Chapter 3
I kept my lips sealed and dropped the last shard of glass onto the tray.
"Mr. Sterling, I've finished," I said, holding up my hands with blood dripping.
Victor shot a glance at my hands and then turned away in disdain.
"Get out. Don't be an eyesore," he said.
I picked up the tray and limped out of the room.
"Wait!" David suddenly called out.
He turned to Victor, rubbing his hands together with a leering smirk on his face.
"Mr. Sterling, now that she's working for you," he said, "how about you let me borrow her for a night?"
I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him in disbelief.
"David, are you out of your mind?" Lily shrieked.
"Shut up. This is men's business." David snapped, shooting her a glare.
He turned back to Victor, putting on his best bootlicker face.
"Honestly, for three years in our marriage, she always got on her high horse and wouldn't let me touch her," David said. "Now I wanna find out what this condescending heiress is like between the sheets."
Lily was shaking with rage, but she didn't dare say another word.
A cold dread settled in my bones.
"David, you have no shame," I snapped.
David ignored me. He only stared at Victor with anticipation.
Victor's long fingers tapped lightly on the table.
Each tap felt like a shock to my nerves.
Victor's lips barely moved as he said, "Sure."
I felt like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks.
"Victor, you can't do this," I shouted at him.
Victor stood up and strode right over to me.
He gripped my chin, tilting my face up forcefully.
"Why can't I?" he sneered. "You're nothing but a worthless plaything. Whoever throws down the most cash gets their turn."
He turned to David. "The guest room at the end of the third floor. She's all yours tonight."
*****
Martha shoved me into the guest room at the very end of the third floor.
The heavy oak door slammed shut and was locked tight from the outside.
The room was dark, except for the moonlight spilling in through the window.
I yanked at the doorknob desperately, shouting at the top of my lungs.
"Let me out. You're insane, Victor," I yelled.
But there was no answer.
The sound of the lock turning echoed through the room.
David pushed the door open and locked it behind him without missing a beat.
He peeled off his suit jacket, carelessly tossed it to the floor, and started closing in on me.
"Isabelle, finally, the two of us," David said.
He loosened his tie, twisting his lips into a lecherous smirk.
"Don't come any closer," I shouted, grabbing the lamp from the table and hugging it to my chest.
"Stop acting like you're so tough," David sneered, lunging at me.
I swung the lamp at his head.
He dodged, snatched the lamp from my hands, and tossed it aside.
"Bitch, you got the nerve to hit me?" David barked.
He slapped me so hard that my head spun. Then he threw me down onto the bed.
He ripped at my flimsy maid outfit brutally.
"David, let me go. Lily's still downstairs," I screamed, struggling desperately to knee him away.
"That fool? She's only here to pop out kids for me," David sneered, pinning my hands down. "You still think you're that high-and-mighty heiress?
"Tonight, I'm gonna make you mine."
He leaned in, his mouth hovering over my neck to kiss me.
Disgust hit me so hard that I thought I might throw up.
I fumbled around the nightstand until my fingers brushed against a metal letter opener.
Without a second's hesitation, I snatched it up and plunged it straight into David's shoulder.
David howled in agony, clutching his shoulder as he tumbled off the bed.
His white shirt was instantly drenched in blood.
I scrambled up and staggered for the door.
I twisted the lock and bolted out of the room.
But at the end of the hallway, a tall, shadowy figure loomed, blocking my way.
Victor stood there with a cigar dangling from his fingers, smoke curling around him.
His bodyguards stepped forward and pinned me hard against the wall, holding me so tightly that I couldn't move an inch.
David stumbled out of the room, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Mr. Sterling. She tried to kill me. Lock her up," David howled furiously.
Victor strolled over to me.
He glanced at my torn-up outfit and then at the blood soaking David's shoulder.
"Isabelle, you stained my carpet," Victor said, snuffing out his cigar. "Lock her up in the water dungeon. Keep her there until she figures out how to please a man."
The bodyguards hauled me toward the staircase.
All the despair and injustice I'd been holding back finally exploded.
I glared at that cold, heartless man and screamed with all my might, "Victor, you idiot. If I hadn't married David back then, you'd have been gunned down by the mafia ages ago."
The air in the hallway froze.
The bodyguards stopped dead in their tracks.
Victor spun around and strode right up to me.
He grabbed me by the collar and hauled me off the floor.
"What did you just say?" he asked.