Part 1The Serpent's Crown

For our Lunar New Year trip, my girlfriend, Sarah, booked us on an international tour.

As soon as the plane touched down, she coaxed me onto a shuttle bus.

We drove for two days and two nights. As the scenery became eerily familiar, my body started to tremble uncontrollably.

This was the very hellhole I had escaped from four years ago.

Sensing my panic, Sarah finally dropped the act.

Her face twisted into a mask of cruelty as she told me she was selling me to a black-market factory run entirely by women.

And the "Boss" she spoke of with such reverence? That was the head of the operation. My biological sister.

I had spent twenty years planning my fake death to escape her clutches. I never imagined Sarah would be the one to drag me back.

* * *

Seeing me shake like a leaf, Sarah smiled—a gentle, terrifying smile.

"Babe, didn't you say you loved me? I owe a huge gambling debt. Just help me out, okay?"

The thought of falling back into my sister's hands made my voice quake.

"Please... take me back. If you need money, I can give it to you! I'll work, I'll do anything to support you for the rest of my life!"

Sarah's expression darkened instantly. She spat out her words.

"Do you think I have time to wait? I owe a fortune. If I don't pay up in three days, they'll kill me!"

"I've supported you, you useless loser, for two years. It's time you paid me back with interest!"

Hearing her call me "useless" sent a fresh wave of terror through me.

Years ago, one of my sister's subordinates had called me useless behind my back because I wouldn't crush an ant.

My sister buried him in the dirt up to his neck, poured honey over his head, and let the ants eat him alive.

If she heard Sarah talk to me like this, what would she do to her?

Fear clawed at my throat as I looked at the woman I had loved for two years.

Tears streamed down my face, unbidden.

"You said we were going to build a home together. You said I was your favorite family..."

Sarah’s warm hand caressed my cheek.

Her words, however, were ice cold.

"Exactly. Family helps family, right? So help me, babe."

I bit my lip and shook my head violently.

A flicker of pity crossed Sarah's eyes.

"You know, you look so pathetic when you cry. It tugs at my heartstrings."

"You're the most handsome boyfriend I've ever had. And the most naive."

"If I wasn't so desperate for cash, I'd almost hate to sell you."

Her gaze hardened suddenly.

"But you're mine. I can't stand the thought of other women touching you like that!"

She lunged, pinning me to the floor of the bus. She pulled out a rope and bound my hands behind my back.

Then, she drew a dagger from her pocket and waved it in front of my face.

"Babe, you don't want to be used by other women, do you? Let me help you with that."

The blade glinted. A line of fire seared across my cheek.

"No!"

I screamed in despair. My face... my sister was obsessed with my face!

When I was a child, I knocked over boiling water and scalded my cheek.

When the doctor said it might scar, my sister had the maid’s hands chopped off and threw her into a crocodile pit.

She threatened to peel the doctor's face off if he didn't fix mine.

She said I looked just like our dead father. My face was sacrosanct.

Sarah had cut me. If my sister found out...

I couldn't think about it. I ignored the stinging pain.

"Please! Don't ruin my face!"

Sarah laughed. "I already asked Red. She said men in the factory don't need looks. As long as the machinery works, they're good."