She mumbled in response. I hastily got changed and drove out. It took her some time to send me the address— the famous Imperial Hotel in A City.
Nora liked to have fun, so it was normal for her to be in a nightclub. She was usually alert, so I wondered how someone managed to drug her tonight.
When I arrived at Imperial Hotel, Nora was lying in the club’s lobby. There were a few attendants by her side. It seemed that someone had ordered them to keep watch on her.
One of the attendants recognized me and hurried over. “Ms. Stanhope, you’re finally here. Ms. Oberick is about to tear the place down.”
After racking my brains, I still couldn’t figure out who this woman was. I asked hesitantly, “Do you know me?”
The woman nodded with a polite smile. “Mr. Murphy showed me your photo and told me to wait for you here.”
Huh? My confusion deepened. Armond’s here? Then why didn’t he send her back himself and asked me to come instead? What is he up to?
I glanced at Nora, who had passed out in her booth. My head was throbbing as I came up with a plan. “There are hotel rooms above, right?”
This was a high-end nightclub, so most of the patrons were rich and powerful. The rooms above were designated so they could continue having fun upstairs in the privacy of their own rooms.
The attendant nodded, but she seemed stumped. “Yes, we have rooms, but they have been reserved in advance. Some of the rooms are prepared for our VIP clients and aren’t accessible usually. I’m afraid I can’t get a room for you right now.”
I pursed my lips. Looks like Armond earns a lot of money here. I pondered slightly before asking, “Does Mr. Murphy have his own room, then?”
“Yes, but…”
I dialed Armond’s number, and he answered my call almost immediately. “What’s wrong?” came his soft voice. “Are you missing me at night? Do you need me to accompany you?”
Feeling disgusted, I retorted, “I need a room in Imperial Hotel for Nora. It’s too late for me to bring her home. I’m still pregnant.”
His light chuckled sounded over the line. “Looks like I did the right thing by asking you to pick her up. Let me talk to my staff.”
Looking up, I glanced at the attendant before handing the phone to her. “Armond wants to talk to you.” She accepted my phone hastily with both hands. “Hello, Mr. Murphy!”
The attendant listened to what Armond had to say attentively. Shortly after, she returned my phone to me. “Ms. Stanhope, please follow me!”
She proceeded to order the two other attendants. “Bring Ms. Oberick to No. 2806, the presidential suite on the twenty-eighth floor. I’ll help Ms. Stanhope check in now.”
The two attendants brought Nora into the elevator while I followed the other attendant to the front desk so she could process my check-in. After Armond talked to the lady, she seemed to be extra careful around me.
I wasn’t bothered at all. While we were waiting for the elevator to come, a few tipsy men joined us. This was, after all, a nightclub and a hotel in one building.
The attendant seemed to recognize them and greeted them politely. One man took her arm. “You’re Rita, right? I heard you’re a manager here. Didn’t they say there’s a virgin here tonight? I didn’t see her anywhere. What’s wrong? Are you looking down on us?”
The other men chimed in drunkenly. Rita flashed an awkward smile and replied, “You’ve gotten the wrong information. That girl is here as a waitress. She’s just a peasant from the countryside. I’m afraid that you’ll despise her.”
“Oh?” The man chuckled. “So what if she’s from the countryside? Over ten years ago, we lived in the countryside, too. Peasant girls are strong. Don’t forget to bring her to our room later so we can have fun together.”
Rita nodded hastily. As the doors opened, she bade goodbye to them and led me out.
After bringing me to my room, she flashed a smile and bade farewell to me. I heard her talking to someone on her walkie-talkie. “Logistics, send Ann Weeder to the sixteenth floor. A client just asked for her. Remember to tell her to be obedient.”
I was about to close the door when I heard the familiar name. Stopping in my tracks, I looked out, but Rita had already left.
Sixteenth floor?
I entered the room to see Nora sleeping soundly on the bed. She had passed out, and I couldn’t wake her up.
As she seemed to be okay, I took the room card and headed to the sixteenth floor.
After I found the room, I stood outside. The rooms on this floor were karaoke rooms. There were girls heading in and out of the rooms. The girls who came out were obviously wounded with stacks of money in their hands, while the girls who headed in were empty-handed.
I couldn’t see what was going on inside the room, so I came out with a plan. After getting prepared, I pushed the door open and staggered in. “Friends, come on. Let’s drink!” I yelled, pretending to be drunk.
The people in the room froze immediately when I barged in without warning. When they realized I was drunk, someone stood up to chase me out.
I narrowed my gaze and scanned the room carefully. There were around five to six men in their forties accompanied by at least a dozen hostesses.
Ann stood out among the girls. It wasn’t because she was pretty. She had lived in the village until a while ago, so her skin was slightly tanned. Her head was lowered as she studied her surroundings anxiously.
Today, she was dressed in a sexy and revealing outfit that seemed too large to be hers. She kept covering her chest and tugging at the short hem of the minidress.
The contrast between Ann’s snowy white chest and her tanned neck was too obvious. She was also quite busty. After putting makeup on, she was both innocent and attractive.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing here? Scram!” A man grabbed my arm to tug me out forcefully.
I stood up and grumbled in response. Upon meeting my gaze, Ann’s pupils constricted in disbelief. She hurriedly regained her composure and looked down.
I allowed the man to drag me out of the room and slumped down on the ground. The men couldn’t be bothered and left me alone. After they closed the door behind them, I took out my phone to call Joseph. I explained everything and sent him the address.
The clients in the nightclub enjoyed thrilling stuff. I stood at the door and watched as a few men brought an enormous fish tank around a meter long into the room. Immediately, my heart sank.
I leaned on the door, but I couldn’t hear anything. As the attendants came out, I stopped them and grabbed one of the attendant’s arm. “Hello, may I know why you brought the fish tank into the room? It sounds fun. How exactly does that work? My husband enjoys thrilling stuff, too. We are here tonight to have some fun, but couldn’t make up our minds. Why don’t you give us some recommendations?”
The attendant I stopped was stunned, while the others laughed out loud. “Madam, you’re here with your husband? How unusual.”
I flashed a shy smile. “Ah, married life is too boring. We’re here to spice things up.”
The attendants thought I was a loose woman. “The clients inside are wealthy men from A City. They like to play games to abuse people. Madam, this isn’t for you. Mr. Hanks likes to see people on the verge of dying. He will ask someone to enter the fish tank. We don’t recommend that as it’s too dangerous.”
Their explanation caught me off guard. Why would someone like to see someone struggling on the brink of death? What kind of fetish is that?
I was still in a daze when the attendants walked away. At once, I pushed the door open and stalked in. The men were standing around the fish tank curiously, so no one noticed my arrival.
A middle-aged man standing beside the fish tank placed a stack of bills on the table. “This is fun. Ladies, will you play a game with me? As long as you please me, you can have one hundred grand.”
The girls fell silent as they knew what Dillan was like. The man grew impatient and frowned. “No one? Why are you standing here, then? Imbeciles!”
I knitted my brows at how rude the man was.
Everyone in the private room dared not say a word. Dillan scanned the crowd and noticed Ann, who was cowering behind a few girls. “You! Come here!” he ordered.
At once, everyone stared at Ann. She trembled in fear and went to Dillan meekly.
“Go in there for a while, and the money will be yours. Entertain us while we’re in a jovial mood.” Dillan placed the money in front of her.
Ann hung her head low. I was standing quite a distance away from her, so I couldn’t see her expression though she was obviously shaking. I thought she would cry and asked the man to let her off.
Suddenly, she spoke. “Two hundred thousand!”
“What?” the man responded in shock. Everyone else was also baffled at her reaction.
Ann repeated. “Two hundred thousand. I’ll go in if you agree.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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