MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

The time for Crystal to meet with Mrs. Davis had arrived, so she got dressed, arranged for Clark to be taken care of while she was gone, and set out. At first, she could not think of why Nathan's mother would want to meet with her, but then she remembered that the older woman disapproved of her relationship with her son.

Most likely, Mrs. Davis wanted to scare Crystal away, but she did not frighten easily. Besides that, now that she had the bracelet, Nathan would have no trouble finding her if she disappeared.

Mrs. Davis's black RV was waiting for her in the parking lot. So far, everything was set exactly as the older woman had said it would be. Crystal had her driver park next to the RV, and before getting out, she instructed the driver to get the RV's License Plate number. "Just to be on the safe side," she said. "If I am gone for more than three hours, contact Master Davis immediately and tell him that I am in trouble." 

The driver nodded and said, "Be careful, okay?"

"I will be," she replied, and after shutting the door behind her, she climbed into the RV. Mrs. Davis had said that she would be waiting for her in the RV, so Crystal was taken aback when she realized that the only other person in the car was the driver. "Where is Mrs. Davis?" she asked nervously.

"I'm the driver," the driver replied. "I was sent to pick you up."

Crystal's brow furrowed. "This isn't what we discussed," she grumbled. "I'm out of here." She tried to open the door, but they were locked. "What's going on?" she asked.

"You aren't getting out, so you may as well settle in and enjoy the ride," the driver replied. "The scenery is pleasant, and there are beverages and snacks in the cooler between the seats."

Crystal sighed and sat back in her seat, and she did not move or say anything until they had reached their destination.

It took a half-hour to get to the zoo, where Crystal was transferred to a tour bus which brought her to a huge indoor farm. At the door, someone received her and led her to an open hall. They walked through the open hall, down a flight of stairs, turned a lot of corners, and continued walking for a while after that.

The longer they walked, the more uneasy Crystal felt. Why did they bring me here? - she wondered.

At last, the bodyguard pushed open a heavy iron door. On the other side, there was a warm, delicate room. There were a few wooden tables and wooden chairs, and the fireplace cast eerie shadows on the wall. Her guide closed the door behind her and retreated.

A man was sitting in front of the fireplace, with his back to Crystal.

"Are you the butler?" Crystal asked. "You must be... so where is Mrs. Davis?"

The man's head turned slightly, and when she saw who it was, she gasped.

Eric laughed. "I see that you are surprised to see me."

That is an understatement! -thought Crystal. He was the last person in the world that she had expected to see, but now all of the secrecy made complete sense. "E-E-Eric..." She stuttered his name. She knew that she should say more, but her brain seemed incapable of forming words.

"What's wrong?" Eric's smile disappeared. "Are you not happy to see your husband?"

"You l-lied," Crystal muttered. "You are not Mrs. Davis's butler... Wh-Wh-What are you d- doing here?"

"What am I doing here?!?!" Eric shouted.

"You are my wife. Isn't it right that I should come for you? The call did come from Mrs. Davis butler, though."

"You're lying!" Crystal shouted. "That call was made by you!"

"No..." Eric chuckled. "Don't you think you would have recognized my voice?"

I would have - Crystal realized. Her face lost its color. "Why would the butler have set this up?" she asked. She felt like she was in a cheesy mystery movie from the 1980s, where the butler was almost always the evil mastermind.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Eric smirked. "Mrs. Davis is my ally."

As if on cue, a voice sounded in Eric's Bluetooth headset. "Master Bush, has she arrived?"

"She has," he replied. "Please tell Mrs. Davis that I like her wedding gift very much." Eric disconnected the headset, and as he stood up, he let it fall to the ground.

Crystal took a gun out of her pocket and pointed it at his head. "Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot you!" She had stolen the pistol from Nathan's bodyguard. Just to be on the safe side - she had thought. Never in a million years would she have expected to be using it.

Eric frowned. "Would you shoot your own husband?"

"Does that upset you?" Crystal asked. He was nowhere near as angry as she would have expected him to be.

"I am not angry," he replied. "I am sad. Are you really going to kill me? If I am guilty, my only crime is loving you..." he took a step towards her.

Does he actually love me? - Crystal wondered. Her hands were trembling. "Don't come any closer!" she cried. "I am not kidding! I don't want to shoot you, but I will if I have to..."

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Eric remained as cool as a cucumber. "And, as you said, this isn't what you want to do. Think about the repercussions. My men are everywhere. What do you think will happen to your friends if you shoot me?"

Crystal was taken aback by what he said. "Wh-Wh-What do you mean?" she stammered. Suddenly, she had a hard time staying focused on her target, and while she was distracted, Eric stepped forward and knocked the gun out of her hand.

Crystal cried out, and before she could say anything, Eric grabbed hold of her chin and squeezed it. "Do you know why I wanted to meet with you here?" he asked. "It is because I wanted to show you something amazing. And I still do, so don't give me any more trouble."

Crystal was terrified. She had no idea what he was up to, but she doubted that it was anything good. It was not until the man outside started screaming that she realized how diabolical he actually was. Even though the walls were thick, the sound was loud, and Crystal recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to Carlos….

"What the f**k are you doing to him?" Crystal growled.

"You are a smart girl." Eric chuckled. "Why don't you take a guess?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Crystal hissed.

"Why do you care so much?" He gave her a nasty look and said, "He is your ex-boyfriend. You don't still have feelings for him, do you?" 

"I do not have feelings for him," Crystal argued. "But I am a Humanitarian!"

Eric scowled. "What in Sam Hill is a Humanitarian? Is that like a Trinitarian or a Vegetarian?"

Crystal could not help but chuckle. She thought he was such an ignoramus. "As a Humanitarian, I believe in the intrinsic value of life," she explained. "And I believe that we have an obligation to do good and reduce suffering whenever we can! Whatever you have done to Carlos goes against everything that I believe in!"

"You made me do this," Eric complained. "You drove me to do it."

"Don't you dare pin this on me!" Crystal pulled her chin away and took two quick backward steps. Now, where is that gun? - she wondered. She looked around, but she did not see it. "Where's Carlos?" she spat on the ground in front of Eric and said, "Take me to see him!" 

"Why not?" Eric shrugged casually. "I can't wait to see the two of you talk about the old days. If he can still talk, that is."

Eric led Crystal to a small iron door. There was a poorly vented passage on the other side. It led to a flight of stairs. At the top, there was a prison-like compound. There were a dozen bodyguards placed around the perimeter, and each one carried an Electric baton.

Inside the compound, there were a plethora of individual cages where all manner of beasts were on display. There were wolves, tigers, mastiffs, and leopards, and their stench was most heinous.. They were obviously being mistreated, and it broke Crystal's heart to see them this way.