Chapter 1: The Mansion and the Mistake

The Governor’s mansion smelled like lemon polish and secrets. My hands shook as I tied the last knot around Derek’s wrists, the coarse rope biting into my damp palms. I could taste fear, sharp as metal, on my tongue.

To please my stepsister, I’d slipped inside the Governor’s mansion, kidnapped his son, and forced two whole bottles of something she swore was an aphrodisiac down his throat. My heart hammered as I checked the knots one last time, praying I hadn’t gone too far.

Suddenly, holographic comments flickered above Derek’s head, glowing like neon pop-ups only I could see. They shimmered in the air, sharp and impossible to ignore.

【Oh my god, what is the supporting character doing? How could she give the villain so much medicine?】

【The Governor’s son is the biggest villain in the entire book. Even the male and female leads couldn’t defeat him. This poor girl is doomed for treating him like this】

【Yes yes, the silly baby will be skinned alive, have her tendons pulled out, be torn apart and devoured tonight, played with until she loses consciousness hehe】

What?!

He’s actually that cruel? My hands started trembling, the rope slipping as panic surged through me.

I looked down at Derek, tied up by my own hands, and felt the world tilt. My hands fumbled with the rope, fingers slipping. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I won’t tie you up anymore, please—” My voice cracked, tears dripping onto the knot as I desperately tried to undo what I’d done.

The man’s eyes burned red as he grabbed my wrist, his grip vice-like. “Too late,” he murmured, and my blood ran cold.