Chapter 126

Pauline froze for a moment, then her face flushed red.

This was clearly the reaction of a normal student—shy, yet filled with anticipation.

"W-wait, Randy, do you mean…"

The reason Pauline reacted this way was that Randy's looks and charm were exceptional. Even though they were from different backgrounds, Randy's appearance alone was enough to make him attractive. If it had been anyone else or someone even slightly less attractive, Pauline would have turned cold long ago.

To her, what Randy just said sounded like an invitation for a date. However, she already had feelings for someone else, a boy from her school with whom she'd been sharing mutual affections.

Still, she couldn't outright reject Randy's comment, since he was a client of the family after all.

Pauline deflected with a question of her own, "Randy, are you still single?"

"No."

Randy replied casually.

This made Pauline's expression change a bit.

For a young woman, love still carried a sense of expectation, so her tone became more cautionary as she spoke, "Randy, you should take your relationships more seriously. What you said earlier... you shouldn't say things like that anymore."

Randy looked clueless, as if he didn't understand, "Why?"

Pauline grew angry, stopping in her tracks as she pointed her finger at him, "Why? Because it's a betrayal of love—it's immoral!"

"It's just for fun."

Randy still appeared indifferent, his gaze carrying a strange intensity.

Pauline looked at his expression, then glanced back downstairs where her sister Doris stood, who was also looking at her with an eerie expression.

Pauline realized something was wrong—neither of them seemed to be good people! They were using her good nature to trap her.

"You're both evil spirits!"

She screamed in fear and tried to rush upstairs, but Randy grabbed her wrist and shoved her down the stairs.

"Ah!"

Pauline tumbled down several steps, hitting the ground in shock and pain. Before she could react, Doris swiftly covered her mouth, stifling her cries.

Ever since being possessed by the vengeful spirit, Doris had grown distant from others. And when it came to her sister, who was constantly at odds with her, Doris felt no sympathy at all.

From upstairs, their mother Alice's voice rang out. She seemed to have heard some noise.

"What's going on? I think I heard Pauline scream."

"Nothing, Mom. I just twisted my ankle by accident. You don't need to come down yet; we still have things to take care of."

Randy opened his mouth to reply, but the voice that came out was Pauline's, which immediately put Alice's worries to rest.

Pauline, however, became even more terrified. To her, Randy's behavior was like that of a demonic figure, utterly unnatural!

She wanted to call out to her mother, to warn her of the danger, but the pain from the fall and Doris's strong grip over her mouth made it impossible for her to utter a sound.

"If your mother finds out about everything going on in the basement, I'll have no choice but to kill her too."

Randy stood over her. "You have two options: either I'll alter your memory…"

Pauline shook her head frantically, clearly unwilling to accept that option, even though she had no idea what the second one was.

"Alright then, seems like you need a little discipline. Doris, look away."

Doris trembled, frightened by Randy's tone, but obediently kept her hand clamped over her sister's mouth and turned her head away.

Then came the sounds of rustling clothes and Pauline's painful screams, along with her desperate sobs. Tears soaked Doris's hands.

…

A long while passed before Pauline let out another cry of anguish, signaling that Randy was finally done.

He then laid down new rules.

"Pauline, your whole family's lives are in your hands now. If you don't want something bad to happen to your mother or sister, you better not say a word."

Randy's expression softened as he called out, "Right, Doris?"

"Yes, sister, you have to think of Mom. Since Dad died, Mom has worked so hard for us! The money I brought home was all from Randy. Without him, we would've lost our house by now!"

Doris, who clearly knew how to play her part, immediately started speaking in Randy's defense, even going as far as to credit him for their survival.

But Pauline only stared at her with hatred, refusing to accept the situation.

"Well then, I'll just go upstairs and kill your mom first, then come back for you."

Randy's gentle expression turned cold, and he moved to head upstairs. He wasn't bluffing; the look on his face showed he was serious.

Pauline panicked and immediately reached out to stop him. Doris, terrified that Randy might truly lose control and start killing, also hurried to intervene.

"Randy, wait! My sister will agree—please, give her a chance!"

Hearing this, Randy paused and came back, glaring at Pauline.

"Are you going to make things difficult?"

Pauline, filled with resentment and helplessness, couldn't do anything but shake her head.

Randy's voice turned menacing. "Good. Now think about your mother and sister. You're not a little girl anymore, you can't just sit around and take from others—you need to contribute to this family."

Doris finally let go of her.

Pauline could now speak, but her rational mind prevented her from screaming. She knew that even Doris was stronger than her, and Randy was a far more terrifying threat. She had no chance of escape.

But she still couldn't hold back her anger.

"You're a monster!"

Randy, unwilling to tolerate such insults, raised his hand and slapped her. It wasn't a hard hit, but the sound was loud and sharp.

Smack!

Pauline clutched her face in shock, not expecting Randy to be so cruel. It only confirmed her earlier suspicion that he was heartless.

Randy's face turned stern. "You need to understand your place. Just because I violated you doesn't mean I like you. You should be honored—it will protect you from disease and suffering for the rest of your life."

Seeing her compliance, Randy gently touched her face, inspecting the mark he'd left.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have hit you that hard. If you behave better next time, I'll reward you."

Pauline's heart was shattered. Though she hated what had happened, she had no choice but to accept it, feeling as if her entire world had collapsed.

She was still young, and her only support was her mother. But her mother listened only to Doris, and now Doris had joined the enemy. She was utterly alone.

No, not entirely—Pauline remembered the boy from school, the one who shared her feelings.

But Doris, sensing her thoughts, spoke up, "Mikey won't be able to help you, sister. You should accept reality—this is the price you must pay for Mom."

Randy looked curious and asked, "Who's Mikey?"

Pauline's face grew pale with fear. "Don't hurt him!"

Randy's dark amusement sparked, and he reached for Pauline's phone. To his surprise, her lock screen was a picture of a handsome young boy.

"Is this him?"

Doris chimed in, "Yes, that's Mikey. He lives on such-and-such street, at number so-and-so."

Pauline's expression became one of complete despair. "No, please!"

She and Mikey had mutual feelings for each other, but their relationship was still innocent. They were both focused on their studies, hoping to attend the same university. Both of them were devout Catholics, and they'd even promised to wait until marriage before becoming intimate.

"Don't worry. As long as you behave, nothing will happen to him. But to show you I mean business, I'll make him disappear for three days. Depending on how you behave during that time, it might become permanent. Haha."

Having taken full control, Randy was now in a good mood, and for the time being, there would be no further bloodshed.