Chapter 1
I had been drugged and locked in a room with a stranger.
There were high-definition cameras everywhere, and every move we made was being streamed live on the dark web.
The viewers were going wild. They were betting on how long it would take for us to lose control.
Now I had two choices in front of me. One was to let the drug torture me until I died. The other was to sacrifice my dignity and perform a live sex show with this man in front of tens of thousands of people.
*****
"Welcome to our special broadcast, 'Desire of the Trapped,'" the host announced in a booming voice. "Tonight's prey is truly exceptional.
"One is an untouchable comic artist with undeniable talent, and the other is a restrained business mogul known for keeping everyone at a distance.
"So, are you ready to watch the untouchable come crashing down?"
As the host's strange electronic voice rose at the end of the sentence, there was a click, and four industrial spotlights suddenly exploded with white light in the enclosed space.
The light stabbed into my eyes like a solid blade.
I groaned in pain and immediately raised my hands to cover my eyes.
I had no idea what the host was talking about.
My mind went blank for a second, and then those words filled me with panic and a dizzy feeling.
"Don't move." A man's voice came from the corner. His voice was so low and rough that it barely sounded like a whisper.
My heart jumped, and I tried to look through my fingers toward the sound. The next second, what I saw made me stop breathing entirely.
Under that harsh white light, a man had his back pressed tightly against the cold wall and was staying as far away from me as possible in the corner.
His eyes were usually so calm and unreadable, but now they were shot through with terrifying red veins.
It was Charles Bennett, the one who had left me with no rebuttal during a college debate.
After graduation, he took over the Bennett Group and spent every chance he got pushing my family's company down and targeting my husband. He was my greatest enemy.
A strange wave of fear mixed with a sense of absurdity washed over me.
"Charles?" I forced myself to stop my teeth from chattering. I braced myself against the floor to stand up, but my head was spinning, and my limbs were so weak and heavy that I could barely move.
I couldn't figure out where I was.
The air felt unnaturally hot and made my skin itch like crazy.
"Why are you here? What was that voice just now? And where are your bodyguards?" I blurted out.
Charles swallowed hard, his throat moving painfully. He wouldn't look at me and kept his face turned sharply to the side. His chest was rising and falling fast, and each breath came out rough.
"Shut up." The words came out as a hoarse rasp, barely audible through his gritted teeth.
He pressed one hand firmly against the icy wall, veins bulging prominently across his knuckles. "Keep your distance."
His eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the edge of losing control yet somehow clinging to restraint.
Combined with the oppressive heat that kept building in the air, the sight sent a sharp, unsettling sense of dread surging through me.
Just then, the large screen mounted on the wall flickered to life.
The number of viewers was displayed clearly, well over ten thousand, and a steady stream of comments flooded the screen.
[Holy shit, isn't that Isabelle Lane? The famous comic artist who's married to Edward Grant, CEO of Prosperity Group?]
[I heard all four of the city's top bachelors chased her back in the day. I really thought she and Edward had something real.]
[And the other guy is Charles Bennett? Edward's sworn enemy? This is next level.]
[Damn, are we really watching someone cuckold their rival live?]
[The dark web is insane. They pulled off a live stream with people like this?]
[One's a married woman, the other's the guy who keeps every woman at arm's length. This pairing is wild.]
[Great, nothing beats watching those so-called prudes finally drop the act.]
Every cruel word on screen felt like a violation, laying me bare for the whole world to stare at.
"Let us go right now. What you're doing is against the law." I stepped back on instinct, my voice rising sharply with anger.
Kidnapping someone quiet and isolated like me was one thing, but Charles was a completely different story.
He was never without a team of bodyguards. Taking on a powerful businessman like him on the dark web was no small thing.
Who in the world would trap the two of us together when we barely existed in each other's lives?
An electronic voice let out a mocking laugh. "Help! I'm so scared.
"Alright, all of you watching at home. The ten-minute timer starts now. Place your bets.
"Let's see how long they can resist the effects of the drug and who will let go of their dignity first.
"Former sworn rivals giving in to desire, and a proper wife falling for her husband's biggest enemy. Rivals and cheating are all wrapped into one. This is insane."