Chapter 6

Hayley woke up choking on water, a rough hand shaking her shoulder. She was on the cold tile floor beside the pool, shivering in her soaking wet dress. One of the household maids stood over her, her face a mixture of pity and contempt.

"Mr. Lee has a message for you," the maid said. "You are to kneel outside Miss Luna's door until she feels you have sufficiently apologized."

Before Hayley could react, two guards grabbed her arms and dragged her inside. They shoved her to the floor in the hallway outside Karina's suite, forcing her onto her knees. The wet dress clung to her skin, and she trembled uncontrollably. She was a pathetic, humiliated spectacle.

From inside the room, she could hear voices. Dean's friends, loud and angry.

"That bitch tried to kill Karina!" one of them yelled. "First the spider, then she pushes her in the pool! Dean, you have to do something!"

"We all know you used her as a decoy for years," another voice said, lower and more conspiratorial. "But have you gone soft on your little pet? Are you telling me you can't bear to punish her?"

Then, she heard Karina's voice, feigning weakness. "Please, don't be so hard on her. It was my fault for provoking her. Maybe... maybe sending her to my uncle's club for a night would teach her a lesson without permanently harming her. Just to scare her a little."

A chilling silence followed. Then, Dean's voice, cold and decisive. "That's a good idea." He then spoke to Karina in a softer tone. "Don't worry about it anymore. I'll take care of her."

Hayley bowed her head, a bitter, soundless laugh escaping her lips. He would take care of her. He had said that to her a hundred times. After a bad dream, after a hard day, after one of the "accidents" that he himself had orchestrated. The words were meaningless, just sounds he made. He was a monster, utterly devoid of a heart.

She knelt there for what felt like an eternity, but no one came to give her a final order. Eventually, the same guards returned. They didn't speak. They just hoisted her to her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her out of the building and into the back of a windowless van.

They put a black hood over her head, and the van sped off into the night. When they finally stopped, she was dragged out and into a place that smelled of sweat, stale beer, and blood. The hood was ripped from her head. She was in a grimy, chaotic underground boxing club.

A pair of bloody boxing gloves was thrown at her feet.

"Put 'em on," a large, scarred man grunted. He was the owner. "You're up next."

She was yanked toward the boxing ring. A woman was being helped down the steps, her face a swollen, bloody mess. Hayley felt sick.

"You fight, you win, you get to leave," the owner said, his eyes roaming over her body in a way that made her skin crawl. "Lose, and you stay here for the boys to play with."

He leaned in close, his breath foul. "Heard you pissed off Dean Lee's new girl. Big mistake. He wants you taught a lesson you won't forget."

The truth hit her with the force of a physical blow. This wasn't just a scare. This was a death sentence, delivered by the man she had once loved.

They forced her into a small changing room, making her strip out of her wet gown and into a pair of shorts and a thin tank top. She tried to bolt for the door, but one of the men caught her, slamming her against the wall and punching her hard in the stomach.

"Try that again," he snarled, "and I'll break your legs before you even get in the ring."

They threw her onto the canvas. Her legs felt like jelly. Her opponent was a muscular woman with dead eyes and a cruel smile. The bell rang.

The first punch sent her sprawling. Pain exploded in her cheek, hot and sharp. She tasted blood. She tried to get up, but her opponent was on her, a foot pressing down on her back, grinding her face into the dirty canvas.

The crowd roared with laughter.

Her face was swelling, her vision blurring. She could barely see.

And then she saw them. Sitting in a private, elevated VIP booth, looking down on the ring. Dean and Karina.

Dean was watching the spectacle with a look of detached boredom, as if he were watching a dull movie.

Karina leaned close to him, pointing at Hayley. "That's her, Dean. That's the girl who hurt me."

She pouted prettily. "I bet you she loses. Let's make a wager."

Dean didn't even look at her. His eyes were on Karina, his expression softening. "Whatever you want, my love."

He nodded. "Put a million on her to win."

Karina's lips curved into a wicked, triumphant smile as she turned her eager eyes back to the brutal show in the ring.