Julian: ???
Had he been kidnapped?!
The original host hadn’t offended anyone besides the Vance family. Could Leo have hired thugs to eliminate him?
System! System! Julian called out frantically in his mind. Quick, find a way to get me out of this! We’re in this together! If I kick the bucket, who’s going to complete your missions?!
The System replied with a cheerful, cheerful chime: [ Host, please rest assured. You are in no danger whatsoever. ]
Julian raged internally. How am I fine when I’ve literally been snatched off the street?! System, is your algorithm malfunctioning?!
Before Julian could complain any further, a subtle, sweet fragrance drifted past his nose. A sudden, overwhelming wave of dizziness hit his brain like a sledgehammer.
I’m screwed... I’m passing out...
With that final terrifying thought, Julian’s vision went black, and he collapsed into total unconsciousness.
Evelyn stepped out of the sleek black SUV. She walked up to where the bodyguards held the unconscious Julian, examining his face carefully under the streetlights.
Her brows furled in slight confusion.
His looks were decent enough, but he looked completely ordinary compared to the elite high-society men President Sterling usually dealt with. For a guy like this to actually dare to touch President Sterling’s body, he really must have an absolute death wish.
President Sterling had sent her to capture him and bring him straight to her private estate. She likely wanted to handle him personally—which meant this poor guy probably didn’t have much time left to live.
"Of all the people in this city you could provoke, you had to cross President Sterling," Evelyn murmured with a brief flash of sympathy. "In your next life, remember not to sleep with women way above your league."
She turned to the bodyguards. "Load him into the back."
Under the cover of night, the black SUV sped out of the downtown area, passing through heavy iron gates and pulling up to the steps of Rose Manor.
Inside the dimly lit living room, a woman sat gracefully on a velvet sofa wearing a sleek black qipao. Her beauty was nothing short of breathtaking. Every subtle gesture carried an air of effortless power and ancient nobility.
As she flipped to the next page of The Art of War, her fingers paused. Involuntarily, scenes from that night at the hotel surfaced in her mind once more.
She had to admit, the experience that man had given her was... unexpected. It had left her craving for more.
Victoria’s red lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile.
Evelyn walked into the room first, followed by two large male bodyguards hauling the unconscious Julian between them.
"President Sterling, we have brought Julian Vance," Evelyn reported respectfully.
"Mhm."
Victoria set down the book in her hands. Her dark, penetrating gaze rested on Julian’s face, then slowly trailed down inch by inch—scanning his upper body, his waist, his legs...
Evelyn frowned slightly. President Sterling’s gaze... something feels off.
"President Sterling, do you want us to take him to the holding room to begin interrogation?" Evelyn asked curiously.
"Mhm. I am going to ’interrogate’ him properly myself," Victoria said, a subtle smile touching her lips.
Evelyn nodded, feeling relieved. President Sterling hated men getting anywhere near her. This guy hadn’t just touched her—he had slept with her. President Sterling was undoubtedly going to dismantle him piece by piece.
Tsk tsk. He’s completely finished. Evelyn silently offered a prayer for Julian in her heart.
Still, what President Sterling just said sounded a little strange... almost flirtatious?
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Evelyn shook her head violently. Must be my imagination! The word ’flirtatious’ doesn’t even exist in President Sterling’s dictionary!
"Julian Vance..." Victoria repeated the name slowly, letting the syllables roll off her tongue. It was a nice name. Simple, elegant.
Victoria stood up from the sofa and stepped toward Julian. Evelyn watched her boss’s every movement closely.
Here it comes, Evelyn thought. President Sterling is about to deal with him. I wonder what method she’ll use first.
Victoria reached out a slender, manicured hand and gently caressed Julian’s cheek.
That night at the hotel, even though she had been under the influence of the drug, she had still retained a sliver of awareness. Yet the moment she had laid eyes on him, an overwhelming urge to possess him—to completely devour him—had taken over her mind.
"President Sterling, you—" Evelyn’s eyes widened in sheer shock at the sight.
President Sterling loathed physical contact with men! Even when she dealt with enemies personally, it was always with a cold, detached distance. Why was she tenderly stroking this man’s face?!
Was President Sterling acting... completely insane?!
Victoria’s dark eyes flicked down Julian’s body. She slowly withdrew her hand and commanded coldly, "Lock him up."
Evelyn swallowed hard. "Should we take him down to the basement dungeon?"
"No," Victoria replied smoothly. "Lock him in my bedroom."
Evelyn: !!!
The master bedroom?! Had she lost her mind?!
President Sterling had never allowed any man into her private sanctuary—not even male estate staff or family members. Ordering a captive to be placed in her bedroom was entirely unheard of!
"Also," Victoria added casually, "fetch the heavy silver chains."
Evelyn nodded quickly, trying to rationalize it. Right... that makes more sense. President Sterling probably wants to chain him up in her room so she can torture him at her leisure.
"Yes, President Sterling. I’ll have the staff bring them immediately," Evelyn bowed respectfully, turning to leave.
"Furthermore," Victoria’s low voice echoed through the hall, "use the chains to lock him directly to the bed."
Evelyn’s eyes practically leaped out of their sockets.
Evelyn suddenly recalled a trashy romance web novel her teenage nephew had been obsessed with recently. While he was out of the room, she had glanced at his screen and accidentally read a scene where an obsessive heiress used heavy chains to lock the male lead to a plush bed and toy with him—
Wait... could President Sterling possibly mean...?
Evelyn violently shook her head, trying to erase the horrifying thought. Impossible! Absolutely impossible! President Sterling is a ruthless business mogul, not a web novel villain! Locking him to the bed must be part of some high-level psychological warfare strategy.
...Though what kind of interrogation strategy required a king-sized mattress and velvet restraints, she couldn’t begin to guess.
Within minutes, heavy silver chains were brought upstairs. Julian was carried into the master suite and laid across the massive bed.
Click.
Victoria personally locked the heavy metal cuffs around Julian’s wrists and ankles, securing him tightly to the solid wood bedposts.
When Julian finally opened his eyes two hours later, the room was dimly lit.
Julian: ???
Chains?!
Holy shit!
He was bound hand and foot, pinned flat against a massive, ridiculously soft mattress!
Did my stepbrother Leo sell me off to some underground gang boss with weird bedroom fetishes?! Julian panicked. No, not just a female gang boss... what if it’s some terrifying crime lord?!
Thinking of this, Julian felt a cold dread wash over him. He had just bound to a system, won twenty million dollars in the lottery, and was on the verge of building an empire—and now he was going to be someone’s private plaything before he could spend a single cent?!
Life in this novel was an absolute nightmare!
If he was going to be subjected to weird web novel tortures, he would much rather be back in his old world pulling eighty-hour work weeks at a corporate desk!
Click.
The door connecting the master bedroom to the adjoining bathroom slowly swung open.
A woman stepped out wearing a sheer black lace nightgown. The gown was extraordinarily short, ending just at the top of her thighs, framing a breathtaking, dangerously sensual figure and long, porcelain-white legs.
Julian looked up—and froze.
It wasn’t a crime lord. It was Victoria Sterling.
The woman who had kidnapped him was the yandere heiress herself.
Julian’s heart, which had been leaping out of his chest a second ago, slowly settled back into his ribs. At least it was a drop-dead gorgeous billionaire.
As Victoria strolled casually toward the bed, Julian’s eyes involuntarily scanned her figure.
Damn... that’s just unfair, he thought.
Fearing that Victoria would think he was just another creep staring at her, Julian quickly averted his gaze, looking up at the ceiling instead.
Victoria stopped right by the bedside. She leaned down low, her dark, perfumed hair cascading over her shoulders as she hovered mere inches above his face.