He brushed a smear of sauce from the corner of her lips, his tone tender. “If it’s with you, even poison would taste sweet.”
Then, he turned his cold eyes on Alannah, as though blaming her for daring to speak.
Alannah was about to leave when Pearl suddenly stopped her.
Holding a steaming bowl of soup, Pearl smiled sweetly. “If you don’t want to eat, at least have some soup.”
Keeping her expression calm, Alannah quietly pressed the hidden switch on the camera on her necklace and replied, “Sorry, I’m allergic to dairy.”
But Pearl insisted, pushing the bowl into her hands. “Just one sip. It’s really good.”
The heat seeped through the porcelain, and Alannah’s hand jerked involuntarily. The scalding soup splashed out, spilling over the back of her hand.
“Ouch! It hurts…”
Before Alannah could even react, Pearl screamed dramatically and threw herself into Quincy’s arms.
“Quincy, I just wanted her to taste the soup I made!” she cried.
“Where’s the doctor? Call the doctor now!” Quincy barked, panic flashing in his eyes as he shouted for his personal assistant.
Blisters were already forming on Alannah’s burned hand, yet Quincy didn’t spare her a glance.
Instead, he held Pearl carefully, tending to the faint red mark on her skin while scolding Alannah.
“Pearl was being kind! Why would you deliberately throw soup at her?”
“I didn’t—” Alannah began.
But Pearl cut her off, speaking through sobs. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it…”
Watching that pitiful and fake expression, Alannah felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat.
She let out a cold laugh. “Drop the act. It’s disgusting.”
She hadn’t walked far from the villa when a hand clamped over her mouth and nose from behind.
Her vision instantly went black.
When she woke up, she found herself in a damp and dark basement.
Above her, a familiar, cold voice echoed—Quincy’s.
“You hurt Pearl. You need to be punished.”
Alannah froze, her fingers trembling.
‘Punished? Just because Pearl got splashed by accident?’
Suddenly, a burlap sack dropped from above and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Moments later, several snakes slithered out, writhing toward her.
“Let me out!” she screamed.
Pure terror ripped through her chest as she curled up in the corner, trembling uncontrollably.
But no matter how she begged, no one came. The air was thick with silence.
Quincy knew too well that she was terrified of snakes!