Chapter 276

The clock struck midnight when Evelyn arrived at Room 6617 of the Grand Yale Hotel.

Dominic swung the door open to find Evelyn completely soaked. Her raven hair clung to her face like wet seaweed, her complexion ghostly pale. Despair radiated from her every pore.

"I'm here. Release Olivia now." Her voice trembled.

Dominic's eyes darkened. He yanked Evelyn into a crushing embrace, indifferent to her freezing skin. His thumb traced her quivering lips as he studied her face. "Just as I thought. My wife keeps her promises."

Tears of fury spilled down Evelyn's cheeks. "I came. Let her go!"

"Patience." Dominic gripped her chin, raking his gaze over her drenched form. "I can't have you catching cold. Be a good girl and warm up in the shower."

Like an empty shell, Evelyn shuffled to the bathroom and mechanically washed away the storm's remnants.

Emerging in nothing but a hotel robe, she repeated her demand. "Free Olivia."

Damp tendrils of hair snaked down her back. The hot water had brought no color to her deathly pale face. Her slender frame trembled like a sapling in a gale, her dark eyes devoid of their usual sparkle.

Dominic approached with two crystal glasses of burgundy liquid. "Drink. It'll warm you up."

Evelyn hesitated, suspecting foul play. When Dominic mentioned Olivia again, she gasped.

She snatched the glass. Staring at the blood-red wine swirling inside, she forced herself to swallow the contents in one gulp.

Crimson droplets trickled down the glass like fresh wounds, casting sinister reflections...

A sudden weakness overtook Evelyn. Fire spread through her veins, igniting every nerve ending.

Her knees buckled. Just as she collapsed, Dominic caught her with a triumphant grin.

Evelyn clenched her fists but found no strength. Her flailing arm knocked over a glass on the bedside table.

The drug's effects shocked her system.

Biting her purpling lip hard enough to draw blood, she spat, "Maxwell... you... monster!"

Dominic tossed her onto the bed, stripping down to his boxers.

He loomed over her drugged, hate-filled gaze. "Monster? The night's just beginning." His wicked smile widened.

From the cabinet, he produced a camera, positioning it to capture every angle of Evelyn on the bed.

Realization dawned. She stared at Dominic's vile expression in horror.

She tried to flee but her legs refused. The fire inside burned hotter, tormenting her.

Evelyn felt death approaching.

She writhed on the sheets, one hand clutching her robe while the other scratched at her burning skin.

Her delicate neck arched. The robe gaped, revealing tantalizing curves.

Dominic's control snapped at the sight.

Though experienced with women, he'd never encountered one as simultaneously innocent and alluring as Evelyn.

Pinning her beneath him, he whispered feverishly, "Just once, Evelyn. I'll be gentle. This is my only chance - I'll cherish you more than that bastard Adrian ever could..."

Though the drug ravaged her body, Evelyn bit her tongue until copper flooded her mouth.

Dominic couldn't restrain himself any longer. His lips crashed against hers as he ground against her.

"Adrian, help—" Evelyn's desperate cry was cut short by Dominic's palm.

Just as he prepared to take her, the door exploded inward. Both froze.

Dominic turned to see two silhouettes in the doorway.

The lead figure stood tall and broad-shouldered, his face twisted with hellish rage.

"Adrian..."

Seeing him, Evelyn's terror evaporated.

Adrian stormed forward, his form half-shrouded in amber light.

His fury radiated like an inferno - one wrong move and you'd be reduced to cinders.

His gaze held the savagery of a starved wolf, the vengeance of a hellspawn. The very air around him turned glacial, as if Death himself had arrived.

Even battle-hardened Dominic shrank back.

Sebastian, trailing Adrian, gaped at the scene of Evelyn with his employer's cousin.

Dominic tried to smirk under Adrian's murderous stare. "Cousin! Come to watch me claim my wife? How—"

Adrian moved like lightning. His fist connected with Dominic's jaw before he could finish.

The assault came fast and brutal as a hurricane.

Dominic might've dodged the first blow, but not the relentless barrage that followed.

Protecting Evelyn, he curled around her, taunting Adrian to strike harder.

Veins bulged at Adrian's temples. Every ounce of rage fueled his punishing blows.

How dare Dominic touch what was his?

His piercing gaze catalogued Evelyn's state - the robe barely preserving her modesty, the brutal marks marring her neck.