Chapter 1

Julian Blackwood, the powerful head of Blackwood Industries, harbored a dark obsession: he was fixated on women who had recently given birth.

My father, Mr. Reed, desperate to ingratiate himself with Julian, couldn't bear to send my older sister, Sera—a new mother married to Silas Thorne, a notorious crime lord.

So, instead, he forced me, his illegitimate daughter, to consume potent tonics and rich, fattening meals every day.

Only when my body became luscious and curvaceous was he satisfied.

He then drugged me and sent me to Julian Blackwood’s villa.

That night, my drugged body burned, twisting restlessly. Julian lost all control, brutally taking my virginity.

When I awoke, he surveyed my bruised body with a detached amusement.

“The Reed family publicly only had one daughter, Sera, known for her virtue and refined nature.”

“Looks like you’re the unacknowledged bastard daughter. Since that's the case, you’ll be my on-call plaything from now on.”

I trembled all over, my eyes red, only managing a whispered, “Yes.”

From that moment on, he kept me by his side, using me however he pleased.

I thought I was doomed to be a kept woman, hidden in the shadows, for the rest of my life.

Until a year ago, when I accidentally saved Damian Cross, a powerful figure from the city's elite circles.

As he left, he told me,

“I owe you my life. You can ask me for anything.”

I had only one wish.

My legs felt like jelly. I carefully slipped away from the sleeping man beside me and, with trembling fingers, sent a text message.

The reply came swiftly,

“Thought about it?”