Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 202: Set Up

Raina Reddington was pulled from a car. The surrounding area was empty and deserted. In front of her stood a clothing factory, the sign hanging above it clearly showing its age.

"Get in!" Someone shoved Raina. She frowned, dusting off her shoulder. "You’d better be more polite. Didn’t your boss tell you to *invite* me here properly?"

"Heh. No one’s going to pay you any mind when you’re screaming and crying later."

Raina was led into one of the workshops. The place had been slated for demolition two years ago, but the project had been repeatedly delayed.

Annoyed by her slow pace, the man shoved her hard from behind. She stumbled a few steps and fell. When she looked up, she saw Cameron Fairchild sitting on a dilapidated armchair.

Two burly men stood behind him. Their jackets were neatly folded on the seat of the armchair to cushion it for Cameron. He watched as Raina picked herself up from the floor. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Long time no see."

"Yes, long time no see." Raina’s hands were covered in dust, and she wiped her palms on her pants.

Cameron Fairchild seemed somewhat surprised. "Fourth Master tried everything to get you to admit you’re Raina Reddington, but you refused to say a word. Why drop the act for me?"

"You’ve all already decided who I am, haven’t you?" Raina spotted several cameras set up nearby. Her breath hitched, and she had a sinking feeling she knew what was coming next. "Mr. Fairchild, you’re such a high and mighty figure, someone above the fray. Why are you bothering with a nobody like me?"

"Sis-in-law, it’s really not personal. Someone came to me for a favor. And given her current relationship with Fourth Master, I wasn’t in a position to refuse."

The implication was clear. Raina’s only goal now was to stall for as long as she possibly could.

"Since we’re putting all our cards on the table, why don’t you let her come out and see me?"

Cameron Fairchild had no patience for Gwen Sharp’s incompetence. "What are you still hiding for?"

A small door was pulled open, and Gwen Sharp walked out. "Don’t waste time talking to her. Just do it."

"Miss Sharp, I haven’t done anything to provoke you. Why are you so determined to destroy me?"

Gwen Sharp strode forward, looking incensed. "You haven’t provoked me? You plastered my photos everywhere! You ruined me!"

"Sis-in-law, you were lucky enough to survive. Couldn’t you have just found a place to hide? Why insist on coming back?" Cameron Fairchild shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable, as if he genuinely felt sorry for her. "Are you still harboring delusions about Fourth Master, or did you come back for revenge?"

Raina scanned her surroundings. ’It’s impossible to escape on my own,’ she thought. ’Miles Hawthorne knows my location, so I’m not afraid they’ll actually kill me. I’m just scared Ethan Lancaster won’t take the bait. If Miles has to come here himself, then what?’

"You should know, sis-in-law. It was Fourth Master who cut off your only chance of survival back then."

Raina’s mind was wandering, but Cameron’s words yanked her back to the present. She had carefully buried that wound deep inside, but it was useless against such a deliberate, cruel attempt to rip it back open.

To her own surprise, it still hurt. The pain was so sharp it felt like needles were stabbing her from the inside out.

"When Fourth Master snatched away that bone marrow, he didn’t spare you a single thought. Your condition was already critical back then. If he had just taken one moment—just a second—to think about you, he would have known you were at death’s door, waiting for that marrow to save your life."

Raina wanted him to shut up. His words were twisting into a rope, and Cameron was now slipping the noose around her neck.

It became harder for Raina to breathe, yet she still hoped to drag things out just a little longer.

"However..." Cameron’s tone suddenly shifted. "Even I can’t figure out what Fourth Master is doing lately. I’ve always believed you two should never be together, so I’m happy to help. I can sever any lingering attachment between you for good."

"What are you planning to do?"

Gwen Sharp grew impatient. "What are you all standing around for? Didn’t you hear Mr. Fairchild?"

The men who had brought Raina in closed in, surrounding her. She looked at Cameron Fairchild, still sitting calmly on his armchair. "Aren’t you afraid Ethan Lancaster will come after you when he finds out?"

"Fine. Then I’ll let him see footage of you with all these men..." As he spoke, a vicious smile spread across Cameron’s face. "Sis-in-law, you saw with your own eyes what they put Miles Hawthorne through in that place. Tell me, when you see him now, can you still feel anything for him? Let me put it this way: if I had you sleep with him now, would you even want him anymore?"

Raina gritted her teeth so hard she thought they would crack. It felt as if someone had seized her by the shoulders and plunged her into ice water, the sharp floes scraping away every last trace of expression from her face.

Cameron Fairchild snapped his fingers, and this time, Raina felt real hands clamp down on her shoulders.

One of the men pulled a small vial from his pocket and emptied its contents into a plastic water bottle. He stepped forward, grabbed Raina’s chin, and forcefully pried her mouth open.

Biting her lip, Raina was shoved down onto a nearby sofa. Gwen Sharp strode over and snatched the bottle from the man’s hand. "Let me."

The man’s hand squeezed Raina’s cheeks so hard she felt her jaw might shatter. The moment her mouth opened, Gwen began to pour the water down her throat.

Raina swallowed several gulps, choking until her face was flushed red. Still not satisfied, Gwen held her shoulders down and brutally forced more than half the bottle of water into her.

The front of Raina’s shirt was soaked, a clear sign of her wretched state.

Someone walked over to turn on the cameras. Gwen Sharp stepped back, watching as the two men who had been standing behind Cameron also came forward. They placed their hands on their shirts and began to slowly undo the buttons.

The drug hadn’t taken effect yet. Raina raised a hand to wipe her mouth. "Cameron Fairchild, you’ll get what’s coming to you one day."

"Fine. I’ll be waiting."

A sordid, charged atmosphere filled the room. Raina tried to sit up, but she had no strength. She saw the men had taken off their shirts. Her vision blurred, and all she could make out were patches of pale flesh.

Suddenly, a loud BANG came from the door. A figure stumbled in from outside in a panic. "Mr. Fairchild, we have a problem!"

"What is it?"

"Fourth Master is here."

Cameron Fairchild shot up from the armchair. "Where?"

"He’s already in the courtyard."

"Useless!" Cameron Fairchild’s face was livid. "Why are you just now telling me?"

"I don’t know how Fourth Master found us. I just looked up, and... and his car was already bursting through the gate."

Gwen Sharp was trembling. "What are we going to do?"

"You, go." Cameron Fairchild pointed to a window with its glass missing. "Now!"

Gwen Sharp didn’t dare hesitate. She scrambled to the window, climbed onto the sill, and squeezed her way out.

It was the only way out, and just barely big enough for her to get through. Cameron Fairchild knew he wasn’t going anywhere, so he simply sat back down in the armchair.

Raina could faintly hear footsteps approaching outside. She struggled to sit up and let out a soft laugh at Cameron Fairchild.

The other men were frantically buttoning their shirts back up. Raina couldn’t suppress a laugh. She shrugged off her jacket and began to tug at her own top.

Cameron Fairchild’s expression darkened. "What are you doing?"

Raina reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, then undid the top button of her pants.