The Price of Misjudgment

I was shocked by this unreasonable request.

Yvonne pushed me impatiently. She grabbed Jeremy by the hair and shoved his ashen face into mine.

I was utterly hopeless.

All around me stood Francis's burly thugs. They leered at me, their eyes roaming across my chest.

I held my shirt closed by the collar and shook my head, tears falling.

Yvonne laughed coldly. "I'm not in any hurry. I'm just not sure whether this little bastard has the time to wait for you to take off your clothes."

My tears fell even quicker.

Benedict had told me about Yvonne before. He told me that she was kind.

I looked at the vicious woman before me and shuddered.

Around me, the men were still leering.

"Take off your clothes! You're already a cheating slut. What's there to be embarrassed about?" they taunted. "I see that bulge on your chest. What are you hiding under your shirt? Take it off and let us see!"

Yvonne took out her phone and began recording. "Snake venom takes about an hour to kill. Figure it out yourself. How much time do you have left?"

I had no choice. I had to do this for Jeremy. Closing my eyes tight, I quickly took off my blouse.

Francis whistled. "You've got to admit, Yvonne, this bitch's got a nice body."

I grew up in a strict family and later got married and had children according to the norms, so I'd never been so humiliated in my life. I bit my lower lip until it bled. "Will you save my son now?"

Yvonne still wasn't satisfied. She moved the camera, filming me from head to toe. I turned my head away, but she grabbed me by the chin and forced me to look into the camera. "What's your hurry? That was just your blouse. Take off your bra, too.

"Also, did you not hear me? I said, take off your clothes and tell the camera that you are a bitch and a homewrecker!"

Francis leered at me. "Yeah! Take off your bra! Hurry up!"

Yvonne scoffed. "You don't want to do it? Then, we'll just let this bastard…"

Afraid that she would do as she threatened, I interrupted quickly, "I'll do it!"

Trembling, I reached back and undid the clasp on my bra.

Yvonne stared at me ravenously as I looked into the camera and said slowly, "I am a homewrecker. I'm a bitch. Please save my son…"

Yvonne slapped me so hard that my head jerked to the side.

"Who told you to add that last part? I just need you to admit to your sins. Don't say other stuff."

"He's really not a bastard," I begged. "He's Benedict's little brother. Please just save him. I won't hold anything against you as long as you save him."

Yvonne scoffed and folded her arms. "You won't hold anything against me? What right do you have to hold anything against me? Don't fool yourself."

She grabbed me by the hair again and slammed my head against the wall. "You haughty woman! You disgust me!"

As if still unsatisfied, she shouted at the people behind her, "What are you waiting for? Take out your phones and film this!"

All around me, camera flashes went off in every direction. There was no way for me to hide from them.

As I tried to run away in a panic, I bumped into Jeremy's bed. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed his hand to steady him.

Wait a minute.

My heart dropped.

Why was Jeremy's hand so cold?

I had a bad feeling. I kept telling myself that it couldn't be, yet my hand still reached toward his nose.

Jeremy wasn't breathing.

How could he not be breathing?

Frantic, I shook Jeremy's body, but no matter what I did, he remained limp and boneless.

Jeremy was dead.

When I realized this, I was filled with rage. I had endured all of Yvonne's humiliations just to get Jeremy into the emergency room, but now he was dead.

There was no reason for me to continue taking this.

Slowly, I rose from the bed and fixed Yvonne with a hateful glare. This woman had killed my son.

Yvonne took a few steps back. "You… What are you doing?"