Chapter 4 The Only Solution

The Paradise Suite at Nocturne sat in utter stillness.

Henry Wheeler, Elias' assistant, was in the middle of going through corporate files when the door was pushed wide open.

A tall man then stumbled through the entrance.

Two bodyguards rushed in on his heels, visibly rattled, wanting to catch him but not bold enough to lay a finger on him.

His gait faltered. A hot flush burned across his face. His shirt had been yanked open at the collar, revealing the clean, sharp line of his collarbone.

Even so, the blood-red blur in his narrowed eyes failed to veil the icy detachment underneath.

He was the notorious tyrant of Sreles' corporate world.

Elias, the CEO of the powerful Martin Group.

Henry went still for the briefest instant, then strode forward and steadied him. "Mr. Martin!"

Elias shrugged him off and sank onto the couch. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and tight with strain. "Everyone. Out."

Henry swung toward the bodyguards. "What happened? He was perfectly fine before he left."

One of the bodyguards replied in a serious voice, "His mother slipped him a specially made aphrodisiac this time. The doctor said there isn't any antidote. He either has to withstand it or get a woman."

"Get a woman?" Henry's expression turned grim.

The bodyguard gave a short nod.

"I'll arrange it." Henry turned toward the door.

"Stop."

Elias' voice slashed through the room with a freezing edge.

He leaned back against the couch. His eyes burned crimson, but his expression stayed cold and regal, like a king who would never bow. "It's Wednesday today."

He paused for a moment. "Did you forget my rules?"

Henry's body went rigid at that.

Every Wednesday, the Paradise Suite was kept under complete lockdown.

No one except Elias was ever permitted to enter.

"But-"

"No excuses." Elias shut his eyes. His voice stayed low, but his tone left no room for argument. "Leave. Unless I say otherwise, nobody comes in here tonight."

Henry hesitated.

No one knew better than he did how ruthless Elias' mother could be.

For years, she had made a game of watching him suffer.

Since she had given him that drug, there was no chance she had gone easy.

Even if he managed to endure it, the damage might be grave.

"Mr. Martin, maybe we should still-" Henry began.

Elias' eyes flew open. Desire blazed inside them, but the cold beneath it cut harder than steel.

"Henry, do not make me say that again," he interjected. "Leave. All of you."

Henry bit back the rest of his protest and left with the bodyguards.

"I'll be right outside," he said. "Call for me if you need anything."

***

Outside Nocturne.

Evelyn tilted her face toward the neon lights and drew one steady breath.

She was carrying a laptop in her bag. The wind pressed her thin evening dress against her body.

She moved to the side of the building, found a blind spot, and turned on the laptop.

Her fingers raced over the keys.

"Access granted. Security overridden."

She snapped the laptop shut, gathered her long hair into a loose knot, and walked into Nocturne in her heels.

No one tried to stop her.

Her graceful demeanor and striking beauty made no one want to question her, and there were even several admiring glances that followed her.

Still, one employee paused briefly, about to speak to her, but Evelyn headed straight for the only golden elevator in the club.

She swiped a card, and the elevator doors parted.

Without a trace of emotion, she stepped inside.

At that, a wave of whispers erupted behind her.

"That's the elevator to the Paradise Suite! I heard only Nocturne's top-tier VIPs are allowed up there!"

"Who is that woman? I've never seen her here before."

"You absolutely haven't! If I'd seen someone that gorgeous here before, I'd remember it!"

Meanwhile, Evelyn reached the suite door on the top floor.

Before she could get any closer, two guns rose and pointed straight at her.

"Stop right there!"

Evelyn halted at once.

"Who are you?" the bodyguard on the left demanded coldly.

"I need to see Mr. Martin right away." Evelyn forced herself not to lose composure. "Could you please let him know?"

"He isn't seeing anyone today. Leave now." The bodyguard spoke with icy finality as he stepped forward.

Leave?

That simply wasn't an option for her.

Her mother's life was still hanging by a thread. She needed NS1209.

Evelyn tried to push forward. "It's urgent. I have to see him tonight."

"Urgent?" The bodyguard let out a cold laugh and reached to grab her shoulder. "Every woman who wants to get close to him says the same thing."

His rough hand came down toward her shoulder.

Against the bodyguard's large, muscular frame, Evelyn looked small and weak, as though one hard blow could finish her.

But his hand caught nothing at all.

Evelyn dodged and slipped past the two bodyguards easily.

She then pounded against the door hard.

"Mr. Martin! I really need NS1209. Please meet with me. If you grant my request, I'll do anything you ask. I promise!"

But the door did not open.

The bodyguards soon grabbed both her arms and shoved her to the floor.

Pain tore through her shoulders.

Her injured hands were useless against them.

Her cheek was pressed into the carpet.

Humiliation scorched her from the inside, but despair blazed even fiercer.

This was her mother's last hope of staying alive.

Did she have to watch her mother die?

Evelyn's tears poured freely as she muttered, "Please, let me see him. I beg you..."

The bodyguards dragged her toward the exit as if she were a rag doll, one of them already pulling out his phone to call the security.

Just then, a deep voice came from behind them. "Wait!"

Evelyn lifted her head and turned, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

She had seen this man's photos before.

He was Henry, Elias's personal assistant.

Henry stepped forward and looked down at Evelyn, still held by the bodyguards.

She was in miserable condition, with one elbow scraped and lightly bleeding.

The wound on her forehead had reopened long ago. Blood ran down and mixed with her tears, leaving her looking disheveled.

But those eyes of hers...

Henry's heart gave a violent jolt.

A photograph had been locked for years in the deepest drawer of Elias' study.

In it was a woman wearing a lab coat and a mask, with only her eyes showing.

The resemblance hit him at once.

If it really was this woman...

Then maybe she was the only solution now.

"My name's Evelyn Curtis," Evelyn rasped. "My mother needs NS1209 to stay alive. Please, let me see Mr. Martin."

"NS1209?" Henry mulled it over. "The drug that DeepBlue Biotech supplies exclusively to the Ward family?"

"Yes!"

"No one goes against Mr. Martin's orders. If he said it goes only to the Ward family, then that's exactly where it goes." Henry frowned.

The mere thought of Carsten's brutality made Evelyn shake with fury.

"The Ward family has cut off my mother's supply. Without it, she won't live through the night. Please, let me see Mr. Martin! Just give me the NS1209, and I'll do anything to repay him!"

She bit down on her lip and continued, "Trust me, this arrangement won't be a bad bargain for the Martin family. I'll be very valuable to them!"

Henry looked nowhere but at her eyes, which seemed so hauntingly like the woman's in that photo.

"You just said..." he began slowly. "You're willing to do anything?"

Evelyn answered without the slightest hesitation, "Yes!"

"Mr. Martin has been drugged. There's no antidote. The doctor said he could either endure until the drug harms him or find a woman to sleep with."

Evelyn's pupils contracted at that. She understood the situation in an instant.

Henry watched the color drain from her face and added, "Today happens to be Wednesday. He forbade anyone from entering his suite. He would rather hurt himself than break that rule. If you go in..."

He paused, his voice trembling slightly with a sense of reckless finality. "You could become the only exception. Or... he might destroy you completely."

At that moment, a heavy crash sounded from inside the suite, followed by the sharp shattering of glass.

Henry's expression changed at once.

Evelyn's body shook at that.

"He can't hold out any longer. So decide now. Turn around and walk away, or... open that door," Henry said.

Evelyn closed her eyes and drew in a slow, steady breath.

When she opened them again, the fear and shame in them were gone. Only resolve was left.

Her chilled fingers soon wrapped around the even colder metal handle.

The coldness ran through her whole body.

She then pushed it down with force.

With a click, the door opened.