Nolan and Mrs Ashford-Natasha-were finally able to relax on the living room sofa; discussing business and introducing Valerie had been quite exhausting today, even though the person they'd introduced hadn't been around them for the duration of the event.

"I haven't seen Valerie since she slipped away whilst meeting that Morvane-where has she gone?" Nolan asked his wife, massaging his temples as his head felt slightly dizzy.

"Last I saw her, she was heading towards the back garden," replied Natasha.

Nolan sighed heavily, "Let's check her room. She hasn't even opened my present, even though today is her birthday. Has she forgotten?" He pointed to a wrapped present on the table.

"Weren't you the ones with her all day? You were parading Valerie around to the guests like some sort of object," asked Nolan's father, Jaden Ashford.

Nolan sighed again; he hadn't even realised when Valerie had slipped out of his sight because there were so many guests.

"I will check on her. Natasha, you need to rest. You've been busy all day getting everything ready," said Nolan's mother, who had also joined them.

Nolan's mother went upstairs first, whilst Nolan stood still for a moment, watching his father, who still looked angry.

"NOLAN! NOLAN!"

Everyone in the mansion immediately rushed towards the source of the sound as Nolan's mother's loud, desperate screams rang out repeatedly.

Nolan panicked when he saw his mother kneeling at the threshold of his daughter's room, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong, Mum? Calm down..."

"Valerie... Valerie's been kidnapped!!"

Nolan saw that Valerie's room was in complete disarray and unrecognisable; how could this have happened when security at their home was so tight?

With a look of disbelief, he stepped fully into Valerie's room, which looked like a shipwreck; on the dressing table mirror was a message written in Valerie's lipstick.

'MY PREY.'

Nolan nearly lost his balance; several of his staff members arrived, including security personnel, and they were stunned to see the state of Valerie's room, which was in complete disarray.

Natasha ran up from downstairs to the top floor; she hugged Nolan tightly, her eyes widening at the sight of Valerie's room.

"How could this have happened?!" Her voice boomed, sounding desperate.

Who had kidnapped her? Who knew about his daughter? He had only just introduced his daughter to his business associates today; just today, all the guests were within his reach. No one had left the tightly guarded main hall; even during the dinner, all his guests were still present.

Nolan remembered every detail. He tried to think clearly and look for any overlooked clues.

Could it possibly be Rovano Morvane who did it because he'd been rejected? No! Nolan couldn't just make accusations, but he had to find his daughter immediately, wherever she was; he had to check every single guest.

At present, the prime suspect is indeed Rovano, who has been behaving suspiciously, but Nolan cannot act rashly either.

"FIND MY DAUGHTER!"

"Sir!" A man shouted from a distance. He was part of the CCTV control room team.

"All CCTV access has just been hacked! We can't check anything! Everything's gone! Including the recordings from the past few days."

That night, heart-wrenching sobs could be heard from Ashford Mansion and panic swept through the entire building. Nolan tried to calm his family; Valerie was not only the jewel of this family but also a big secret.

••••

The wind was blowing so strongly that it made the window curtains billow; the sun was about to rise. Rovano stood at the edge of the balcony railing, taking several deep breaths, before stepping into a room.

He was currently in a luxurious house near the coast-perhaps in Langholmen? Yes, Rovano was in Stockholm, Sweden.

It had taken nearly eight hours to fly directly here from Boston since last night. That was the fastest flight he'd chosen.

The man had even given Valerie a small dose of sedative so she wouldn't wake up during the journey.

He'd had numerous business ventures in this city for the past two years; Rovano was free to come here whenever he pleased without having to worry about his business back in his home country.

If there's a meeting? He just video calls; unless there's something urgent, he can't stay in Europe for long because he's here to have fun whilst running a small business.

Rovano positioned himself on top of the bed; he moved very slowly, because he wasn't alone there.

There was a girl fast asleep, even though the effects of the sedative might have worn off half an hour ago.

Valerie Ashford, the target he had successfully abducted.

Since when had he started targeting women as his prey? This was the first time, especially since receiving information about the Ashford family. It turned out to be true; they had been hiding a girl this beautiful.

Just like his memory from over a decade ago, when he first visited the Ashford Mansion, there was a young girl he'd seen, and she'd always haunted him.

Rovano felt something was wrong with him. But seeing the girl beside him drove Rovano mad; he wanted to devour her immediately, carving wounds and gashes with his trusty little knife.

Her skin was so smooth and unmarked; Rovano was itching to see her cry as she was covered in blood.

This psychopathic man was truly mad; his mental illness was difficult to cure.

Rovano lay beside Valerie, his back to the girl; his hands itched, but he refused to do anything because he was still weighing up a few things.

Up until now, he had always tortured men of his own age. Regardless of who they were, once he'd had his fill of torturing them, if any died from the ordeal, he'd order someone to dispose of the body; if they survived, he'd bribe them with money and release them once they'd received medical treatment.

Simple. No long-term plans; at most, he'd keep his victims locked up for about four days.

But with this one, how many days? Rovano couldn't even think of anything other than whether to torture her or not.

The girl was on the verge of tears at the slightest touch, and that instantly satisfied his desire, so there was no need to torture her until she bled, was there?

Rovano cursed again; he'd never been interested in women in his entire life. Men were the same. The point was, he'd never given a thought to love or any such ridiculous notion.

He heard a faint sound; Rovano also felt the mattress shift slightly. Had Valerie woken up? Rovano decided to stay where he was and close his eyes; he was curious to see how the girl would react.

"Hmm..."

Valerie opened her eyes slowly and blinked; she gathered her wits completely, as her head was still a little dizzy.

She stared at the ceiling where she had woken up; she realised something-this wasn't her room.

Her eyes shifted to the plain white blanket covering her body up to her chest; this wasn't her blanket.

This wasn't her pillow or her bed, then her head turned to the side where Rovano was lying with his eyes closed.

"R-Rovano?! Where am I?!"

She was still fully dressed; the girl was still wearing the dress from yesterday's event. She quickly got out of bed, her body barely steady; she clutched her head and held onto the table not far from the bed.

"Be quiet," Rovano's firm, cold voice made Valerie immediately look towards the source of the sound.

"W-why... A-am I here with-w-with you?" Valerie, frightened, tried to ask, though her words came out stammering; tears began to well up, then streamed down her cheeks.

Valerie had never imagined she would be in the same room with the stranger whose proposal had been rejected by her father the day before.

"Calm down," Rovano said firmly again, but Valerie's tears continued to flow.

Rovano continued to stare at Valerie with a cold, piercing gaze, but his expression softened when Valerie suddenly took his hand.

"I w-want to go home... Mr Morvane, please take me back to the mansion," Valerie pleaded with him.

"No, you are my prey," Rovano replied, clasping Valerie's hand; the girl gazed at him sadly, her sobs still unceasing.

"Raven, remember? A raven never lets go of its prey."

"You're not a raven! You're a human! I-I want to go home!"

Valerie was terrified; she'd seen films about kidnappings that ended badly. Now she was experiencing it herself, but she couldn't escape because she knew nothing of the outside world.

She'd never set foot outside the mansion's gates. But at the very least, she had to try to escape from here, even if she didn't know what fate awaited her.

Valerie quickly pulled her hand away, then ran towards the nearest door and grabbed the handle; she tried to open it but couldn't.

The girl could only lean against the door as Rovano caught up with her.

The man pinned Valerie's body against the door; her eyes were shut tight and she was breathing heavily with fear. Rovano then took hold of the door handle, pressed it down, and pushed the door open.

The door swung wide open and Valerie nearly fell backwards as her back hit the door. Instantly, the girl's eyes flew open, and Rovano was still staring at her blankly whilst holding her body in place.

"If you keep pulling it, this bathroom door will never open, no matter how long you try. You're supposed to push it inwards to open it, Valerie."

Valerie's eyes widened; the girl was both startled and felt foolish and embarrassed.

Valerie felt Rovano's arm, which had been on her back, now slide down to her hips and wrap tightly around her. They locked eyes; Valerie felt her chest rising and falling rapidly as her breath came in gasps. Fear, confusion and nervousness all mingled together.

First, she had dashed from the bed to this door, violently yanking at it with all her might, trying to open it but to no avail; in her panic, she hadn't even noticed which way the door opened.

Secondly, Rovano had scared her half to death, then made her look like a complete fool for not being able to open the door.

Why the bathroom door? Why hadn't she found the exit door? And was it because Valerie was so panicked that she hadn't realised the door clearly needed to be pushed? Even though the position of the tiles made it obvious.

Valerie's body slumped there; she sat limply on the floor, unable to support herself for the moment.

Rovano observed the girl's expression, trying to figure out what sort of girl Valerie was.

"Please tell me where this is?" Valerie asked softly. "I haven't been out of the mansion for a long time-almost my whole life..."

"Sweden," Rovano replied briefly.

The man then walked towards another door at the far end of the room, leaving Valerie behind.

Valerie just stared at him in disbelief, "S-Sweden? Europe?"

Valerie whimpered, clutching her cheeks, unable to believe that she had not only left the mansion, but her own country.

"Have I really left the mansion?"

Valerie could only watch Rovano's back as he walked further and further away. What was she supposed to do now? How could she escape and get back home when she was already abroad like this?

"I'm not there anymore, so there aren't any high walls blocking my way," Valerie muttered, then slowly got up to follow Rovano.

As if forgetting the fact that she had been kidnapped, Valerie turned towards the balcony door; she was panicked at first, but a moment later, her eyes still swollen, she broke into a light jog.

Once again she was stunned; before her lay a vast expanse of ocean, the wind whipping against her body and hair. Valerie stared in disbelief at what she saw, her jaw dropping, then her sadness turned into a broad, beaming smile.

"Mr Morvane, is this the sea? Are we by the seaside?" the girl asked innocently.

Rovano paid her no mind at all, merely staring at the girl impassively and watching to see what else she might do.

A moment later, Valerie jumped for joy, scampering around the small balcony, feasting her eyes on everything within her sight. She was so overjoyed she lost all sense of self.

Seeing the white sand of the beach made her want to walk there, but the distance turned out to be far too great; they were on the top floor.

Valerie sighed, a little disappointed, but a sense of joy still tickled her heart.

As soon as she turned around, Rovano was already standing behind her, arms folded across his chest, staring at Valerie with furrowed brows in surprise.

The girl wasn't the least bit afraid now. Yet just a moment ago she'd been hysterical, begging to go home.

In fact, just a few minutes ago she'd been sobbing uncontrollably, but now she was jumping for joy like a madwoman, and Rovano felt he'd chosen the wrong victim.

The girl was shamelessly cheering in front of him as if she'd won the lottery, even though she was the victim of a kidnapping.

The girl stood there, silent for a moment, wondering why Rovano had brought her to a place like this.

Slowly, she stepped towards the cold-hearted man, who didn't so much as crack a smile at her.

The lines on the man's face seemed to deepen as he frowned in confusion at Valerie's behaviour.

"Mr Morvane, why did you bring me here?" asked Valerie, the girl gazing gently at Rovano; though she was still a little afraid, she felt she had to ask.

Rovano did not answer; the man merely stared at Valerie, his gaze becoming slightly sharper.

"I want to thank you. All my life I've longed to leave that mansion; I want to see the real sea, the people, and the life that exists in this world. All this time I've been locked up there like a prisoner," Valerie continued.

"You've never gone out even once?" This time, Rovano was intrigued and asked Valerie.

Valerie nodded, then the girl gave a small smile. "I spent my time indoors, even went to school at home, only seeing the outside world through the television screen and the internet. They say Dad took me out once when I was four, but how could I possibly remember?"

Rovano thought hard; it turned out the Ashford family were quite cruel-they didn't need to lock the girl away to such an extent, when there were plenty of other ways to hide her.

"How sad," muttered Rovano, so softly that Valerie couldn't hear him.

"In that case, can we go for a walk along the beach?" asked Valerie, her eyes sparkling.

Rovano felt annoyed hearing this; the girl wasn't thinking straight, even though she was in the middle of a kidnapping.

The man dragged Valerie into the room and then threw her body onto the bed. This left Valerie utterly shocked.

"Do you think I'm here to play with you?!" snapped Rovano at her.

The bed creaked as Valerie was thrown effortlessly onto the mattress. Her body ached; she felt a slight twinge of pain in her back and the back of her head.

Valerie was shocked; Rovano was treating her-very roughly. This was no way for a man to treat a woman.

Rovano pulled out a pocket knife; his face was icy cold and Valerie felt that grim aura return.

The girl was still wincing because Rovano had thrown her down so hard.

Once she felt a bit better, she hurried to get as far away as possible when she saw Rovano playing with the knife. She backed away with difficulty, her body feeling heavy with fear.

What does he want with that knife?

Rovano's sly gaze and smirk caused a cold sweat to suddenly trickle down Valerie's temples.

Valerie's heart was pounding so hard, fear spreading through her, as if pumping through every vein in her body; all she could think of now was that she might die-at the hands of this madman.

Rovano managed to get on top of Valerie in a single leap onto the bed; the folding knife was now almost touching Valerie's right cheek. She was gasping for breath, and the girl swallowed hard with great difficulty.

Her eyes kept darting to the tip of the knife; now her body began to tremble with fear.

Panic, clearly. Who wouldn't panic in her position? The man before her was impossible to read.

"Please, don't hurt me," Valerie pleaded again, her tears flowing once more.

The happy gleam in her eyes that had briefly been there now vanished, replaced once more by the look of fear she'd had when she first met Rovano.

"Didn't you tell my father you liked me? You even kissed me on the lips in the back garden, you've even slept with me up here, you're even the first man to take me away. Put that knife away!" Valerie screamed in panic.

Rovano's hand froze just as the tip of the knife was about to touch Valerie's cheek. The girl's hands were also almost clutching Rovano's broad chest. It seemed Valerie intended to fight back but was too afraid to move.

"Shh, no need to shout; we're in a guesthouse, not at a concert."

Valerie turned her face to the side, but Rovano pulled her chin again so her head was tilted back, staring straight at him.

The man loomed over Valerie's body; a grin reappeared on his face, his gaze like that of a hungry lion ready to pounce on its prey.

"Usually I execute my prey without mercy, using a larger knife and locking them in a dark room."

Valerie was even more panicked now; she felt her chest tightening. Was her life going to end here?

"P-please, I don't want to die, Sir..." Valerie whispered so softly that Rovano had to lean in even closer.

"Didn't you just say you didn't care whether you were kidnapped or not? So shut your mouth," Rovano ordered in a very firm tone.

His expression changed drastically; what had been like that of a starving lion was now flat, his gaze cold and piercing.

It was cold; Valerie felt the other side of the pocket knife pressed against her cheek. But Rovano hadn't yet drawn the sharp edge across her skin.

Rovano lowered Valerie's arms so they lay at her sides. He stroked her cheek gently.

Valerie was wearing a pale pink dress that had now slipped down to reveal her smooth, white thighs.

Rovano's eyes shifted there for a moment before fixing on Valerie sharply once more.

"Have you never interacted with a man before?" Rovano asked with his infuriating smirk.

"Of course I have; some of the servants in my house are men, but they're not like you," Valerie replied smoothly.

"My personal servant touches me gently, not roughly like this."

The knife now moved up to the cleavage of Valerie's dress.

"All this time you've been living with your grandmother and your stepmother-where is your mother? Where has Alice gone?" Rovano asked again.

Valerie was startled; that was the name of her biological mother. How could Rovano know the name of a woman whom Valerie herself had never even met since childhood?

All this time, Valerie had been looked after by Silvanna-her grandmother-and Natasha, the lawful wife of Nolan Ashford.

The man didn't know why he kept asking such trivial questions instead of simply executing his prey. But it seemed that asking a lot of questions was a better way to distract the girl.

But Valerie was actually feeling terribly distressed there; the girl looked terrified, with cold sweat and tears streaming down her face, her gaze never leaving Rovano's eyes, hoping he would grant her mercy.

His psychopathic lust easily reached its peak just by seeing Valerie in this state. Valerie's despair, distress and sobs were like a fulfilment of his evil desires.

Rovano took a deep breath; his mind was in turmoil simply from looking at Valerie.

For a moment he stopped what he was doing, allowing Valerie a moment's peace so she wouldn't disturb his focus again.

Valerie was reluctant to speak after hearing the final question about her mother's whereabouts.

Her gaze now fell to the side, her expression sorrowful. She had resigned herself to her fate, for there was nothing more she could do.

Rovano had taken complete control of her body. As soon as he sensed Valerie had calmed down a little, the man resumed his actions.

Srett!

Rovano tore Valerie's dress from top to bottom; the girl immediately turned to face him and covered her chest with both hands.

Valerie's pale, smooth body was laid bare after Rovano forcibly pushed the dress aside. Valerie could only offer him a pleading look, shaking her head.

The girl was unable to speak. Rovano tore everything to shreds and used some of the fabric to tie Valerie's hands behind her head, keeping her still.

Rovano touched Valerie's flat stomach, the surface of her skin soft; the man closed his eyes for a moment.

What was this sensation? He had never done anything like this before; he usually felt repulsed by women who flirted with him, even going so far as to push them away roughly.

But now he was the one touching a woman; Rovano had even kissed Valerie. Now his hand was on her stomach.

Why was this happening? Was Rovano still in his right mind? Valerie was his prey, but why was he actually enjoying touching every inch of her body? He shouldn't be this depraved!

Valerie stared at him in silence; her tears were flowing in an endless stream, her legs were pinned in place, and her hands were tightly bound.

"Let me go!" Valerie struggled again, but Rovano held her legs down to keep her still.

Rovano slapped Valerie's left thigh hard until it turned red, and Valerie screamed. Rovano tore a little more of Valerie's dress and stuffed it into her mouth, so that when she screamed loudly, her voice would be muffled.

"Hold on, I'll give you a mark," said Rovano; he then moved to the side of Valerie, who was lying on her back with her clothes torn and her body completely exposed.

Only her bra and knickers remained on.

The tip of the folding knife had already touched the skin of Valerie's left thigh; the man seemed to be gauging the size of the gash he was about to make.

It didn't take long for fresh blood to flow from the wound, trickling down onto the mattress. Valerie screamed loudly, her leg kicking out at Rovano as she struggled to break free, writhing in agony.

"Be quiet or the wound will get deeper!" Rovano snapped as Valerie tried to struggle.

"Hhmmmh!!!" Her gagged mouth screamed in pain, unable to bear the deep agony.

Help me! It hurts so much! Valerie's heart was screaming.

The man carved a name onto Valerie's thigh, which was already covered in blood. The carving of a name was a sign that Valerie was Rovano's prey. The girl belonged to Rovano, forever.

When he was finished, Rovano removed the gag from Valerie's mouth and wiped his pocket knife; the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs rang out clearly, and Rovano was thoroughly satisfied.

He was extremely aroused now; he took pleasure in seeing Valerie suffer so terribly, even though the wounds he had inflicted were nothing compared to those of his previous victims.

Perhaps because she was a woman? Usually, Rovano executed men who were tied to a chair, skinning or stabbing his victims' hands and thighs; once he was satisfied, he would stop. He would then call for the doctor and his assistant to attend to his victims.

Rovano put his pocket knife away in a drawer and tossed the torn fabric from Valerie's dress onto the floor. The girl was wincing in pain from the throbbing cuts.

Rovano climbed back onto the bed and untied Valerie's hands. The girl was crying, still lying down, her hands reaching out for Rovano as he touched her body. Rovano wiped away the blood that had begun to stop flowing.

"Be still, don't move about too much, so the bleeding stops," Rovano brushed Valerie's hands aside.

Valerie was still trembling; her sobs turned into choking gasps as she babbled, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

"It hurts, sir. It hurts so much," she whispered through her sobs.

Rovano smiled, but his smile sent shivers down Valerie's spine. It was the smile of a psychopath, satisfied with his deed.

"Nice body."