Chapter 1
After my shower, I accidentally clicked a link from my fiancé, Marcus. He sent it, then immediately deleted it.
What popped up was a live stream of someone hurting a cat.
On screen was Amy, the poor girl Marcus was sponsoring, holding a battered kitten and grinning like she'd won a prize.
"If we hit 100,000 likes, I'll slit this cat's throat," she said, her voice dripping with twisted excitement.
I recognized the cat instantly. It was Taffy, the Bengal I'd raised since she was little.
And that ruby necklace around Amy's neck? It was the diamond-studded collar I'd bought for Taffy.
I sent a comment asking if she was afraid of karma, but Amy just laughed even harder.
She sneered, "I'm with Mr. Reed. A cat? Please. Even if I stabbed someone today, he'd have my back."
The Mr. Reed she mentioned was my fiancé, Marcus.
Now I finally understood why he'd been acting so weirdly nice to me lately.
So Marcus wasn't being generous and kind at all. He was just playing the good guy by sponsoring a poor girl, while secretly keeping her as a side chick.
Maybe I'd played the sweet, understanding girlfriend too well. He must've thought I'd just take it.
*****
In the livestream, one commented: [That little monster needs a good beating. How many likes for a smack on the head?]
Another commented: [This is wild, babe. I'll drop two rockets. Give its belly a couple more hits.]
The chat was blowing up with all kinds of comments, and the viewer count was shooting up.
Amy was grinning wickedly as she tied up all of Taffy's paws, a red-hot iron rod in her hand.
Amy jeered, "Paws? Head? Eyes? Which one, guys?
"Spam those gifts, and you get to choose where I burn the cat."
Taffy's agonized screams cut through me like a knife. It was driving me insane.
I commented: [Stop! I'm telling you to stop!
[Didn't you say gifts let us pick? I'm sending ten yachts: let the cat go!]
Ten yachts sailed by on the screen, but instead of calming down, the chat just got even nastier.
One commented: [Another princess worshipping her cat like it's her dad. Does your dad know how filial you are to a cat?]
Another commented: [If you don't like it, just leave. You're such a buzzkill!]
Amy spread her hands, putting on an innocent face. She said, "Come on, this lady, it's not like I'm going back on my word. The whole chat's out for blood. What can I do?
"Besides, this damn cat stole my stuff first.
"Let it go? Dream on!"
Amy kept claiming Taffy had swiped her ruby necklace, acting like she was totally in the right as she kicked off this public 'trial' stream.
But that gemstone necklace was a personalized collar I'd picked out just for Taffy.
The gems were arranged into a big "T" for Taffy, her very own initial.
Seriously, how could Amy even say that with a straight face?
Amy said, "Come on, everyone. Hit those likes! If we hit 100,000, there's a big prize waiting."
Taffy's screams, which had started so heart-wrenching, were now growing weaker and weaker. It was tearing me apart inside.
All of a sudden, cornered and desperate, I thought of Marcus.
Marcus was the kingpin of the local underworld. If anyone could handle a dirty dark web stream like this, it was him.
I forced myself to steady my nerves, clinging to this lifeline with hope. I whipped out my phone, about to dial Marcus's number.
I first commented in the livestream: [Doing something this evil, aren't you scared you'll get what's coming to you?
[Someone's gonna teach you a lesson!]
When Amy saw my comment, she snickered, even more smug than before. She said, "Go ahead, call someone to take me down. Come on, boys in the chat, I'm shaking in my boots."
Before I could even hit dial, a huge firework went off on the stream with a bang, complete with vibration effects, shaking the whole screen.
It was the priciest gift one could send on this platform.
The fireworks kept lighting up the screen, and the chat exploded with cheers.
One commented: [Holy crap! Is that Mr. Reed?]
Another commented: [Damn, girl, you really got something. Didn't expect your sugar daddy to be this big of a shot.]
Then, that signature gold VIP lettering flashed across my screen.
It read: [Careful, sweetheart. Don't let that little monster scratch you.]
The moment I saw that comment, my heart just stopped. I realized it was Marcus.
He went by the name "LoveAnn", and my name was Anna.
He dropped into the stream with that profile pic I knew by heart, rocking that nickname I'd seen a million times, so boldly, without even trying to hide it.
The first time I saw Marcus switch his nickname to that, I was secretly over the moon for days.
Back then, I was just a fool, thinking that after clinging to Marcus for years, the ice around his heart was finally thawing, all because of me.
But when I saw Amy's streamer name, it was like my blood turned to ice in an instant.
Her streamer name was Annie.