Chapter 3

The warehouse's iron door screeched as I pushed it open. A sharp, moldy stench hit me immediately.

A dim light bulb buzzed overhead. Waiting for me weren't club members—they were two thugs with dyed yellow hair, looking sleazy and dangerous.

They had cheap cigarettes in their mouths, leering and rubbing their hands as they advanced toward me.

And Serena was standing a safe distance away, arm in arm with Ethan.

My heart dropped. A terrible premonition squeezed my chest.

"Ethan, see? I didn't lie to you." Serena pretended to be scared and disgusted, snuggling closer to Ethan. She pointed at me and shouted, "I invited her here nicely to talk things out, but she thinks the warehouse is too remote and called these random men to hang out with! Ethan, she stays out all night at the dorms—her morals are completely gone. I feel so bad for you!"

My eyes widened in disbelief, blood rushing to my head. "Serena, you're lying! YOU brought these people here!"

"Rip her clothes off! She invited us here, let this little slut serve us properly!" The thugs didn't give me a chance to defend myself. They lunged forward, their rough hands grabbing my jacket and tearing it. RRRIP—my collar ripped open, and cold air rushed in.

"Get off! Don't touch me!" I struggled wildly, kicking and hitting. Through the thugs' shoulders, I stared desperately at Ethan. "Ethan! Are you blind? Call the police! This is Serena's setup!"

Ethan stood there like a cold statue.

He spoke slowly, his voice ice-cold. "Cecilia, you really are just like Serena said—willing to do anything disgusting for money."

"I didn't! Ethan, we were together for years—you believe this lying snake over me?!" I screamed desperately, tears streaming down my face.

He wouldn't listen. He even frowned in disgust and turned his back on me completely.

Fresh off our breakup, he was already biased against me. Seeing me disheveled and desperate, he actually believed Serena's lies and stood there watching coldly, not lifting a finger to help.

In that moment, something inside me shattered completely.

"Little slut, you're feisty!" One thug, his face scratched by me, got angry and punched me hard in the stomach.

The pain doubled me over, cold sweat breaking out instantly. But I knew if I stayed here, I was dead. I gritted my teeth and somehow found the strength to slam my head forward into the thug's chin!

"AH FUCK!" The man cried out, covering his mouth and stumbling back.

I stumbled forward, tripped, and my forehead slammed hard into a rusted metal rack. Warm blood poured out, covering my face and blurring my vision. I didn't care about the pain—I scrambled through the half-open door and ran for my life.

The cold outside wind carried the smell of dirt from the hills behind campus. I'd barely run a few steps when someone grabbed my hair from behind and yanked me hard to the ground.

"Run! Keep running, you little whore!"

It was Serena, waiting outside. Behind her were Chloe, Mandy, and the other club followers.

Serena knelt down and slapped me hard across the face—again and again—right in front of Ethan and the others.

"Shameless thing! Flirting with men in broad daylight, you're an embarrassment to our club!" Serena righteously scolded me, then nodded at Chloe and the others. "Chloe, take pictures of this whore! Send them to the group chat so everyone can see!"

Chloe and the others excitedly pulled out their phones, flashes blinding me as they photographed my face and torn clothes.

"Stop... get away!" I weakly tried to cover my face, but Serena stepped hard on my hand.

Serena leaned close to my ear, her voice low and vicious, only for me to hear. "Cecilia, who do you think you are, fighting me? I'm the Sterling family heiress. Even if I beat you to death right here, no one would say a word! Poor trash like you—no one would even care if you died, understand?"

Blood ran into my mouth, salty and bitter. Hearing her arrogant declaration, I suddenly laughed.

I coughed up blood, my chest heaving, my laugh sounding eerie in the empty hills. I stared at her beautiful, fake face and asked one word at a time: "Do you swear to God you're actually the Sterling family's daughter, Serena?"

Serena's triumphant expression froze. Panic and embarrassment flashed in her eyes. She quickly looked away.

I looked past Serena's shoulder at Ethan, standing a few feet away. He was looking at me with cold, disgusted eyes, like I was garbage.

I laughed even harder, tears mixing with blood. "Ethan! You're a complete idiot! She's lying to you! Believe me—one day you'll regret this! You'll pay the worst price for standing by and doing nothing today!"

Ethan stopped, frowning, clearly annoyed by my outburst. He coldly threw out: "Cecilia, you're a pathological liar. I can't believe I ever dated you. Serena, this person isn't worth pitying. She makes me sick. I'm going back—finish up and come home soon."

Ethan left.

Serena watched him disappear completely, then dropped all pretense. She stood up, her eyes venomous as a snake, and ordered the two thugs who'd just chased out: "Hold her down! Tear all her clothes off!"

"Serena! Don't you dare!" I struggled backward, but two grown men were too strong. They pounced like animals, holding my arms and legs down, tearing at what little clothing I had left.

The sound of ripping fabric was deafening in the dark.

Serena held up her phone, camera pointed directly at me, smiling creepily. "Cecilia, if you dare call the police, I'll post these HD videos on the school forum, on the internet! I'll let everyone see what you really are—you'll never hold your head up again!"

"Get off! Don't touch me! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

I struggled and screamed, my nails digging bloody tracks into the dirt, my throat raw.

But no one came. This abandoned hillside was hell on earth, cut off from the world.

The thugs' lewd laughter, Chloe and the others' excited whispers, Serena's vicious insults—they wrapped around me like a suffocating net.

They didn't stop. They beat me like I was a rag doll.

Tearing pain and utter humiliation washed over me in waves. I couldn't even scream anymore. I lay there like a broken doll, letting them hurt me.

I don't know how long passed before the demons' laughter finally faded, leaving only dead silence.

The night wind was cold, cutting like knives across my bare skin.

I lay on the freezing ground, covered in blood.

And then, I felt nothing at all.