to her pleas were the echoes of her own voice.
Her loose T-shirt tore open under his ruthless tuggings. Lawrence glanced down to see the two cresting hills wrapped under her bra, and his gaze shifted as he stopped by the poolside.
Claudia knew exactly what he was going to do; once he threw her into the pool, he'd be able to erase all of his traces on her body. "Let me go!" She screamed again. "You b*stard!"
Lawrence's lips curled into a smirk as he leaped into the pool, Claudia in his arms; he made a perfect curve in the air and crashed down with a splash as Claudia screamed——
Water erupted around them.
......
Claudia dragged her drenched yet sober body back home.
Many passers-by noticed the tear on her collar and approached her with concern. "Is something wrong? Should we call the police?"
But she would simply shake her head and bite her lips, though her heart thudded in protest.
The traces and evidence of the man's crime on her body were all washed clean in the pool.
What good would it do to call the police now?
The sun at dusk was still warm, but she felt a chill in her heart.
She had struggled and pushed the man away after being submerged for a few minutes and fled out of the door.
The man did not continue to chase her. He just lazily climbed back up and reclined on the white chaise lounge, his arms outstretched and his lips curled into a smirk. He glanced down at her as though she was a fleeing prey unworthy of his attention.
Claudia fished out her phone to call Bentley, only to find it unresponsive.
Obviously, it was broken after being submerged in the water.
This was a new phone which she'd bought after a whole week of endless modeling for Amazon! She hadn't used it for two months and it was already damaged thanks to that b*stard!
Claudia fought back the urge to storm back into the hotel and beat the crap out of him.
Fortunately, she still had a few bills in her pocket, and she made her way to a convenience store and dialed Bentley's number.
A voice came from the other side of the phone. "Hello?"
