Chapter 2 Revenge

Not wanting to wait for the elevator, Marilyn ran down several flights of stairs from the exit passageway. She took a deep breath only when she felt certain that she was not being chased.

It was said that a good man wouldn't fight a losing battle. Since they had clearly planned to kill her only a moment ago, she realized that she had to flee. Being a weak woman, she couldn't resist if she was attacked by two people.

The longer she stayed there, the more dangerous her fate would become.

Just then, someone laid a hand on Marilyn's shoulder. She was so surprised and scared that she barely stifled her scream, but then her mouth was covered by a large hand.

"Don't scream. I don't want to hurt you." A deep and throaty male voice spoke into her ear, and it sounded strange.

Marilyn stopped struggling then. With a nod, she allowed him to drag her into a room before closing the door.

It was already night, but the room remained dark as there were no lights on.

Marilyn had to admit that she was panicking.

"What do you want to do with me?" As soon as her mouth was free, she spoke out of control.

"Shh... Don't scream. I won't hurt you."

"You..."

When she was about to struggle, her mouth was suddenly covered over with a piece of tape.

As he drew closer she caught a whiff of his distinct scent, which was clearly from a high-end cologne, and she was instantly intrigued by the smell.

There was also an unmistakable undertone of male hormones in the air.

As an adult, Marilyn quickly understood that this man might have been drugged.

At first, she struggled against him a little, but then she obeyed.

On the one hand, he was incredibly attractive with a well-muscled body that had turned her on. While on the other hand, she wanted to get even with Leon by cuckolding him with a stranger.

Next early morning, Ethan Lan came to his senses. He had developed a strong mental self-control, and normal medicine would not affect him for long. But this time, he didn't know where they had found a strengthened drug, which had made him completely lose control.

He had meant to return to his villa to overcome the effects, but when he saw Marilyn standing there, he had lost all restraint.

Ethan Lan lifted the quilt and was heading to the shower. Suddenly, he saw a red blood stain, like a lotus blossoming on the white sheets.

He squinted with fresh eyes at the woman who was still asleep in the bed before walking into the bathroom.

Perhaps it was the sound of the opening door that woke Marilyn up. She opened her eyes groggily and got out of the bed. Then she quickly put on her clothes and prepared to leave.

Anyway, she had enjoyed her revenge and retaliation while it lasted. She didn't care to know who the man was.

When she passed by the door, she saw her pink hairpin had dropped to the floor.

Pausing for a shocked moment, she then headed out without looking back.

It was the hairpin that Vivian had bought for her. She had said that Leon would definitely like it. It had never occurred to Marilyn that it was the style that he hated most.

'What a vicious woman you are, Vivian! A scheming and manipulative bitch!' she thought.

In a blind hurry, Marilyn left the man's apartment and took a taxi, heading home.

"Garden Community," she told the driver her home address as soon as she got in the car, but he didn't leave.

"What's wrong, sir?" Surprised, she looked at the driver. Her eyes happened to meet his stare. Seeing the worry there, Marilyn could tell that the driver must have misunderstood her situation.

She looked down at her bedraggled clothes and messy hair.

"Miss, I can call the police for you," the driver said in a low voice.

"No need. Just take me to the Garden Community," she stammered in a hoarse voice, with an embarrassed smile forming on her lips.

Then she sat back in silence. Seeing that she didn't intend to explain herself, the driver turned his eyes back to the front and mutely started the car before rushing off into the traffic lanes.

This small act of kindness warmed her heart. There were still good people in the world.

'Why is a stranger so kind-hearted while the one who is so close to me acts so cruel?' she wondered.

In that room of the Southern Palace Community

After taking a bath, Ethan Lan looked at the empty double bed with its sheets all messed up, and an unhappy expression formed on his face.

He stood there in a daze for a long while. Then he turned around and walked into the dressing room. When he came out again, he was attired in a full military uniform, and every step was performed with exceptionally firm and steady strides. He oozed purpose and discipline.

As the sky was getting brighter, he walked to the French window and lit a cigarette. Looking at the street lights gently blink out one by one, he was a little confused.

Suddenly, he seemed to reach a conclusion, and he took out his mobile phone and dialed a number.

"Investigate someone for me, ..."

His voice was a cold and powerful presence in the quiet room.

"Yes! Army Commander!"

After replying respectfully, the person on the other end of the line ended the call.

Through the window, the last fading moonlight reflected on the man's face, which seemed chiseled from stone, stark and handsome.

The Garden Community was in a villa district. At that moment, Marilyn had reached her home.

An old family servant, Lena, opened the door for her.

When seeing the frightened look on Marilyn's face, Lena almost screamed aloud. She thought that Marilyn had been abused by some thug, and she wanted to immediately dial the number for the police.

It took a long time for Marilyn to calm Lena down.

"Aunt Lena, I'm really fine. Please keep your voice down!"

Then she slipped past her and headed up to the second floor, and her room.

Just then, a petite figure stepped in her way.

With a frown, Marilyn shot her sister a warning glance. "Get out of my way," she instructed.

But how could Mandy Shu give up? She was the type of girl who always wanted to stir up trouble at any time.

"Why are you so angry, my dear sister? You are newlywed, and should be with your husband."

She acted as if she suspected something.

"Shut up!" Not wanting to talk to Mandy Shu any further, Marilyn pushed her out of the way and walked ahead.

However, Mandy Shu pretended to have been hurt as soon as she was pushed away by her sister. She covered her arm with one hand and screamed dramatically, "Ouch! It hurts!"

"Don't play the victim with me!" Marilyn said impatiently. However, as she passed by Mandy Shu, her arm was grabbed by Mandy. This resulted in her back hitting the wall, which hurt so much that she grimaced in pain.

"Mind your business!" Marilyn said to her younger sister, as she didn't want to waste time talking to her.

After saying this, she gave Mandy Shu a solid slap that left her goggled.

"Do you need to be reminded? Be polite to me!" Not willing to show her weakness, Marilyn was also glaring at her.

"What? How dare you! I'll tell mommy!" After that, Mandy covered her face and ran away, bawling like a child.

Eventually, the hallway became quiet. Marilyn felt her whole body was aching and sore. She walked into her bedroom and locked the door behind her.

She found a clean set of pajamas and went straight to the bathroom.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Marilyn opened her mouth in surprise. Bruises were forming all over her body. Those were clearly the hickeys she had received last night. People who didn't know any better would think that she had been beaten.

She winced in pain as she rubbed her tender body. 'What a brutal man he was! It was my first time,' she mused bitterly.

She looked down at her hip and saw a bruise spreading across to her stomach. It had been caused by the corner of the table. Thinking of the shameless couple and their betrayal, she clenched her teeth. They were so disgusting.

It was precisely because of them that she felt her actions last night was justified!

She still didn't know what the man looked like, due to the darkened room, but in terms of his physical prowess, he was really strong.

By the time she had finished the hot bath, she felt sleepy. She quickly fell asleep while lying on her soft bed.

"Wooo... Mommy, mommy, please help me! Look what she did to me!" Mandy wailed as she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.

"Baby, don't cry. Mommy will avenge you! I will make sure that little bitch pays the price!" said Laura An viciously, trying to comfort her daughter.

A brooding expression appeared on her beautiful face.

At the age of twenty eight, Laura An had married Marilyn's father, Shawn Shu. He had been twenty years older than her.

She simply schemed to inherit his great fortune after his death. From that day onwards, she planned on leading the high life with her son and daughter.

But she had never anticipated that more than twenty years would pass before the old man finally died, and to add insult to injury, she got a will without any benefit to her.

It was indicated in the will that all the heritage and wealth of Shawn Shu was left to Marilyn. Laura An wouldn't get a single penny from him, neither would her son and daughter!

Mandy's real father was Laura's previous husband. But Joey Shu had been fathered by Shawn Shu, and he was the Shu Family's only son. But he didn't get to inherit any property either. Laura An had always thought that it was Marilyn who had plotted against her.

So she had developed a profound dislike for her–in fact, she hated Marilyn. More than twenty years of her life had been spend in vain!

But now was not the time to break up their "family". She knew she had to endure it.

Before she got the property transfer agreement finalized for Joey Shu, she couldn't let the cat out of the bag just yet.

Thinking of this, Laura heaved a sigh of regret and let go of Mandy. "Be obedient, my daughter. Go and apologize to Marilyn," she instructed.

"What? Mommy, are you kidding me? It was she who slapped me. Why do you want me to apologize to her?"

Mandy couldn't understand, and grievance mixed with anger was painted all over her face. "I am your own daughter! Why do you always defend her?"

Her words brought a callous sneer to Laura's face. How could she have been cursed with such a simpleton? She was utterly exasperated with her daughter.

Taking a deep breath, Laura explained patiently, "This is the last time I will explain it to you. The will says that all of Shawn's properties now belong to Marilyn. Before she signs the property transfer agreement, she will kick us out of the family. So..."

"So I should make sure that I am in a good relationship with her?" Mandy asked regretfully.

"Silly girl, you finally see the light." Laura patted her daughter's shoulder somewhat condescendingly and smiled in relief.

"All right. I will put up with her again for our future. Wait... But mommy, how can we let her sign the property transfer agreement?"

The thought that she could take her revenge on Marilyn in the not-too-distant future made Mandy very happy.

"Don't worry! Mommy has a plan." Laura took out the so-called property transfer agreement from a drawer, showed it to her daughter and said, "Grandma is coming to have dinner with us tonight. She has always preferred boys to girls, and she will force Marilyn to sign it."

"But... Why would Marilyn be so obedient?" At the thought of Marilyn's cold and arrogant face, Mandy couldn't help but clench her teeth as she seethed with hatred.

"Well, in this matter, even if she is not obedient, she will have no choice except to be!" Laura took a packet of powder out of her pocket and placed it in Mandy's hand with a wicked grin.