Chapter 410/The Mysterious Mr. X

Chapter 410

Julie’s point of view

I turned on my heel, my steps dragging heavy as lead as I made my way back down to my room. Sam and Natasha were standing by the mirror, waiting for me. Though they spoke to me with gentle sympathy, humming soft words of comfort as they worked, I was in a completely different world.

I sat motionless as brushes touched my face and hot tools styled my hair, entirely detached from my own body. All I could think about was my helpless brother and my own wretched fate how I had been turned overnight into a cheap piece of merchandise in the hands of this monster.

"Julie... Julie! Can you hear me, sweetie?"

Sam’s worried voice jolted me back to reality. He was leaning down, waving a soft powder brush in front of my face.

I blinked, staring at him with hollow, unfocused eyes. "Huh?... What is it?"

Sam let out a soft sigh, resting a hand on his hip. "Oh, honey, I don’t think you were here with us at all! You completely drifted off."

Swallowing back the bitter lump in my throat, I cleared my dry throat. "Yeah... A little."

Natasha offered a painful, sympathetic smile, stepping back from the bed. "We’re all finished... Your dress is laid out on the bed."

They gathered their tools quietly, zipping up their leather bags, and slipped out of the room, leaving me to the dreary silence. I stood up and walked over to the full-length mirror, taking myself in; my brown hair was styled in flawless, silky waves falling dramatically over my bare shoulders, and the striking, dark makeup accentuated the sharp green of my eyes in a mesmerizing, lethal way.

I walked toward the bed like a lifeless corpse.

Reaching out, I unzipped the protective garment bag, revealing a baby-blue, long, skin-tight, strapless gown. I slipped into it with trembling fingers, pulling the zipper up my side. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back the burning tears threatening to ruin the makeup; I refused to give Robert the satisfaction of seeing me cry if he walked through that door.

Suddenly... the door swung open, the latch clicking loudly as Robert stepped inside.

He stopped in his tracks, his unreadable, dark eyes scanning every inch of my exposed shoulders and tight dress for a few quiet seconds. He stepped closer, his voice dropping into a bone-chilling tone:

"Not bad... The client is going to love this."

I glared straight into his eyes, pure agony suffocating my voice. "This is what you wanted from the very beginning, wasn’t it?"

His lips curled into a cold, heartless sneer as he stepped right into my personal space, towering over me. "Yeah... From the very fucking beginning, I wanted you as nothing more than merchandise."

He turned on his heel toward the open doorway, pausing to glance over his shoulder. "Hurry up. The client doesn’t like to be kept waiting."

I followed behind him with unsteady steps, my high heels clicking against the hardwood floor as my heart shattered under the weight of the humiliation. Every time my knees threatened to buckle, every time I thought about turning back or screaming, the mental image of the gun pointed at my brother Steve flashed before my eyes, forcing my feet to keep moving. I climbed the grand staircase staring at the broad expanse of Robert’s back, silently cursing him with every vile word I knew.

We walked down the private upper hallway, our shadows stretching long against the walls, until we stopped outside the heavy wooden door of the VIP suite. He pulled a brass key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

I stepped inside, my breath catching in my throat. Standing near the center of the dimly lit room was a towering, heavily built man dressed in an tailored black suit. His hair was pitch-black, combed back neatly, but a full black mask completely concealed every single feature of his face, leaving only two dark voids for eyes.

Panic seized my lungs. I whipped around toward Robert, grabbing his arm, my voice shaking in a desperate, pathetic plea:

"Please, Robert... Don’t do this to me... I’m begging you!"

He completely ignored my desperation, shoving my hand off his arm as if I were a minor annoyance. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a thick black cloth blindfold and grabbed my shoulder, dragging me forward into the room.

"Mr. X doesn’t allow anyone to see his face... So you’ll be wearing this," he growled.

He stepped up behind me, wrapping the heavy cloth around my head. He yanked the knot tight at the back of my skull, instantly plunging my entire world into complete, terrifying darkness. Leaning his head down until his lips brushed the shell of my ear, his voice came out in a poisoned hiss that sent a violent shiver crashing down my spine:

"Don’t even think about doing anything crazy, Julie!... If you dare try to take this blindfold off, or stop the client from taking what he wants, I will put a bullet through your brother’s head instantly."

I swallowed hard, my throat so dry it felt like sandpaper.

Robert backed away toward the door, raising his voice so the masked man could hear: "Have an enjoyable night, Mr. X."

I heard his sharp footsteps retreating, followed by the heavy thud of the door slamming shut and the distinct, mechanical turn of the key locking us in from the outside.

The room fell into an unsettling, suffocating silence.

I stood frozen in place like a statue, my hands clenched at my sides, not daring to make a single move with the dark fabric wrapped around my eyes. I stood there, trapped in the pitch-black, waiting for the gruesome fate lurking in the room.

Minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. The quiet was so absolute I couldn’t even hear breathing, and for a brief, foolish second, I tried to convince myself I was alone... until the slow, heavy thud of leather soles against the thick carpet began moving toward me.

The footsteps stopped right in front of me. The heat of his body radiated off him, wrapping around me in the dark.

Suddenly, I felt the dry, warm tips of his fingers brush against the back of my bare hand!

I flinched, jumping back on instinct, my heels catching on the hem of my gown. But he instantly stepped into my space, his heavy hand shooting out to capture my wrist in a firm, unyielding grip. He didn’t pull me; instead, he slowly dragged his fingers up the bare skin of my arm, moving up to my shoulder with agonizing slowness.

A sickening shudder ran down my spine. Pure disgust consumed me with every inch he covered, especially when his thumb slid up my neck, pressing softly over the center of my lower lip.

I stood there, enduring his touch with sheer, agonizing restraint, cursing that bastard Robert in my head. I tilted my head back slightly, raspy words bursting from my throat, dripping with desperate tears:

"Please... Don’t do this, for God’s sake! I don’t want you touching me at all... I’m only here because he’s threatening my brother!"

His thumb paused against my lip. Slowly, deliberately, he lifted his hand off my skin, stepping back a fraction of an inch.

My chest heaved as I gasped out a breath of pure relief. I clasped my hands together in front of my chest, pleading softly toward where I thought he was standing:

"Thank you... I knew you weren’t that kind of man."

Even though he had stopped, he didn’t utter a single word. Not a sigh, not a breath, not a single sound escaped him. My mind raced he was likely a high-ranking politician, a judge, or a prominent public figure, which was why he wore the mask and refused to let me hear his voice.

"You can tell Robert you want another girl," I rushed out, taking a small step forward, my hands reaching out blind in the dark. "Just tell him I didn’t suit your taste... But please, for God’s sake, don’t tell him I was the one who asked you!"

Suddenly... without a single millisecond of warning, two heavy palms slammed into my shoulders, shoving me back with violent, shocking force!

My heels gave out, and I flew backward, crashing hard onto the silk sheets of the king-sized bed. The impact knocked the wind straight out of my lungs. I scrambled to turn over, planting my elbows into the mattress to push myself up and run, but he lunged onto the bed behind me.

His massive weight came down on my back, pinning my lower body into the mattress. I gasped for air, but before I could draw a breath, his hands gripped the delicate fabric at the top of my baby-blue dress and yanked downward with brutal, terrifying violence!

The sharp, deafening sound of ripping silk echoed violently through the quiet room.

"Stop, you fucking animal!! Stop!" I screamed frantically, thrashing my legs and twisting my upper body with everything I had, trying desperately to claw out from beneath him in the dark.

[ I’ve left a picture of Julie in the dress in the comments. ]