Chapter 1 Rena, Have You Gone Mad

"Pack up your mother's things and leave this house for good!" Alexander Barnett snapped at his daughter, Rena Barnett.

At the mansion's grand entrance, a pile of crumpled clothes lay scattered, most beyond repair.

Rena's eyes were filled with tears as she stared at her mother's photograph on the ground.

She had flown back immediately upon receiving the heart-wrenching news of her death.

As she knelt to retrieve the photo, her half-sister Milly Barnett cruelly stepped on her hand, pressing down hard. Rena's teeth gritted in pain.

In a surge of emotion, she snatched the frame from the ground and slammed it against Milly's shin.

Milly let out a sharp cry, recoiling into the arms of someone who caught her just in time to prevent her fall. Her shin swelled instantly as she cried out, "Dad, Jasper..."

"Rena, have you gone mad? How could you hurt Milly?" Jasper Singh, dressed impeccably and looking like royalty, intervened. He was Rena's ex fiancé, and they had known each other since childhood.

Rena turned to him with disdain. They had been in a serious relationship and promised each other a future together.

However, just days before, she had stumbled upon Jasper and Milly, indiscreet and exposed in bed.

Jasper had admitted he couldn't help himself with Milly, calling her irresistibly sweet.

Heartbroken, Rena had broken up with him and had left to find peace.

Soon after, the devastating news of her mother's death reached her.

Alexander insisted her mother had been overly indulgent with her first love and had met her death during their intimate moments.

Rena refused to believe such disgrace about her mother.

Besides, it was well-known that her father had been unhappy in his marriage, pressing for a divorce to openly be with Milly's mother.

He didn't hesitate to kick Rena out of the house after her mother's death.

Something was definitely amiss.

Rena sneered as she eyed the contemptible pair and then her father, who appeared utterly disinterested.

She swore to herself that once she unearthed the truth, retribution would be theirs.

Clutching her mother's urn, Rena gathered the last of her belongings and left, her heart heavy with sorrow.

She drove to the only sanctuary left to her-the quaint house her grandmother had bequeathed.

Night had fallen.

Balancing her belongings, Rena stepped out of her car and was about to ascend the steps when she felt a presence behind her.

Whirling around, she recoiled at the sight of a grimy old man seizing her. His stench was nauseating.

With his teeth bared in a grotesque smile, he reeked of decay. "Gorgeous, you're stunning! Mr. Singh wasn't lying. You truly are a treasure!"

As he leaned in closer, sniffing her, he murmured, "You smell delightful. It won't be long before you're enjoying this too!"

"Release me! Help! Is there anyone who can hear me?" Rena thrashed against him, her efforts in vain as she was shoved to the ground.

Her screams echoed futilely across the deserted landscape-was this how her story would end?

As the man tore at her clothing, her resistance only intensified, her tears glittering in the moonlight, adding to her ethereal appearance. "No... Please, no..."

She felt utterly powerless. Despair overwhelmed her, and she shut her eyes.

Suddenly, the assault ceased. The man's weight lifted off her as he fell to the ground, a pool of blood spreading from his head.

Opening her eyes, Rena saw a tall, forbidding figure standing over her, gun in hand.

His intense gaze and rugged features were imposing, his presence almost spectral in the moonlight.

Upon closer inspection, she saw blood splattered on his clothing and his hands, his haunted eyes piercing beneath slightly curled hair.