Two days later.

Our little party arrived at the secluded hot spring villa.


Marcus, lugging my pregnant belly, had insisted on coming.

"I need to see this with my own eyes," he'd said. "You have no idea what Wilson is capable of."

I'd welcomed it.


I'd been wondering how to lure him here. Problem solved.

On the villa's stone terrace.


Wine glasses clinked while tension crackled in the air.

Wilson's eyes never left me.

Nathan's gaze burned holes through "my" pregnant belly.

Only Marcus fidgeted nervously, sweat dampening his—my—hairline.

I swirled my wine lazily,

"So, Mitchell," Wilson said, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, "heard these therapeutic pools are German-engineered?"

He stood, fingers brushing my lower back:

"Why don't we... test them out?"

Before he finished, Marcus doubled over with a theatrical gasp:

"Ahh! God, it hurts!"

Face contorted, he clutched my wrist desperately:

"Honey, I think—I think it's contractions! Get me to the bedroom, now!"

Nate jumped up: "Liv! I'll drive you to the hospital!"

"NO!" Marcus nearly screamed. "Just need to lie down... Nate."

He turned to Nathan, voice suddenly soft, vulnerable:

"Wilson's our guest of honor. We can't neglect him. You take him to the springs first. Make sure he's... properly entertained."

Nathan hesitated, glancing at me for confirmation.

I swirled my wine, allowing a slight smile to play at my lips.

His eyes lit up with barely contained excitement as he rushed to Director Wilson's side:

"Director, please let me show you around. I know exactly which pool will ease your back pain best."

The two men departed, arms slung over each other's shoulders, their hurried footsteps betraying their eagerness.

In the master bedroom.

Marcus Mitchell fell into a deep slumber almost immediately.

I'd slipped a pregnancy-safe sleep aid into his warm milk—enough to keep him out until morning.

As for the scene unfolding downstairs?

That was my production, meticulously directed down to the last detail.

By the therapeutic pool's edge.

Through the rising steam, the two men had been soaking for over thirty minutes.

Their breathing had grown increasingly labored.

I hadn't done anything untoward.

I'd simply asked the chef to prepare a special beverage—a juice infused with certain hallucinogenic fungi native to Yunnan, locally called "jian shou qing" or "touch-blue mushrooms."

The new chef, unfamiliar with the ingredient, hadn't quite mastered the proper preparation technique.

And I'd casually added a special ingredient to their drinks.

The very same vial Nate had so generously provided earlier.

The one he claimed could make even the most frigid person beg for attention.

Accelerated by the hot spring's heat, the drugs took effect rapidly.

They stared at each other through dilated pupils, gazes unfocused.

And just like that, they fell into each other's orbit.

Nate gazed at Wilson in a drug-induced haze:

"Sister Liv..."

His fingers traced Wilson's stubbled cheek:

"Do you know how long I've loved you? Why waste yourself on that fraud Marcus? We could've been perfect together..."

His gentle touch suddenly turned vicious, fingers digging into flesh:

"But it doesn't matter! That whore crawled into this old man's bed for a role! He even promised you to me!"

His palm crashed down on Wilson's protruding beer belly, face contorted with rage:

"Sis! Why carry that bastard's child? Don't worry... I'll take care of it right now!"

Wilson, jolted by the painful slap, snarled:

"You deranged little shit! What the hell are you babbling about? You'd better—"

Before he could finish,

Nate clamped a hand over his mouth, pinning Wilson's body beneath his own.

Despite his frantic movements, Nate seemed confused by the unfamiliar anatomy.

He paused, muttering in confusion:

"Sis, must be the baby bump getting in the way. Let's try another position."

With that,

completely deaf to Wilson's muffled protests, he violently flipped the older man over.

Wilson found himself brutally pinned against the cold marble edge of the pool.

Nate loomed over him again.

"AAAHHHH——!"

Wilson's scream echoed through the steam-filled room.