Chapter 4
I apathetically switched off my phone and ignored Hugo. My tears soaked the pillow as I thought about the baby I had lost.
I had never had much family. After my father passed away, I had no relatives left in this world. Consequently, I constantly dreamed about having a child of my own, someone who was related to me by blood.
Yet, Hugo had personally killed my child.
I lay there with my eyes wide open until morning. Then, I called for a nurse to help me arrange my discharge from the hospital.
Right then, Hugo walked in, his expression stormy. Without saying a single word, he reached out and slapped me across the face.
The blow left my ears ringing and my mind a complete blank. I only realized what had happened when I tasted the metallic tang of blood at the corner of my mouth.
He grabbed me by the hair and shoved his phone into my face. There was a trending topic on it. "Popular Singer Freda Foster Gives Birth Out of Wedlock. Lewd Photos From Her Past Exposed."
Beneath the headline, the feed was filled with photos of Freda from years ago, taken when she had been abducted and assaulted.
His voice was ice cold as he spat out, "I've already compromised, Tione. Why did you do this? Do you have any idea that this will destroy her? It took me ten years to help her overcome her depression, and you've just ruined everything!"
After hearing that, I denied it flatly. "I didn't do it."
Yet, he was no longer capable of listening to my explanations. He dragged me into a room, where the lights were as bright as day, and a row of naked men stood before me. Cameras had been set up on tripods in every corner of the room.
My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach in an instant. Clutching his arm, I asked, "What are you going to do to me?"
The corners of his mouth curled into a grotesque arc. "You're in showbiz. Don't you understand? The fastest way to bury a trending topic is to replace it with an even bigger scandal."
Right after saying that, the look in his eyes became even more unhinged. "You're an award-winning actress. Once photos of you being assaulted get leaked, no one will care about Freda's business anymore!"
At that moment, I forgot how to breathe. I stared at the man before me in disbelief.
I was his wife. I had just lost our baby because of him. Yet, for Freda's sake, he wanted me to be defiled by these men.
Hugo shoved me aside and walked to the door, coldly ordering the men, "Make it quick." With that, he left the room.
I lunged forward and pounded on the door with all my might. "Let me out, Hugo! I didn't do it! I'm begging you. Please, let me out!"
Yet, there was no response outside the door except for the roar of an engine.
My body slid down against the wall. As those men closed in on me, pinned me down, and stripped off my clothes, I closed my eyes in utter despair...
I had no idea how much time had passed before the lights finally dimmed. I lay in the middle of the room like a lifeless fish. There wasn't a single patch of unblemished skin left on my body. Blood pooled beneath me, gradually staining the floor a deep crimson.
Inch by inch, I crawled toward the vase near the door and used the last of my strength to knock it over. After hearing it shatter, I picked up a shard and, without a moment's hesitation, slashed my wrist.
As my consciousness began to fade, the door was abruptly kicked open. The very next second, a tall figure rushed in, gathered me into his arms, and snarled, "Who did this? Who did this to you? I'll kill him!"
Meanwhile, when Hugo walked into the hospital, he saw an uncensored video playing on the giant LED screen in the lobby. My bloodcurdling screams filled his ears, piercing his eardrums.
His eyes widened as he stared at the screen in disbelief. He had only instructed the men to take a few photos, just for show. Why had a video been leaked?
Panic surged through him. With trembling fingers, he called his assistant, Atlas Barrett, and yelled into the phone, "Take it down! Get every single video of Tione off the internet right now!"
At that very moment, the screen cut to an emergency broadcast of an obituary. "Triple award-winning actress Tione Sloane has passed away. After being sexually assaulted, she committed suicide out of shame and indignation. Despite emergency efforts, she could not be saved."
Hugo swayed, and he staggered, nearly losing his footing entirely.
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