The Manipulated Villainess

One cold and chilly night. The wind was strong enough to make the trees continuously bend back and forth. As always, cold weather was never merciful to wounds and injuries. Instead, the chilly night worsened the pain.

Aston\'s barely managed to go down to the ground floor and leave the building. His bike was parked right at the ground but... will he be able to hold out for an hour? Not to mention that he should drive himself.

Placing his left hand on his chest where he felt the most pain, he approached his bike with his feeble legs that had lost its strength due to being hit many times.

Mustering his strength, he was about to get on his bike when Rion grabbed him on the arm.

"Are you courting death? How could you even think of driving in that situation?!" Rion scowled as he stopped him from riding his bike.

Aston was more than exhausted. He had no strength to argue with the traitor. He shook Rion hands off his arm and tried to continue what he was doing. But Rion grabbed him more tighter than before. Once again, he tried to break free with his little strength left but his efforts were futile.

If he was in a normal condition, breaking free won\'t be a problem as this man never beat him in terms of combat or strength. But after an hour of torture, his energy was completely drained out of his body.

"Please come to your sense. Will you just die like this? I know that you never actually care about yourself but what about others? Your sister and even Michael\'s family. What will happen to them?" Rion pleaded.

He was still afraid to face the rage of his former boss even though Aston was very weak at the time. But what could he possibly do? It\'s not like he can just leave him like that. His cowardness had killed his one friend, so he was desperate to not let it happen again.

"Didn\'t you still not get my warning? How dare you say Michael\'s name?" Aston glared at Rion as if he was about to devour him. If that was possible, he can\'t guarantee that he won\'t as he only felt one thing for his former friend - hatred.

What he tried to avoid had happened as talking had taken a toll on him. He involuntarily took a step back which made Rion withdrew his hand from him. He coughed as he holds his chest tighter with his hand.

Blood. He was coughing up blood!

Rion\'s froze when he saw the blood coming out of Aston\'s blood. With a pale face, he glanced at him. This was not good. He must be treated immediately.

He holds Aston on the arm once again. "Come with me. I will take you to the hospital."

The more he struggled, the more he felt dizzy. He could pass out anytime now. He holds his head and shook, trying to maintain his consciousness. But it made him felt more headache. He let out a groan as he squeezed his hair.

"This is not the time to be stubborn. You can do whatever you want to me, but later. Let\'s get you treated first! I will -"

Rion was interrupted by the sound of Aston\'s ringtone. Thinking it as a good chance, Rion immediately took the phone from him before Aston could even realize.

Swiping the answering button, he started talking at once without even looking at the caller ID. "I don\'t know who you are but Aston is very sick right now. He could pass out any minute. So please come to the old building next to Joy Amusement Park. Please bring an ambulance -"

"Aston! Aston!" Rion put down the phone and holds Aston who had lost his consciousness. His mind went blank as he was overwhelmed with fear.

But when he suddenly realized that the call was still ongoing, he lifted the phone again. "Please hurry! Aston has lost his consciousness!"

* * *

It was 2 in the morning yet Nicole still doesn\'t have a single sleep. Mostly, she used to have difficulties in sleeping without taking pills but it was not the case this time.

It\'s not that she couldn\'t sleep, but she didn\'t have the time to do so. She was there sitting at the hospital, all because she made a single phone call.

When she returned to her apartment after she met Aston, she couldn\'t be at ease. The favour he asked troubled her more than she thought.

Why did he seem like he would be going through a hard time at night? Why did he talk as if he would be really needing her at night? These questions couldn\'t stop troubling her.

After pondering for hours, she finally decided to make a call just to check on him. She justified her action and anxiousness by telling herself that he was her business partner.

Business partners should look out for each other, right?

Much to her surprise, the call was answered by an unknown person who told her that Aston was not in a good condition. She was asked to come with an ambulance right away.

What she finds it most laughable was that she believed without asking anything. Maybe because of Aston\'s strange behaviour in the store, maybe because of the panicked voice of the man who answered the call; she didn\'t know why.

Why was she filled with fear at that time? The most strange thing that happened was that her heart was never still ever since she heard the news.

Without asking any questions, she called the authorities of a prestigious hospital to make preparations right away. If the news was just a prank, she would be utterly humiliating herself but... such a possibility didn\'t cross her mind for even once!

She also asked for an ambulance and because of the actor\'s social standing, all were done secretly so that the media won\'t get a grasp of the situation.

The drive to the mentioned location took an hour but because of her heart that won\'t be still, it seemed like forever for her. When she reached the place with an ambulance, she saw him lying on the ground with the man who was holding him with an anxious face.

At that time, she felt a pain in her heart. Maybe because he was so playful and carefree all the time, maybe because he kept on smiling; she didn\'t know why it hurt so much to see him in that state.

Was it because she pitied him? She was not sure.

After the ambulance rushed to the hospital, he was examined and was given necessary treatments. Then he was shifted to the VVIP room where he was currently lying now while she was sitting next to his bed. Only a few minutes had passed since then.

"Doctor, when will he wake up?" Nicole rose from her seat and instantly asked the female Doctor who entered the room.

"I can\'t guarantee anything but let\'s hope that he would wake up by today. He has some injuries on his chest and that worsened his condition." The Doctor made a deliberate paused and looked at Nicole.

"Chairwoman, judging from what I saw, he is a victim of a brutal torture. He has wounds all over his body and there is also a mark on his wrists which seemed to be caused by rope or some other instruments. What will I do? Should I inform the police?" The Doctor asked her.

Nicole turned her head to Aston who was lying on the bed, unconscious. How did this happen? He was okay just hours ago.

When she recalled his strange favour, her face turned gloomy. Was this the reason? Did he know it beforehand? But she brushed off the thoughts as soon as it entered her mind.

No sane person would allow themselves to be tortured this way! Voluntarily on top of that? It\'s impossible.

"He has no agency as of now. I cannot unlock his phone because I don\'t know the password and we can\'t let the news get out either. So, there\'s no way to inform his family." She turned her head to the doctor again. "Let\'s wait until he wakes up. Please keep it a secret until then."

The Doctor smiled. "Don\'t worry, Chairwoman. That\'s my duty. I\'ll take my leave now." She bowed and left the room.

Nicole sat down and her eyes fixated on the actor. Torture? She finds it hard to believe. Who would hate him enough to torture him to this extent?

She recalled the thing which truly troubled her. The man who was next to Aston when she reached there, he didn\'t even come with them to check the actor\'s condition. She finds it suspicious.

She then takes out her phone and make a call. Even though it was still very early in the morning, Jerome was still available to answer her call.

"Chairwoman, is something wrong?" Jerome was already sleeping soundly but he never missed his boss call. Receiving a call at this time, his brows furrowed at once. Did the devil do something bad to her again?

Nicole understood that he was feeling worried. "I\'m fine." She reassured the man. "I want you to check something for me. There is an old building next to Joy Amusement Park. Try to find out everything that happened in that area last night." She instructed Jerome.

"I understand. But are you sure that you are fine?" He still couldn\'t feel at ease.

"I\'m really fine. Don\'t worry. This is not about me."

Jerome finally heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay. I got it."

She ended the call after easing his worries and then glanced at Aston again. It was already 2 in the morning but it seems like she wouldn\'t be able to go home anytime soon.....