Qui Chin had no other choice but to follow Rong Xinghe's arrangements. She couldn't risk those pictures getting leaked. Not to someone like Mo Zixuan. 'Casting Couch' was a practice looked down upon the most, in Country X. Although it wasn't a crime, it wasn't something socially acceptable too.

As a result, the woman soon reached the location provided to her in the piece of paper. It was an alley. Eerie. Dark. Awful. And old. It was as if no one ever came here. Located at the edge of the city. The closest Police Station was 800 meters away from there. It wasn't like she could contact the Police anyway. She was, after all, against the Military head of the entire country. She knew they would never believe her.

A chill ran down her spine as a cold gust of wind hit her from behind. The woman rubbed her arms, trying to compose herself. Then walked in, her legs shivering.

She kept walking. It was like no one was even there. She was hoping no one was there. At a place like this, no one 'decent' could be there. She had been to such a place earlier too. Many times. Willingly. With her own consent. But today was different. She was forced into this.

"Why is that sl*t not here yet?!"

A voice, clearly impatient, broke her from her reverie. Qui Chin's back straightened and she stopped right where she was. At the end of the alley, there were three men. They had beer bottles in their hands. She couldn't see their faces. It was too dark. Only their tall figures could be seen, from where she was.

They were drunk. None of them in their senses. She couldn't go in there. Who knew what they would do to her?

But it was too late for that. The second the woman turned around, a strong hand wrapped around her waist with frightening speed, and pulled her against a built body. She could smell the alcohol of him. And she could hear them laugh. He leaned against her just enough and licked her ear.

"You are late.", he whispered, "Do you remember Marie Stewart? The woman you got drugged? The little actress you got raped?"

Qui Chin froze the moment the name was mentioned. Her mind told her to run. Her legs didn't dare respond. She knew she had done a lot of wrong deeds. She wasn't exactly a nice person. But she never left behind the shreds of evidence of her crimes. She had always been good at that. How come… Just what was Rong Xinghe?!

"Well. Fun fact. I am her brother. Robert Stewart.", the man smiled, "Marie was found dead. In an alley, just like this one."

Next, she knew, something hard hit her. Against the back of her head. And everything turned dark. This was it. This was her end. She declared to herself before her eyes closed shut.

Unfortunately, this was Rong Xinghe. This was her plan. And unlike Qui Chin, she wasn't a criminal. Her duty was to defend the law. Not to fabricate it.

She wasn't going to kill her, neither was she going to harm her honor. She was just playing. With her brain. Her mind.

_____________________

2:00 a.m.

"Urgh."

Her entire body ached. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she could hear the sound of it. She opened her eyes slowly. It was still the alley. The lights still dim. No one was laughing. No one was drunk. Only she was there. Hardly breathing. But alive. It was miraculous, actually.

She tried to sit. And after a lot of struggle, she could only manage to lean against the wall behind her. She knew she was drugged. It was painful. Like someone was stabbing her continuously, from the inside. She checked her arms. No wound. No blood. Not even a scratch.

But she remembered. She had seen them. They had slapped her. They had injected her. They had made her drink forcefully. Then they had unbuttoned her jeans. They had pulled it down.

Subconsciously, the woman moved her legs. And damn! It hurt. This was it. She was not going to forgive Rong Xinghe for it. Qui Chin's cries could be heard throughout the alley. Yet, no one came to help her. She was alone. She was all alone in this.

What felt like an eternity of pain to her was merely two hours. The woman crawled out of the alley. She had lost her purse. She didn't have her phone either. There was no one she could contact.

But she saw someone as she stumbled out of the bushes. The man was smoking a cigarette. He was sitting on the hood of his car, reading some papers.

"Excuse me, Sir.", Qui Chin walked hastily towards him.

The man seemed taken aback for a minute when the woman appeared in front of him, out of nowhere. His gaze swept across her pale weak body before he looked at her with a warm smile.

"What may I help you with, Ma'am?", he asked, his voice soft.

Maybe he was a local. A loner. Not someone dangerous, at least. Thank god for that.

"Police Station. Please drop… me there."

_____________________________

5:00 a.m., Police Headquarters, City A;

"Keep your language in check, Madam!", the inspector warned the woman, "Do you even know who are you talking about? She is the Military Chief of the country. And you are accusing of her getting you sexually assaulted.

"Do you even understand the consequences of defaming someone like Ms. Rong?"

"I am not defaming her! I am telling the truth.", Qui Chin yelled back at the officer, "I am not afraid of her. She is a fu*king retard. Alright? And I know she was the one behind it."

The young officer glared at the woman before he inhaled sharply, "Alright. So you were harassed sexually. Right?"

Qui Chin nodded.

"Do you know the names of your rapists?"

The woman clenched her fists and looked down at the ground, "Rob… Robert Stewart.", her voice shook, tears flowing down her eyes.

"What?!", the Police Inspector was shocked, "Are you sure?"

The woman nodded, again.

The officer named Cai Zhimin shook his head and let out a snort of disgust. He then typed something on the keyboard in front of him and turned the monitor screen around, so that Qui Chin could look at it clearly.

"Robert Stewart, your rapist, has been dead for fifteen years now, Ms. Qui."