Chapter 1 Plunge Into The Abyss

• In the vast expanse of the sea, a private luxury cruise ship sailed steadily, its opulence contrasting with the turmoil brewing within Lisa Brooks' heart. Like a caged tiger, she seethed with frustration.
• Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, Lisa stood precariously close to the edge of the ship's deck. One wrong step, and she would plunge into the treacherous depths below.
• Her right shoulder and left thigh bore the wounds of two gunshot wounds, yet she defied the pain, trembling but resolute, determined to remain standing.
• Oh, the strength and bravery she possessed!
• But it wasn't the mere gunshot wounds that caused her trembling. No, it was the drug that had weakened her, allowing them to capture her so easily.
• A man and a woman, their leaders, confronted her with a group of their cohorts.
• The woman, Sara Brooks, adorned in a seductive strapless white dress, dark red curly hair cascading around her face, exuded an air of satisfaction in her eyes.
• As for the man, dressed immaculately in a white suit, his remarkable handsomeness belied a chilling aura. His piercing eagle-like gaze fixed upon Lisa, his gun aimed to strike.
• It was this very man, Matthew Greyson, who had fired the two shots that had wounded her.
• "Why?" Lisa managed to squeeze the word through gritted teeth. Her bloodshot eyes burned with anger, pain, regret, and a glimmer of hope as she stared down Matthew and Sara, who seemed unnaturally close.
• Sara, Lisa's half-sister, two years her junior, sneered with a laugh that resonated like mockery. "Lisa Brooks, can't you see it yet? I'll reveal the truth to you. I've always been the one Matthew loved, and you were merely a tool to him. That's why he refused to touch you for the past two years!"
• "You..." Lisa choked on her words. If looks could kill, Sara and Matthew, standing before her, would have been torn to shreds.
• A decade ago, Sara's appearance, along with her mother, had shattered Lisa's mother mentally, leading to a car accident that left her in a vegetative state. Sara and her mother had then entered Lisa's household as the mistress and her daughter.
• Meanwhile, Lisa had been abandoned by her father and forced into a dark organization of assassins. She had performed countless dark deeds for the Brooks family, all under the threat of her mother's life.
• Lisa's intelligence had been overshadowed by Matthew, a deceitful man who had taken advantage of her vulnerability.
• Sara paid little attention to Lisa's fury, continuing her taunts. "Dad knows that once your mother is gone, he loses control over you. So he sent men after you, hoping you would fall in love and do as he pleases. Surprisingly, you ignored all the others and chose my man by accident. And now, for the sake of the Brooks family, I had to sacrifice him and pretend to be with you."
• As Sara spoke, her feigned distress only accentuated her allure. Matthew, standing beside her, consoled, "Don't worry, my love. I'll stay by your side forever, never leaving you alone at night."
• "Indeed. Your body and heart belong to me and me alone," Sara replied in her flirtatious voice, tracing circles on Matthew's chest with her finger. Their display of affection excited and distracted him.
• Lisa felt more disgusted than hurt witnessing their repulsive behavior. Had it not been for the gun pointed at her, she would never have tolerated their shamelessness.
• "You..." Sara's expression shifted upon hearing Lisa's words, but before she could retort, Matthew interrupted, "Darling, don't let her bother you. She's already doomed. Let her struggle with her words."
• Sara regained her composure after Matthew's reassurance. "You're right. I didn't plan to deal with her so soon, but she discovered her mother's death. She betrayed the Brooks family and even you, all for her mother's sake."
• After a brief pause, Sara added, her smile laden with meaning, "Lisa Brooks, since you've done so much for the Brooks family, I'll give you two choices. One, jump into the abyss alone. Two..." Sara's smile deepened, "Two, indulge in the company of my companions and experience the pleasures of womanhood before your demise. How does that sound?"
• Tightly clenching her fists, Lisa's face contorted in displeasure. She stopped struggling, realizing she had no choice but to face death.
• Though she longed to harm Sara before her final breath, the thought of being captured and subjected to humiliation and rape by the bodyguards was unbearable.
• And so...
• With a cold sneer aimed at Sara and Matthew, Lisa uttered in a frigid tone, "If I survive, rest assured, I will make you pay."
• Her words hung in the air like an ominous curse. Sara and Matthew felt a sudden chill, a threat that hinted at an inevitable reckoning. But before they could react, Lisa hurled herself into the tempestuous sea below.
• As Lisa's body sank deeper into the abyss, she gradually succumbed to unconsciousness. Yet, in her final moments, a vivid red light emanated from the jade pendant adorning her chest, and then, she slipped into complete oblivion.
• ...
• In City F, a third-tier city of the country, within a modest hospital room, four beds stood, with only the one against the wall occupied.
• A young girl, aged seventeen or eighteen, lay upon the bed, her head wrapped in bandages. Despite her delicate beauty, her countenance remained solemn as she fixed her gaze upon the news playing on the television.