My CEO boyfriend, Norris Chapman, whom I've been dating for five years, takes me to his childhood home to visit his parents during Christmas.

After that, he proceeds to propose to me in the villa's garden, which was intricately decorated in advance. Happily, I accept his proposal.

I wanted to wait till nightfall before telling Norris that I actually hail from a wealthy family as well, only that I ran away from home after fighting with my dad.

But unexpectedly, Norris drugs me immediately after dinner. By the time I wake up, I'm already bound in ropes.

"I'm sorry, Winnie. I don't have a choice at all. The debt collectors are about to show up on my doorstep soon.

"It's your fault for looking just like the mistress Mr. Greven is looking for. Once I sell you to him, I'll definitely be able to clear my debt right away.

"Since you love me so much, you won't blame me for this, right?"

The moment I hear the words "Mr. Greven", I'm left feeling stunned.

There's only one Greven family in the entire list of wealthy families in the country. It also happens to be my family.

Could it be that… Norris plans to sell me to my dad?

A basin of cold water came crashing down over my head. I jolted violently and snapped my eyes open.

My head throbbed as if it were splitting apart. My body was tied to a chair so tightly I couldn't move, and it took a long while before my mind finally cleared.

"You're up," said the man I had dated for five years, Norris Chapman. He wore that familiar, gentle smile.

Just a second ago, I had been at his house, sharing a Christmas Eve candlelight dinner with his family. So, why was I now tied up like this and locked inside a small, dark room?

"Norris, what the hell are you doing? Release me!" I yelled.

A cold smile curled his lips. "Sorry, Winnie. I didn't really have a choice. To be frank, I owe some people money. The debt collectors will be here any day. To pay them back, you'll have to make a little sacrifice. You understand, right?"

My breathing stopped. My lips quivered, and I could barely believe what I had just heard. "Aren't you a CEO? I thought your company had been running perfectly fine. How could—"

"Because it's all a hoax."

He smiled, his expression careless and cruel. "If I didn't look the part, how could I have lured such a perfect prey like you?"

A chill crept up my spine.

For the past five years, I had always believed Norris was the CEO of a corporation worth hundreds of millions. He was polite to everyone he met, and with me, he had always been gentle and attentive.

This Christmas, he had finally said he wanted to bring me home to meet his parents. Naturally, I agreed. When I saw the luxurious villa his family lived in, I didn't doubt a thing. Delighted, I accepted his proposal in the backyard garden.

Little did I know that everything had been a carefully planned scam.

Just then, Norris' parents walked in.

"Is she awake? He'll be here at any minute."

The moment I saw their faces, I recalled our first encounter earlier that evening.

They were well-dressed and refined, like educated people, taking my hands warmly and asking about my well-being as soon as I arrived. They had even prepared many of my favorite desserts.

They looked like completely different people from the cold, indifferent couple standing before me now.

"What do you all want from me?" I asked.

The smile on Norris' face looked the same as before, but the words that came out of his mouth were bone-chilling.

"Relax. We've just found you a new master. After all, you look exactly like the mistress that old man has spent five years searching for. Being chosen is your blessing.

"Besides, weren't you with me because of my money? He's even richer than I am. If you keep him happy, I can promise you'll live better than you do now."

Fear conquered my body. As someone who moved in the same upper-class circles, how could I not know about the underground deals that happened among powerful elites?

Their methods were unbelievably cruel. The women who were bought and sold rarely ended well. Still, if I wanted to stay alive, I had to stay calm.

Norris had no idea that I, too, came from a wealthy family. I had hidden my identity while working at his company.

Forcing down the fear in my chest, I tried to negotiate with them. "How much do you owe? If you let me go, I can help you pay it back."

For a moment, he looked stunned. Then, he burst out laughing. His parents did the same, too.

Norris raised his hand and gestured a number in front of me. "Eight million dollars. Now, how exactly are you planning to help me pay that back? Sell a kidney or two?"

I ignored their mockery and confidently said, "I can do it, but first, you need to let me make a call."

He sized me up and down, only to slap me across the face. "Trying to dial 911, huh? We're not that dumb, bitch! You're just an office worker—how will you possibly gather eight million dollars?"

His slap left me dizzy; my head spun, and my cheek burned with a sharp, stinging pain.

In the five years we had dated, he had never laid a hand on me before. Even when we argued, he was always the one who gave in first and coaxed me until I calmed down.

Now, that same man who used to treat me with utmost tenderness, grabbed my hair and yanked it backward. "When Mr. Greven arrives later, you'd better look your best. Otherwise…"

My ears might have been buzzing, but I still caught the name from his words.

Mr. Greven? Among all the elite families in the country, there was only one Greven family, and I was born into it.

Was Norris seriously going to sell me to my very own father?

No one knew Dad more than I did. He was too devoted to my late mother to betray her like this.

Back then, when our enemies took Mom's life, Dad stopped at nothing until he killed them all and fed their bodies to the alligators. He had said that Mom and I were the two most important people in his life.

He had even sworn a deathly oath before Mom's grave that he would never in his life fall for another woman. So, I didn't believe for a second that he would be looking for his mistress.

As my mind spun, Norris delivered a punch to my gut. He scoffed. "You sure covered up pretty well tonight. Who are you trying to fool, though? I know how eager you can get when you're in the bedroom."

With that, he crudely tugged at my clothes.

I was wearing the wool coat he had given me for my birthday last year. I had kept it carefully in my closet for so long and hardly ever wore it—I couldn't bear to.

I thought, since I was going to his place for Christmas, I should finally wear it for this special occasion. Now, that very coat had been torn to shreds by his own hands and thrown onto the floor.

He looked at my body, bound tightly by the rough rope, and nodded with satisfaction. As if it wasn't enough, his father, Victor Chapman, pulled out a sexy leather bodycon dress from his bag.

"That's not enough. She should wear this," he suggested. "Trust me. Men love a good leather dress."

To my surprise, Norris readily agreed to his proposal. I gritted my teeth and endured the humiliation.

They had to loosen the ropes around me if they wanted to change me into that dress. I thought that would be a good, if not the best, time to escape.

Seeing that I was cooperative, they lowered their guard and began unbinding me. I seized the moment and punched Norris in the nose before kicking Victor's groin.

They wailed in pain, pressing their sore spots, while I bolted toward the door. "Somebody, help! I'm being kidnapped!"

However, the moment I pushed open the door, my hair was yanked backward.

My body plunged back onto the floor, and I let out a helpless yelp. Before my eyes, the originally open door shut tightly, crushing all my hope.

The one who yanked my hair was Agatha Radcliffe, Norris' mother. She pinned me to the floor while Victor violently struck my back and legs with a stick.

An agonized scream involuntarily escaped my throat. I no longer had the energy to struggle, and I could do nothing but curl up on the floor.

"Who told you you could escape? Try resisting again, and I'll beat you to death!" Victor threatened me, still swinging that stick against my body like a madman.

It wasn't until Norris noticed I had fallen silent that he stopped his father.

They dragged me back onto the chair and splashed my face with water to remove the blood stains. I was in too much pain to resist as they stripped me naked, forcefully putting me into that revealing dress.

Norris grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "Mr. Greven will be here any minute. Now, stop looking so miserable and give me a smile!"

"Fuck off, you heartless son of a bitch!" I seethed, spitting in his face.

An angered smile sparked on his face. His gaze slowly averted to my hand. He grabbed one of my fingers, then twisted it until it cracked.

Pain shot through me, and I could barely move in that chair. My head felt light, almost like I was going to pass out.

"Hey, you've always loved painting, haven't you? Imagine if you could never hold a brush again, Winnie. I'll give you one last chance. We've been together for five years, and I don't want to push you too far.

"As long as you cooperate, I might buy you back and take care of you once I sort everything out. But if you don't… Well, let's just say you might never paint again because you won't have any hands to do so!"

I was in too much agony to think clearly. When I heard his words, I instinctively pleaded, "Don't…"

He was right. I had loved painting since I was a child. My dream had always been to stand on an international stage for what I created.

When I was little, Mom would always smile when she saw me pursuing my dreams. She told me her greatest wish was to see me succeed. She didn't get the chance, but I never gave up.

I worked tirelessly, hoping one day to reach that stage. All this time, I had only ever shared these dreams with Norris. I never imagined he would use them against me.

"Don't, please… I'm begging you."

My desperate pleas seemingly fueled him. "You're finally scared. Now, be a good girl and give me your best smile."

He tilted my chin up, forcing me to look at him, and made me smile. It felt ugly and unnatural, but he seemed satisfied at last and finally let go. "That's more like it."

Suddenly, Agatha, who had stepped out for a moment, rushed back in. She excitedly announced, "Mr. Greven's people are here!"

I jerked my head up and instinctively looked toward the door. My hope collapsed the moment it swung open because it wasn't Dad who had arrived.

At the front stood a young man, maybe even younger than me, his gaze sharp and menacing. A few others followed him quietly. "Mr. Greven is still tied up with some matters. He'll be here shortly."

Still, I recognized him immediately. He was Billy Newman, the grandson of my old butler.

Norris rushed forward, his head slightly lowered in a show of deference. "Here she is, the one I brought. See? Looks just like the photo, doesn't she?"

Billy tilted my chin and compared my face to the photo. "Huh… They really are identical."

I stared at the photo and felt a cold certainty. Dad wasn't looking for his long-lost mistress—he was looking for me. That photo was of me from five years ago.

"Billy, it's me! I—" I screamed, pouring all my strength into my voice, hoping he would recognize me.

A tight slap landed across my face. "Quiet! This isn't your place to speak! And how do you know my name?"

I froze, disbelief and shock burning in my desperate eyes. "You don't remember me? I'm—"

And another slap.

He clasped around my neck, each finger tightening and threatening to crush my bones. "I don't care who you are! I hate scheming bitches like you the most! It's because of women like you that my life is ruined!"

As he spoke, he kept slapping my face as if to vent his anger.

I felt like the ground had dropped out from under me. My heart sank to the very bottom. This was bad—he didn't remember me at all.

Billy was the grandson of Patrick Newman, the butler at the Greven residence. When we were kids, we played together. As he grew up, however, he squandered his time on gambling, drinking, and partying.

His father sent him abroad, and we hadn't seen each other since. He must've only returned recently, completely unaware of what had happened in the past.

Seeing me in a mess, Norris finally stepped in. "Billy, is it? Don't ruin her face, please. I'm sure Mr. Greven likes her because of her looks…"

Billy let go at last. I drew in a deep breath and coughed violently, finally able to breathe freely. "I know you, Billy. I'm telling… the truth. You may not remember, but I'm Mr. Greven's—"

Before I could finish, he cut me off with a kick to my stomach. "Trying to bluff your way in? Do you think we'd believe a word from someone like you? If you want to have anything to do with the Greven family, try again in another life."

My body automatically curled up in pain, and I could hardly utter another word. My pathetic state prompted a cold laugh from him. "Hand me the scissors. I'll cut off her tongue and stop her from spouting more nonsense."

His subordinate actually handed him a big, sharp pair of scissors. The cold glint reflecting from the blade frightened me so much that I shook my head vigorously. "No, please, don't!"

Billy was unfazed. He ordered his subordinates to pry open my mouth.

Just then, a ringtone pierced through the tense air. One of them answered the phone, then reported to Billy, "The auction is over. Mr. Greven is almost here."

"You're lucky this time," Billy said with a malicious glare, then put away the scissors.

Just as I was counting my blessings, I noticed his gaze sharpened again. A second later, he drove the scissors—the ones he'd just put away—straight into the back of my right hand. The blades tore clean through my palm.

My wail of agony reverberated through the dark room.

"Oh, shut it. If you don't obey me, I won't hesitate to chop off your hand."

He instructed his subordinates to seal my mouth. They gagged me with a tattered cloth, then taped my mouth shut.

I couldn't make a sound. All I could do was watch helplessly as blood oozed endlessly from my palm.

"That should shut you up," Billy remarked, smug and satisfied.

At that moment, the door was pushed open. A tall, imposing figure emerged, staring grimly at the scene.