Chapter 1 Sacrificial Offering

The hotel door was forcefully pushed open.

The sound reverberated in the air, ringing in Hanna Murphy's ears.

Hanna felt a chill run down her spine as the oppressive presence entered the room.

"Help me detox, and I'll reward you in return," a man said. His voice was low and raspy, affected by the poison. It was like it came from another world.

Heavy footsteps approached the bed, and a tall figure staggered over.

In the dim light, Hanna could not see the man's face clearly. But she could see his eyes, which were a deep, unfathomable black that exuded a chilling and noble aura.

Hanna's instincts immediately told her she was in danger, but the drug within her was already taking effect. She could not speak or move. It was as if she was paralyzed. So she could only watch in horror as the man stripped her clothes off, one by one.

Then the man was on top of her, and a burning hardness pressed between her legs before he suddenly thrust inside her without warning.

A desperate sound escaped her throat. "No-"

When Hanna woke up the next day, it was already afternoon.

She was no longer at the hotel. Instead, she seemed to have been dumped in a roadside flowerbed. Her clothes were in disarray, and her entire body felt battered and sore.

Hanna hurriedly lifted her clothes to check and saw ugly bruises and marks covering her skin, every pore oozing with pain.

The marks instantly reminded her of everything that happened last night.

Hanna burst into tears as the revelation hit her like a freight train.

She couldn't believe that she had lost her virginity like this on her twentieth birthday.

As she thought about the person who had drugged her and taken her to the hotel, Hanna clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She did her best to straighten her clothes before taking a cab straight to a seaside villa, seething with anger.

Someone was going to pay!

Inside a villa in the Serenity Garden, Jessie Murphy and Brynn Murphy sat on the sofa in the living room.

The mother and daughter were talking to each other while wiping away their tears.

At that moment, Hanna entered the living room and immediately glowered at Brynn, her eyes filled with hatred.

Brynn was her half-sister from a different mother and also the one who plotted against her yesterday.

"Mom, look!" Brynn exclaimed, spotting Hanna.

"Hanna!" Jessie said, standing up from the sofa. "You finally came back!" Her eyes, which were full of worry a moment ago, suddenly lit up with joy. "How come you're only back now? I called you all day. Why didn't you answer?"

Hanna ignored Jessie and instead snatched a vase from the windowsill, hurling it directly at Brynn's face.

She missed, however, and the vase hit Brynn in the chest before shattering to pieces on the floor.

Even though the shards didn't pierce her skin, Brynn gritted her teeth in pain from the heavy impact, and she glared at Hanna venomously.

"You bitch! Are you insane?" she shouted.

"You're the insane one here!" Hanna yelled back. "You know exactly what you did. Today, I'm going to ruin your face and get my revenge!"

The painful memory of last night's violation flashed through Hanna's mind, and she began to see red. She grabbed a nearby fruit knife and lunged at Brynn.

Enough was enough!

She had endured fourteen years of torment and abuse from this family. She also had to bear the humiliation of Brynn's constant bullying and scheming. This time, she was going to get justice for herself.

"Stop!" A thunderous roar suddenly rang out, shaking the walls of the room.

A burly, middle-aged man burst in and rushed towards Hanna.

In order to protect Brynn, he grabbed a fistful of Hanna's hair and slammed her face-first into the floor.

He used all of his strength to do this, not even caring about the consequences as long as Brynn was safe.

Hanna was caught off guard and fell heavily, blood gushing from her nose.

"Dad..." she muttered weakly as she struggled to get up. But she couldn't, so she just lay there on the floor, staring up at the man. "Do you even have any idea what she did to me?"

Cristian Murphy's eyes flickered with guilt, but it vanished as quickly as it came. His features twisted with rage as he glared at Hanna, whose face was covered in blood, and his eyes were filled with contempt.

"Hanna, what in the world has gotten into you? Don't spout nonsense," he said disapprovingly. "You're Brynn's big sister. Brynn was just playing a silly prank on you, but you reacted by trying to kill her like a psycho. You should know better! Don't be so petty."

"Just... a silly prank?" Even though she was in excruciating pain, Hanna let out a mocking laugh. "If our roles were reversed, would you say the same thing? If I schemed against Brynn the way she schemed against me last night, you wouldn't say that I was just playing a silly prank, would you? Instead, you'd beat me half to death, right?"

"You..." Cristian had no comeback. He knew he was in the wrong, so he was speechless for a moment.

Meanwhile, Brynn took that opportunity to take a step forward and kick Hanna hard in the back.

Hanna, still struggling to get up from the floor, fell back down. She coughed up blood as a searing pain tore through her, and her back felt like it was going to split in two.

Brynn had a smug look on her face while Jessie said something out of concern. But she did not even try to intervene. Meanwhile, her father just watched the scene coldly, not moving an inch from his position.

Like always, Hanna bit her lip hard, not allowing herself to shed a single tear.

"Damn it! You're my daughter too, but why are you so detestable?" Cristian roared angrily.

At that moment, Jessie stepped in front of Cristian, blocking him from doing anything.

"Cristian, you know that Hanna has always been a rebellious girl. Calm down and don't hit her anymore," she told him. "If you beat her to death, then who will marry into the Collins family in place of Brynn?"

Hanna felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She stared at Cristian and Jessie in disbelief, unable to process what she had just heard.

"This morning, the Collins family sent someone to propose a marriage between our families," Jessie explained. "They specifically asked for Brynn to marry into their family. But your father and I convinced them to let you be the bride instead."

Jessie looked down at Hanna with a smile.

"You know that the Collins family is the top prestigious family in Zreles. This is a good arrangement for both families. So, you and Kayce Collins will be getting married in six days."

Hanna wanted to laugh bitterly at this.

What a joke! Everyone in Zreles knew that Kayce Collins was a terminally ill cripple who was expected to die at any moment.

They weren't arranging a harmonious marriage. Jessie and Cristian were basically just using her to gain favor with the Collins family by having her as their sacrificial offering.