His face twisted in rage, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"I bust my back all day, and I can't even get a nice view of my wife at home?"

To keep from setting off his drunken fury, I swallowed the insult and shakily slipped into the revealing outfit.

Jeffrey's eyes were glued to me.

His stare bore into the red mole on my waist.

"Turn around, pop it out."

He ordered, phone in hand.

I bit back tears and did as I was told.

Snap, snap.

The flash fired off, blinding me.

Once he was done, Jeffrey did not bother looking at me, just hunched over his phone, fingers flying.

"Done. I'm out of smokes. I'm gonna head down to grab a pack," he said, snatching his jacket and heading out.

My heart skipped a beat. "It's too late. Don't go..."

"Stay out of it!" Jeffrey shoved me aside, stormed out, and slammed the door shut without a backward glance.

The sound of the door slamming sent shivers down my spine. I scrambled to lock it, but the lock would not budge!

Peering through the peephole, I saw why: the latch was plastered with layers of clear tape!

Frantically, I picked at the tape, but it was of no use.

Suddenly, my phone on the bed buzzed.

It was an alert from the second-hand marketplace app.

I turned, my body rigid with fear.

The message on the screen burned into my eyes.

[Item dispatched, buyer en route, 500 meters away.]

The hallway light flickered on.

Thud, thud, thud.

Someone was coming, their heavy footsteps inching closer to my door.

The doorknob jiggled again.

I knew who it was this time.

Not Jeffrey, but Adrian Kane, known as 'The Butcher,' the man who had paid a fortune for my company tonight.

The door was not locked; he could burst in at any second.

I did not even think about shedding the humiliating outfit. I grabbed my phone and bolted for the balcony.

My place was on the second floor, and the balcony was a short hop from Caroline's, our landlord. She had always looked out for me, and I saw her as my own older sister.

At that moment, she was my only hope.

I clambered over the grimy railing, tearing my yoga pants on the rust, the sting ignored in my panic.

"Caroline! Caroline, please open up!"

I hammered on her bedroom window, tears and snot mingling on my face.

A sliver of the curtain moved aside.

Caroline's face, a testament to her meticulous self-care, came into view.

Her eyes flickered with a knowing spark as she took in my disheveled state and my shaking form.

The window stood ajar.

"Oh, dear! What's gotten into you?"

She pulled me inside and shut the window behind us.

I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing and clinging to her pant leg.

"Caroline, please help me! Jeffrey's lost it. He sold me! There's a man outside trying to get in!"

Caroline guided me to the couch and handed me a glass of warm water.

"Take a sip, calm down, and tell me everything. Don't work yourself up."

I spilled out the story in a jumbled rush: the online post, Jeffrey's reaction, the sabotaged lock.

Caroline gave my hand a reassuring pat, her smile tinged with indifference.

"Sweetie, you're reading too much into it.

"Guys get boastful when they've had a few too many, looking for a bit of excitement.

"Jeffrey's always been good to you. He even hands over his paycheck to you. He wouldn't really sell his own wife."

She gave me a reassuring look. "I know this 'The Butcher' guy. He's all bark, no bite. Probably just a big misunderstanding."

A misunderstanding?

An icy dread settled over me as I met Caroline's gaze.

At that moment, my phone buzzed once more.

With shaking hands, I clicked on the cursed link to the second-hand site.

Adrian, known as 'The Butcher,' had left another furious comment.

[Damn it! The house is empty. What is this? A bait-and-switch?]

Jeffrey's reply was right below that comment.

[Easy, man! The merchandise is just next door with the landlord, a little holdover. Consider it a special bonus to up the thrill.]

[My landlord, whom I’ve come to think of as a sister, is a real knockout. She hinted that, for the right price, she’d join in on the fun.]

Suddenly, my world spun.

I felt my blood run cold, and my phone nearly slipped from my grasp, tumbling into the couch cushions.

I looked up sharply at Caroline.

She was casually leaning against the bedroom doorway, a half-smile playing on her lips as she eyed my waist, fixated on the red mole there.

"Babe, that mole of yours is quite the eye-catcher. No wonder Jeffrey thinks you're a real catch."

Caroline's voice took on a teasing, oily quality.

"Since you're here, why not stay? Adrian will be here any minute now.

"Relax, Adrian's a big spender: two grand a pop."

She gave me a once-over. "What's your dance teaching gig pay you in a month? You bust your butt and can't even afford a decent purse."

I recoiled in fear, desperate to bolt for the door.

However, Caroline's place was locked up tight, the security chain firmly in place.

She advanced, her heels clicking ominously on the hardwood floor.

"Jeffrey has racked up a 30 grand debt to Adrian playing cards here.

"Settling his tab with you is just the way things are done.

"Make Adrian happy tonight, and you're square.

"But if you don't play ball..."

Caroline let out an icy laugh. "Jeffrey's hand? It's still in Adrian's grip. Want him to end up crippled?"

Right then, a knock echoed from the other side of the door.

Thump, thump, thump.

It was not loud, but it was enough to suffocate the air in the room.

Then, Adrian's sleazy voice seeped through. "Caroline, open up. I'm catching a whiff of something sweet!"

The knocking felt like a blow to my very soul.

I could not just sit there and wait for the end!

The second Caroline spun around to unlock the door, I bolted for her bedroom like I was possessed.

A king-sized bed dominated the room, its underside a jumble of boxes that left just a sliver of space.

I did not give a second thought to the grime as I wriggled into that narrow hideaway.

The hanging bedsheet obscured my view, but it could not muffle the sounds from outside.

The deadbolt clicked open.

Adrian's labored breaths and the click-clack of his dress shoes echoed into the room.

"Where's this person? Jeffrey said she's being kept in here, right?" Adrian's voice was tinged with a thrill that sent my stomach into flips.

"Yeah, she was just in here, bawling her eyes out." Caroline's voice dripped with a sweetness that made my stomach turn. "Probably got shy and tucked herself away. How about a little game of hide and seek?"

Another voice chimed in, one I recognized all too well.

"Take your time, Adrian. I'll keep watch at the door.

"Just holler if you need me; I'll be right outside."

Jeffrey's tone was all grovel and no grit, nothing like a husband should sound, more like a servant begging for scraps.

I bit down on my hand to stifle a sob, tears streaming down in silence.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Adrian sang, taunting as he barged into the bedroom.

He tore through the room, flinging open drawers and slamming closet doors, each bang resonating like a drumbeat.

Thud!

His foot crashed onto the mattress, sending a shower of dust into the air, stinging my eyes.

I held back a cough, the terror so intense I felt disembodied.

A hand, hairy and rough, suddenly appeared inches from my face, hovering at the edge of the bed.

He was peering under the bed!

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest like it was trying to escape.

However, he just snatched a pair of slippers from the floor, never once lifting the bedsheet.

"Blast it! Did she vanish into thin air?"

Adrian was spewing curses when suddenly, my phone in my pocket buzzed to life.

Buzz…

It was a group text from the property management, nagging about the water and electric bill.

I had silenced it, but in the eerie quiet under the bed, the floor amplified the vibration, making it sound like a clap of thunder.

'I'm done for,' I thought.

My mind went completely blank.

Adrian froze in his tracks.

He bent over slowly, and with a swift yank, the bedsheet was gone.

There he was, his face a greasy, chubby mess, looming over me.

His mouth twisted into a grin, his yellow teeth bared, and his eyes alight with the thrill of the hunt.

"Heh, heh, gotcha!

"Turns out, you're just a little mouse in a hole."

Before I could even process the situation, a rough hand clamped around my ankle and yanked me out from under the bed.

"Argh!"

I let out a blood-curdling scream, my nails leaving trails of red on the floor.

"Jeffrey! Save me! Jeffrey!"

I thrashed wildly, hoping to stir some shred of decency in the man outside.

However, Jeffrey's voice came through the door, chilling and detached, saying, "Adrian, that lady's got a set of lungs on her. Go easy, will you?

"Just keep it clean and enjoy yourself!"

My heart felt like it had sunk into an abyss.

Caroline stood off to the side, an indifferent spectator, even pulling the curtains closed for us.

"That's it, Adrian. She's a wild one. Don't let her get away."

Adrian snickered, his hands working at his belt.

"Now, it gets interesting."

Adrian leaned in, and the foul stench of him filled my senses.

In my desperation, my hand found something at my waist.

It was the scissors I had slipped into my yoga pants pocket when I fled my house.

They were meant for protection, but I never imagined they would be that necessary.

With a swift motion, I drew the scissors, pressing them to my throat.

The edge of the scissors bit into my skin, and blood welled up instantly.

"Stay back!"

My voice was a roar, eyes blazing with fury. "One step closer, and I'll be a corpse on your conscience! You'll all be behind bars if I die!"

Adrian froze, uncertainty flickering in his movements.

"Feisty, aren't you? I like that."

However, even as he played it cool, he took a step back, his gaze tinged with caution.

Caroline jumped, her voice tinged with alarm as she said, "Hey, don't do anything crazy. A scarred face won't fetch a dime!"

In their moment of shock, I snatched a hefty vase from the nearby coffee table.

Channeling all my strength, I hurled it at Adrian's head.

Thud!

The vase exploded on impact.

Adrian clutched his head, screaming as blood seeped through his fingers.

"Argh! You witch! I'm going to end you!"

He stumbled toward me.