Chapter 1 Sir, I want cash
The cold winter wind kept hammering the windows of the hotel's upper floors, making a racket.
On the hotel bed, it wasn't so much two bodies tangled in passion as it was a petite figure being dominated.
A man said coolly, "Take it easy."
Calliope Bishop was on her knees and elbows, trying to inch forward.
The next moment, the man behind her grabbed her waist and yanked her back.
In this almost one-sided act, Calliope felt little to no pleasure.
When it was over, Calliope lay there, panting for a long time before she came to her senses.
Then, the man finished his shower, put on a bathrobe, and donned gold-rimmed glasses. He looked calm, restrained, and distant, like the madness from before never happened.
He said coldly, "Up and out."
Calliope struggled to get up and put on her dress under his indifferent gaze.
Just moments ago, they were so close, but now he looked at her like she was a stranger.
The man took off his watch and tossed it at her. It hit her shoulder, leaving a small red mark.
Calliope got the message, picked it up, and said with some difficulty, "Sir, can you give me cash or a transfer?"
He replied, "So troublesome, just give me your bank account number."
Calliope quickly gave him her bank account number.
With a notification sound, thirty thousand dollars were deposited.
Calliope placed the watch on the bed and stepped back, saying, "Here, this is yours."
Even though she knew the watch could fetch more money, she didn't need it. She wanted a cash or a transfer.
Calliope continued, "Thank you for your patronage."
Matthew Moore sneered, thinking, 'Are sex workers so blatant these days?'
Matthew said chillily, "Why don't you ask me to come over and sleep with you again next time?"
Calliope didn't say anything, silently putting on her clothes and shoes.
Next time? There wouldn't be a next time.
Calliope got up from the bed and walked towards the door. After just two steps, her legs gave out, causing her to kneel on the ground with her back to Matthew.
The knee-length dress couldn't cover the view underneath.
From Matthew's angle, he saw everything! Instantly, he gritted his teeth. Was Calliope inviting him for another round?
Calliope's skills were so proficient that he suspected this woman might have had a hymen reconstruction surgery, specifically to deceive people in hotels.
Calliope felt the intense, burning gaze but didn't look back as she could perceive Matthew's eyes bored into her back.
Besides, the transaction was complete; there was no need for Calliope to stay any longer.
As Calliope walked out of the room, she caught a glimpse of a tall man leaning against the wall opposite the room's door, with a nearly burnt-out cigarette in his mouth.
That man was also looking at her. Although his gaze wasn't as intense as the one inside, it was still unbearable for her. In an instant, Calliope fled.
When James Smith walked into the room, he saw Matthew irritably covering the underwear under the pillow with a blanket. That was the item Calliope had just searched the bed for but couldn't find.
James said with a playful smile, "Quite a heated battle. Abstaining for so long really makes a difference."
Matthew looked up and gave a cold glance. Just one look made James raise his hands in surrender.
James said, "Alright, I won't say anymore. I've already found out who drugged you. It was—"
"No need to tell me," Matthew said and sat boldly on the sofa, crossing his legs. "Return it fivefold."
James said, "Just one single dose made a man of strong self-control go wild like this. I shudder to imagine what would happen to that woman if you ask for five in return."
Matthew said, "She has set me up with all the guts she can gather and must have expected the worst consequences from me."
James shrugged, "Alright."
He didn't mind plopping down on the battle-scarred bed and lit another cigarette.
"But don't you want to know who sent her?" James asked.
Matthew poured himself a glass of red wine and downed half of it in one gulp. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "I can almost guess."
"Your big brother is really getting more and more unscrupulous, using such tricks. You just got back to the country today, and he's already setting you up." James lifted the blanket and tossed the pillow to the floor, pointing at the item with a mischievous grin.
"But you got lucky, meeting a virgin just around the corner from the bar. I saw her; that little face looked so pitiful. You didn't even show a bit of mercy," James said with a smile.
Matthew was already annoyed by tonight's events, and James's repeated teasing rekindled the anger he had vented on Calliope.
Matthew glanced at the underwear under the pillow and stormed into the bathroom.
James knew Matthew would blow up again, so he wisely let himself out.
Meanwhile, Calliope had just reached the bus stop when she got a voice message from Bianca Brown.
Bianca Brown: [Have you saved enough money? When can you send it over? We can't wait any longer.]
Bianca's tone was like a debt collector's. She wasn't like this a month ago.
Calliope had been a poor student sponsored by the Brown Family. Even her grandmother's funeral was paid for by them.
The Brown Family was a leading local construction company. No matter how far they fell, they wouldn't ask for money from a poor student they had sponsored.
But a month ago, the Brown Family had been shut down after being exposed for safety issues.
All ten-plus members of the family were listed as high-risk individuals, without exception.
Except for Bianca, who didn't get involved in the company, and their daughter Sophia Brown, everyone else went to jail.
After the incident, Sophia's heart disease relapsed, and she needed surgery to replace a stent, so she applied for medical parole.
But they no longer had enough money to pay for the surgery.
All of the Brown Family's assets were seized, and they were struggling to even eat, let alone pay for the expensive surgery.
In desperation, Bianca could only think of Calliope, who had just graduated from college.
Fortunately, Calliope was a grateful woman and agreed immediately.
But Calliope had just found an internship and had no savings. She had borrowed money from everyone around her and sold everything she could, but she was still short of thirty thousand dollars for the surgery.
In desperation, Calliope, left with no choice but to sell her virginity, had met Matthew at a bar and been taken to a nearby hotel soon after that..
After transferring the thirty thousand dollars to Bianca, a raindrop fell on Calliope's already cracked phone screen. Now, Calliope's total savings amounted to only thirty-two dollars.
The internship would take at least two months before she could get her first paycheck. And before that, Sophia's post-surgery recovery would cost at least tens of thousands of dollars.
The rain poured harder, but Calliope refused to leave, stubbornly standing in the rain.
It seemed she was trying to wash away the heavy shackles on her body with this downpour.
When Calliope got home, she found that herself in a fever.
Fortunately, she had stocked up on various common medications in advance. After taking double the dose of fever medicine, Calliope drowsily fell asleep on her bed.
It felt like she had just closed her eyes when she was woken up by the phone.
The time was 7:30 in the morning, and the caller was her fellow intern, Ella Garcia.
Ella said in confusion, "Calliope, why aren't you here yet? The boss told us to come in early today. The new CEO will be here today."