The Secret Lab, Mistress in the Studio

I am a national-level artifact restorer. To save a one-of-a-kind treasure, the government granted me a top-tier, climate-controlled laboratory.

It was for my eyes only.

The security system was linked directly to the National Bureau of Cultural Relics. Any breach would trigger a maximum-level alert.

After the handover, I left a spare key at my fianc Hunter Sterling's villa. I wanted him to check the security regularly while I was away.

Then, I received an emergency call. The newly unearthed "Ethereal Silk Armor" was cracking due to oxidation. It needed immediate repair.

I rushed to the studio. As I went to open the door, a loud blast of electronic music hit me from inside.

A woman I didn't recognize was leaning against my workbench in a skimpy slip dress. She was shouting to her friends, "See? This is the studio Hunter gave me. Go wild!"

She looked at me with pure disdain. "Are you the new cleaning lady? Go pick up the Birkin I ordered at Herms. If there's even a scratch on the leather, I'll make you regret it!"

"This is my studio," I said, trying to be patient. I assumed she was drunk. "I have an emergency mission. Please leave immediately."

She let out a shrill laugh. "What a joke! A lowly servant pretending to be the owner? Open your eyes and look at this equipment, you idiot!"

A woman in designer clothes nearby sneered at me. "Everyone in the city knows Mr. Sterling gave this place to Sia. You're clearly blind."

I froze. My fianc dared to give my government-assigned lab to his mistress for a party?

This was a massive disaster.

Entering this studio without my permission was an illegal seizure of state property. That was worth ten years in prison, minimum.

Even worse, he'd turned my high-stakes workplace into a den for his affairs. The crime was mounting.

If the Sterling family had any sense, they'd make Hunter get on his knees and beg for my forgiveness. Since he was still my fianc, I might have eased the blow with the authorities.

But looking at these women messing with high-precision instruments, I knew Sia Reed was a lost cause.

They weren't leaving, and I didn't have time to argue. I pulled out my master card to swipe the lock and reset the security.

Saving the relic was the priority. I'd deal with Hunter's mess once I was done.

The keypad let out a warning beep. "What is wrong with you!" Sia screamed.

She grabbed a glass of red wine and hurled it at my face. "I didn't say you could touch that!"

I ducked, but the wine splashed directly onto the sensor. It hissed and began to smoke.

"Are you insane?!" I was fuming. That Swiss-made keypad was the only one of its kind in the country!

"Don't touch things that aren't yours!" Sia Reed rolled her eyes. "Touch it again, and I'll chop your hands off and feed them to the dogs. You shameless brat!"

I ignored her and checked the keypad. It was fried. The spare key was inside, and I was locked out.

Suddenly, Sterling family bodyguards rounded the corner and shoved me aside. They blocked the door under Sia's smug gaze.

"You think you can offend Miss Reed and just walk away?" Their smiles were terrifying. "We should skin you alive right here."

I couldn't believe Hunter's guards were taking orders from her. "Who is she?" I asked the lead guard.

He looked at me like I was a fool. "You don't know Miss Reed? She's Mr. Sterling's sweetheart. She's the lead Art Consultant!"

I almost laughed in anger. An art consultant? The Sterlings really had no concept of rules.

"I'll ask Hunter myself," I said coldly, pulling out my phone.

Sia's eyes widened with tension. If she was this spoiled by him, I wanted to see how he intended to handle this.

The phone rang for a long time before he picked up. "Hunter, you turned my lab into a party house. That's a felony," I said.

"Tell your consultant and your guards to get out. Now. Don't let them ruin the relic. If you fix this now, I might keep you out of prison."

There was a long silence on the other end. "Avery Vance," he finally sneered.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think I'd let Sia be uncomfortable just for you? You want to steal her studio? Look in a mirror and see if you're even worthy."

I was stunned. The Sterlings had begged me to marry Hunter after I fixed their family heirloom.

They claimed he was a gentle man who would cherish me. I was so focused on work back then that I just agreed after seeing a decent photo.

I never expected him to humiliate me for a woman like Sia. Doesn't he realize that without me, their family's auction house would lose its top-tier license?

If it wasn't for me, the Federal Bureau wouldn't let their auction house handle national treasures.

2.

"Are you out of your mind?" I shouted into the phone. "The Ethereal Silk Armor must be fixed tonight! If we miss this window, this national treasure is gone forever!"

"Can you afford that liability?" I added. If that thing was destroyed, the entire Sterling family couldn't pay for it if they sold their souls.

"Enough!" Hunter snapped. "Stop hiding behind your fake patriotism to lecture me!"

"I've done my research. Those old rags you fix aren't that special. Any master could do it. You think you're irreplaceable?"

He laughed coldly. "You built this expert persona to trick my grandfather. You just want to cling to my family and marry into wealth."

"Well, I'm telling you now, even if you get your way, I won't play along. This studio stays with Sia!"

My heart turned cold. I cared about the relic, so I pushed back. "Hunter, this isn't about your ego. Only I have the skill to fix that armor!"

"Avery, don't think the world stops spinning without you!" he said dismissively. "I've already flown in a master from France. Stay out of it!"

I was the project lead, and I was the last to know the restorer had been replaced. If the keypad wasn't broken, I would have stormed in.

Now, I could only watch helplessly. "Hunter, that's a national treasure, not a craft project. Your family can't handle the fallout if something goes wrong!"

Everyone in the restoration world knew Avery Vance. People lined up for my help.

If it wasn't for a stroke of luck, the Sterlings wouldn't even be able to get an appointment with me. But the relic was more important than this trash of a man.

Hunter paused for a second. "Avery, stop trying to scare me. Nothing will go wrong. I make the calls for the Sterling family!"

With that, he hung up. Sia watched the drama with her arms crossed, laughing hysterically.

"Do you finally know your place?" One of her friends held up a phone, live-streaming the whole thing. "Sia, the fans are asking who this crazy woman is!"

Sia leaned into the camera with a fake sweet smile. "Darlings, she's just a nobody trying to crawl her way into Hunter's life. She claims to be a restorer. Can you believe it?"

Was I hallucinating? I was the official fiance, yet I was being labeled a home-wrecker in a live stream.

"Don't you all know Mr. Sterling has a fiance?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Please!" a guard scoffed. "Mr. Sterling already said that engagement was a scam. It was just a show to get a contract with the National Museum. We only recognize Miss Reed as the lady of the house!"

Sia looked satisfied. She pulled a brand-new access card from her bag and waved it in my face.

It had her photo and the title: "Chief Art Director of the Sterling Group." I was furious.

The Sterling family was rotten to the core. If I had known Hunter was this pathetic, I wouldn't have married him even if he paid me.

I checked the time. The window for the armor's restoration was closing in an hour.

"Last warning. If you destroy that relic, you can't carry that responsibility. Get out now, and I might act like this never happened."

Sia's eyes went wide. "A lowly repair girl is threatening me?"

She suddenly grabbed a heavy bronze inkstone from my workbench. It was my personal property. "You think I won't kill you with your own tools?"

I didn't have time to waste. Since the guards were blocking the door, I bolted toward the main power breaker at the end of the hall.

I wanted to cut the power to trigger the backup security system. I only made it two steps before the guards tackled me.

They slammed me against the wall. The impact sent a jolt of pain through my organs.

I tasted copper as I coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sia sashayed over and snatched my phone from my pocket.

She unlocked it and scrolled through my photos with a sneer. "Ugh, you still have photos with Hunter? Disgusting."

She laughed and smashed the phone onto the floor. Then she gripped my throat. "Did I say you could leave?"

3.

I was in too much pain to move. Sia picked up her own phone. The screen showed her live stream, with comments scrolling by like lightning.

"Darlings, that's it for today's stream. I have some private trash to take out. See you next time!"

She signaled the guards to drag me to the workbench. They pinned my hands to the surface.

I watched her pick up the bronze inkstone, a sadistic grin spreading across her face. "Please... Miss Reed... I'm sorry..."

To save my hands, I had to swallow my pride. The relic was more important.

"I really have to save the artifact. Please let me go..." I begged.

Sia froze for a second, then her laughter grew even louder. "Begging now? Isn't it a bit late for that?"

"Today, I'm going to show you exactly what 'restoration' feels like."

She raised the inkstone and aimed it at my pinky finger. Then she slammed it down!

"Ah!" The sound of bone shattering was sickening. I screamed, but a guard clamped his hand over my mouth.

Again and again, she struck. It was like a game to her. One by one, she crushed every bone in my right hand.

My body convulsed. Cold sweat soaked my back.

This hand was insured for millions by the state. It was my life. Now, it was ruined.

"That was just the appetizer." Sia tossed the inkstone aside. She pointed to the climate-controlled container I had brought.

"You wanted to fix this? Let me help you." The guards tied me up and dragged me to the center of the studio.

She reached into the container and pulled out the fragile Ethereal Silk Armor! My heart hammered against my ribs.

"You'll destroy it!" I gasped, struggling to breathe. "You can'tD"

Slap! She struck me hard across the face.

She grabbed a bottle of high-concentration industrial acid from the workbench. "Three million dollars for this old rag," she said coldly.

"Hunter paid forty million when I accidentally ripped an antique dress last month. I'll give you three for this junk. Be grateful!"

She twisted the cap open. The strong acid poured onto the ancient armor.

The jade pieces and gold threads, which had survived for centuries, began to smoke and dissolve.

I watched as a national treasure turned into a puddle of foul-smelling liquid. My heart was bleeding.

Suddenly, she stopped. She walked toward me with the half-empty bottle.

"Tsk, tsk. I thought you'd be crying and begging for your life by now," she mocked.

"I've used this on three disobedient assistants, but you're the most boring one yet."

I couldn't speak. The guards had taped my mouth shut. Sia smiled and raised the bottle again.

This time, she aimed it at my hands. The corrosive liquid hit my skin.

The pain of my skin melting and the stench of burning flesh broke me instantly. My muscles and skin dissolved before my eyes.

The agony was so intense that my vision began to fade. I prayed to lose consciousness.

Just as I was about to go into shock, Sia stopped and let out a frustrated scream.

4.

"Why isn't Hunter here? He sent you to deal with me?" Sia snapped. She was annoyed that Hunter hadn't come personally.

Assistant Clark looked at me tied on the floor. His face went pale, but he spoke anyway.

"Miss Reed, Mr. Sterling told me to bring something for this lady." He pulled a check from his briefcase.

"Mr. Sterling says this is a hundred-thousand-dollar settlement. He thanks you for your past service and hopes you won't harass him anymore."

I felt a chill go through my entire body. A hundred thousand dollars to buy my silence, my career, my engagement, and my future.

That was Hunter's final answer.

"Only a hundred thousand?" Sia snatched the check and ripped it into pieces.

"What is Hunter thinking? Is he still thinking about this bitch? This is an insult! She ruined my mood today. Is that only worth a hundred grand?"

Her face twisted with rage. She kicked me hard in the chest.

"If I don't ruin your eyes today, my name isn't Sia Reed!"

She looked around and found a UV curing lamp used for artifact bonding. Its radiation was strong enough to burn human retinas permanently.

"Keep her eyes open!" she ordered the guards. "Let her see what high-level art really looks like!"

Two guards grabbed my face and forced my eyelids open. I struggled, but Sia dragged the lamp closer.

The blinding purple light ignited. A searing pain tore through my eyes. Everything turned blood red.

Suddenly, the studio's maximum-level alarm blared!

"Warning! Level one damage detected! Activating Total Lockdown Protocol! Repeat, activating Total Lockdown Protocol!"

Heavy steel blast shields slammed down from the ceiling. They sealed every door and window.

The studio became a seamless, airtight iron coffin.

"What's happening?!" Sia screamed.

Assistant Clark looked like he had seen a ghost. He pointed at me, his voice trembling.

"It's her... her iris triggered the 'Scorched Earth' security program! She's locked us all in!"

Once this program started, no one could leave without the dual keys of the restorer and the Director of the Federal Bureau.

We were trapped here for at least seventy-two hours.

Sia and her friends panicked. They began to hammer on the doors frantically.

I lay on the floor, my eyes burning. I couldn't see anything. The pain was an ocean, but I forced myself to stay awake.

Using my one hand that could still move, I dipped my fingers in my own blood. I crawled toward the camera and wrote a few words on the floor.

"Relic destroyed. I have failed my country. I pay with my life."