No. That can''t be right.
Something was seriously off. Especially when Yvonne realized she waspletely naked under the covers, her breath caught in her throat.
Her eyes snapped open and she shot straight up in bed.
She flung theforter aside for a look.
"Shit..." Oh God, what the hell happened to her? Why was she stark naked?
She felt sticky, ufortable. She parted her legs to check.
One nce was enough.
Oh my God—what the hell? Why was there so much blood?
Yvonne: "!!!"
No, this this can''t be
What the hell was going on? Why was there blood on the sheets? And her body felt all wrong.
She stared at the messy bed, then looked down at herself, noticing bruises-blue and purple marks scattered across her skin.
She froze.
What the hell? How did she get so battered?
Oh God, did someone drag her offst night and...?
Fuck!!!
This was Ferrond, for Christ''s sake. Who the hell would be insane enough to do this here?
Ronald coaxed Ste through breakfast before stepping out of the room. She wanted to grab a little more sleep, but her phone started buzzing insistently. She fumbled for it. "Hello?"
"Star, it''s me."
A voice on the other end-Yvonne''s-sounded angrier and more panicked than Ste had ever heard before.
Right now, Yvonne''s voice was full of rage and fear, all tangled together.
Ste''s eyes flew open, sleep forgotten. "What''s wrong?"
"I-ugh, I can''t even exin. I''m going to kill that bastard."
Yvonne sounded absolutely murderous.
Ste: "Who?"
"I don''t even know who it was."
Ste: "What?"
What the hell did that mean?
Yvonne''s mind was a mess, her chest tight with fury and confusion.
She was babbling, barely making sense, and Ste struggled to catch her meaning.
Yvonne finally spat out, "I think I was raped."
Ste: "!!!"
Her breath stopped cold.
No. No, no, no...
Half an hourter.
Ste told her driver to take her straight to the Night Owl Hotel.
Yvonne was in the surveince office when Ste arrived, and the sound of a heated argument reached her before she even walked in.
"What do you mean the cameras are down? Now, of all times? Are you kidding me?"
The hotel manager tried to keep calm. "I''m sorry, Ms. Quinn, the
securit
system has been downl
three days. Maintenance hasn''t fixed it yet."
"Then who was the man in my roomst night?"
The manager: "There was only you in that roomst night, ma''am. Housekeeping
and your friend helped you in, and that''s it."
"There was a man, I know there was! Are you people trying to cover this up or something?"
"I swear to God, I''ll torch this dump if you don''t start taking this seriously."
Yvonne was shaking with rage.
The manager stammered, "Ma''am, please—”
"I was raped! Don''t tell me I don''t know what happened to my own body!"
They kept insisting no one else was in her room, and Yvonne just about lost it.
She knew what had happened. Her body proved it—a man did this.
What, did they think it was a ghost or something?
Yvonne was so mad she was ready to explode.
The manager: "..."
Ste: "!!!"
Ste was frozen, seeing the swelling on Yvonne''s lips, the marks on her skin, the way she looked so lost and furious.
Yvonne spotted her and grabbed her arm. "What are you doing here?"
"You sounded so freaked out on the phone. I couldn''t just sit around, so I tracked you down."
Yeah, Yvonne''s call had been frantic, confusing-enough to terrify Ste.
"What happened?"
Ste asked gently.
Yvonne gritted her teeth. "What do you think happened? Some guy was in my roomst night, did God knows what, and now the damn hotel''s security cameras are all broken."
She was getting more agitated by the second.
"Come on, let''s go back to my room. I can''t deal with this anymore."
Her whole body hurt. She hadn''t even had time for a shower-she''de straight to the security office, desperate to find out who the hell had done this.
But with the cameras down, it felt like the universe was conspiring against her.