Chapter 16: Taken by Force

Sebastian didn't spare the man another glance. A sudden force sent the drunk reeling backward. He nearly lost his balance before scrambling away, footsteps echoing frantically down the corridor.

Silence settled over the hallway again.

Sophie's heart was still racing. She looked up at the man before her, her pulse pounding. "Mr. Carter… thank you."

Sebastian's gaze settled on her.

She wore a lavender dress today, the neckline cut just low enough to reveal the delicate hollow of her collarbone. Her hair, usually pinned up with severe precision, now fell softly around her shoulders, framing her face in a way that made her features seem almost luminous.

Without the armor of her business attire, she looked different. Unguarded. Like a rare gem hidden in plain sight.

He'd never noticed before—this secretary who always kept her head down, who wrapped herself in professional distance—was actually striking.

Those eyes, still bright with fear. The flush on her cheeks. The way her lips pressed together… Something about her in this moment echoed dangerously with a fragment of memory from another night, buried deep.

Sebastian's throat tightened, his gaze darkening.

A door down the hall swung open. A well-dressed young man stuck his head out, voice teasing. "Sebastian, what are you staring at? You look completely spellbound. "

The comment shattered the charged atmosphere.

Sebastian snapped back to himself, the heat in his eyes instantly replaced by ice.

He ignored his friend's joke, said only "Be careful" to Sophie in a flat voice, then turned toward his own private room. His back was rigid, his stride unbroken.

Sophie watched him disappear, feeling strangely hollow.

For a moment there, she'd thought she'd seen something unfamiliar in his expression. But clearly, she'd been mistaken.

From the shadows around the corner, Emma had seen everything.

She'd followed under the pretense of touching up her makeup, arriving just in time to witness Sebastian's intervention.

But it was the way he'd looked at Sophie that made Emma's blood run cold.

That wasn't how a boss looked at an employee. That wasn't casual interest between colleagues. That was possession. Hunger. The way a man looked at a woman he wanted.

Jealousy coiled around Emma's heart like a venomous vine.

She'd thought keeping Sophie out of Eldoria would be enough.

Now she understood—as long as Sophie existed in Sebastian's orbit, Emma would always be the substitute.

Why did Sophie get his attention without even trying?

Emma's fists clenched, manicured nails digging into her palms.

She wouldn't accept this. She wouldn't lose.

If tenderness and charm didn't work, she'd use more direct methods.

Back at the spacious but empty penthouse, Emma's face had gone bloodless.

This was Sebastian's lavish gilded cage for her—but the man who owned it had never truly been hers.

She pulled a small vial from her purse. Something she'd acquired through discreet channels, prepared for exactly this contingency.

The colorless, odorless liquid caught the light as she tilted it. Her eyes hardened with resolve.

She knew Sebastian's habit of drinking herbal tea after business dinners.

In the kitchen, she brewed a pot of aged black tea, then emptied the entire vial into it.

The tea's rich aroma masked everything dangerous beneath.

She changed into a silk slip dress, styled herself to perfection, then settled on the living room sofa to wait for her prey.

Midnight. The sound of a key in the lock.

Sebastian entered, bringing the scent of whiskey and winter cold.

He saw Emma on the sofa, saw the tea on the coffee table. His brow furrowed slightly.

"Mr. Carter, you're home. I made you some tea." Emma's voice was honey-sweet as she lifted the cup toward him.

"No." Sebastian didn't even look at her, loosening his tie, voice tired and distant. "Take it away. I don't want it."

He walked straight into the master bedroom and shut the door.

Emma stood frozen, teacup in hand, her smile crumbling piece by piece.

A young male servant approached hesitantly. "Ms. Roberts, the tea… should I dispose of it if Mr. Carter won't drink it?"

Emma's mind was consumed with the humiliation of rejection, the fury of being dismissed. She slammed the cup down on the table. "Do whatever you want."

She stormed to her room.

The servant stared at the pot of tea. Seemed wasteful to throw it out.

He'd been working in the garden all day, throat parched. Seeing no one watching, he poured himself a cup and drank it down.

The tea was smooth, fragrant. But soon, an inexplicable heat bloomed in his gut, spreading through his body like wildfire.

His thoughts began to blur. His blood felt like it was boiling. Everything around him blurred into a haze of desire.

He staggered to his feet, mind filled with a single, overwhelming need.

The image of Emma in that slip dress surfaced—pale skin, dangerous curves…

The drug consumed him. He pushed open Emma's door.

Emma sat on the edge of her bed, drowning in bitter resentment over her failure. When she heard the door, she thought it was Sebastian—hope flared across her face. Then she turned and saw eyes burning with animal hunger.

"What… what do you think you're doing?" She scrambled backward in horror.

The man didn't answer. Just advanced, breathing hard, driven by pure instinct.

"Get away from me! No—!"

Her screams were swallowed by the vast, empty penthouse. No one heard.

Morning came. Emma woke in tangled sheets, body screaming with pain. Last night's violation slashed through her like shards of glass.

She'd been defiled. Not by the man she'd schemed so desperately to possess, but by a servant whose name she didn't even know.

Despair and shame drowned her. She collapsed against the bed, sobbing.

She cried until she had nothing left. Then she lifted her head, saw her reflection—tear-stained face twisted with venom.

No. This wasn't her fault.

If not for Sophie, Sebastian wouldn't be so cold.

If not for Sophie playing innocent at that reunion, catching Sebastian's eye, he wouldn't have been in such a foul mood that he rejected her tea.

If he'd drunk that tea, he'd be the one in her bed right now. She would have been his.

This was all Sophie's fault. She'd destroyed everything.

Emma's eyes turned vicious, hatred spreading through her like a sickness.

She would have revenge. Sophie would pay a hundred times over.

Sophie knew nothing of this.