"Why are you here?" Caitan asks, pointing at Avery. "You should be asleep—I mean, never mind."

Avery nods. She suspected Caitan drugged the water, but now she knows for sure. It makes sense that Andrew's sister would want revenge after her previous plan with the purse, and the condoms backfired. If she caught Avery naked with another man, Avery would be forced to leave the city in shame. Avery steps forward and grabs Caitan's fingers, crushing them in her palm.

"Why would I be sleeping, Caitan?" she asks. "Do you know something I don't?"

"You're hurting me," Caitan wails.

Avery bends Caitan's fingers backward and asks, "Why did you think I'd be here?"

"I—I saw you come into this room," Caitan says between sobs.

"I thought you forgot your contact lenses and couldn't see clearly," Avery says.

"Let go, let go," Caitan cries.

Avery drops Caitan's hand and turns to look at the bed. Bella has already climbed to her feet and straightened her dress, and Mamai is doing the buckle on his belt. Both of them look pale and confused.

"What's going on?" Andrew asks. "Can someone give me an honest answer?"

"Can't you see, this is all Avery's fault," Caitan says. "She must have made some sort of trap to ruin our family's reputation. She was probably angry because we asked her to bow to us. Isn't that petty?"

"What makes you so sure I did this?" Avery asks. "It sounds like a really complicated scheme to me."

"I just happened to see—" Caitan begins.

"Just happened to see what?" Avery asks. "If you see so much, why didn't you see your mom and your boyfriend go into the same hotel room?"

"Alright, that's enough," Bella shouts. "No one will ever mention this incident again—especially not in front of Joseph. I know it looks strange, but nothing has happened here. Mamai and I haven't done anything wrong together, and I'm not going to let him listen to such insulting accusations.

"The Abraham family and the Clifford family have long been close, and I value our relationship too much to make any accusations that might damage it. Mamai, I know we weren't intimate in any way. You'll have to forgive my daughter: Caitan has always been impulsive, and her temper is quick. Now I think it's best if you leave me to deal with my family."

Mamai snorts and walks toward the door. As he passes Avery, he looks her up and down and winks. She balls her hands into fists and looks away. The very smell of his cologne makes her want to vomit.

"The car is ready for you, Mrs. Clifford," a servant announces from the door. "Your husband is waiting for you out front."

Bella pauses and looks at Andrew and then at Avery. She opens her mouth as if she's about to say something, but then thinks better of it and closes her mouth again. She grabs Caitan by the wrist and pulls her out of the room, shooting one last glare at Avery before she leaves.

Andrew wraps Avery in his arms and kisses the top of her head, but she pulls away. She scowls at him, feeling guilty and ashamed of what she did with Evan. His forehead creased with worry.

"Honey, where have you been?" he asks. "How did my mother and Mamai end up in your room?"

"I think I'm the least qualified person to answer that," she snaps. "Why don't you ask your mother, or Mamai, or even your sister?"

"Honey, why are you angry?" he asks, reaching up to stroke her face.

She swats his hand away and says, "Don't touch me."

"Okay, sorry," he says. "Let's leave this place."

He snaps his fingers and orders his bodyguards to investigate the room. Then he walks into the hallway, letting Avery follow at her own pace.

"Where are you taking me?" Avery asks. "Back to your parents' house?"

Andrew arches an eyebrow and asks, "Do you really think that's a good idea? My sisters seem determined to ruin your life. No, I'm going to take you somewhere else—I will never forget my promises."

Evan leans back on the sofa and exhales a cloud of cigarette smoke. His navy blue robe is open at the waist, exposing some of the love bites and scratches. Avery left on his torso. He runs his finger along one of the red lines and smirks.

"Excuse me, Mr. Howel," Robert says. "The men have just told me what happened next door. Apparently, Bella Clifford and Mamai Abraham were found sleeping in the same bed. I got the video footage from the secret cameras you installed just in case you want to see what happened."

Evan extends his hand, and Robert passes him the tablet. Evan clicks the play button and fasts forwards through the grainy footage until he sees Avery enter the room. She collapses on the sofa and seems about to pass out when Mamai comes in. He watches as Mamai forces himself onto Avery. He stubs the cigarette out on the arm of the sofa.

I'm going to kill him, Evan thinks. How dare he! But wait, if he raped Avery, why did she come to me looking for release? Once the victim of the drug gets satisfaction, the urge goes away pretty quickly.

He watches as Avery bares her breasts to Mamai and the glass screen of the tablet cracks beneath his fingers. He's about to rush out of the room, hunt Mamai down, and kill him when he sees Avery stab him in the chest. Mamai collapses with Avery on top of him, and Evan exhales.

Damn, she's smart, he thinks. She never loses her head in bad situations. How can I do anything but love her?

He watches as Bella comes in and gets into the bed and sees Avery drag Mamai into bed with her. He laughs under his breath. She's such a schemer, he thinks. He tosses the tablet back to Robert, and Robert catches it seconds before it crashes to the floor.

"Delete it," he says.

"Got it, boss," Robert replies. "Anything else?"

"Keep an eye on everything," Evan says. "Including her—understand?"

"Her?" Robert asks.

"You know who," Evan says.

Avery gets into the car, relaxing into the plush leather seats. She looks out the window, but the windows are tinted, and the night is dark—it's impossible to see anything but her own reflection.

"Where are we going?" she asks Andrew.

"You'll know when we get there," Andrew answers.

She sighs and rests her forehead against the cold window. They pull off the highway and turn onto a spiral path, and then the car stops, and the engine dies. She looks down at her phone—three hours have passed.

"Where are we?" she asks.

"Come see," Andrew says.

She steps out of the car and sees a large building with gray walls and a black tile roof—it looks Chinese in style. Andrew leads her to the door, where a small gold plaque bears the name of the building: Top Girls Club. It's a lot subtler than Avery expected—she thought there'd be neon lights and photos of naked girls everywhere.

There's a quiet buzzing sound, and then the door opens. Andrew takes her hand and tugs her into a beautiful courtyard garden. Rare flowers bloom in every corner, and trees bend gently in the breeze. Winding cobblestone paths disappear among the bushes, and Avery can hear the giggles and satisfied moans of several pairs of lovers. Red lanterns bob and sway from a thin string overhead, casting a soft, magical glow over everything.

"Where's Gabrielle?" Avery asks, looking around for her sister.

A drunken man in a rumpled suit stumbles toward them with a girl on his arm. The man is fat, and his face is as wrinkled as his suit, but the girl is thin and lovely. In the dim light, she looks like Gabrielle. Avery rushes forward and pulls the girl out of the man's meaty hands.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" the girl shouts.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else," Avery mutters.

The man looks up and grabs Avery's arm. His hands are clammy and warm, but his grip is surprisingly strong. She tries to pull away.

"Not so fast, sexy," he says. "Tell me, what level are you? I'd pay extra for some time with you."

"She's mine," Andrew snarls, shoving the man.

The guest stumbles backward and asks, "Mr. Clifford, is that you?"

Andrew ignores the man and drapes his arm possessively over her shoulders. She doesn't want him to touch her, but better him than the gross drunken man and others like him.

"Honey, have patience," Andrew says. "Gabrielle isn't down here, but I'll take you to her."