Chapter 1

"Babe, my boss won't let you touch me. He’s going to check tomorrow."

When my friend told me his wife wouldn't let him touch her, it completely shattered my worldview.

He also told me that his wife’s boss had created a Snapchat group for his female employees. There were exactly twenty-four women in it.

But when I saw the screenshot of that group, my heart stopped.

Because the twenty-fourth woman in that group looked exactly like my wife!

Two days ago, my childhood friend, Ford, and I were out having drinks when he told me the most bizarre story.

He said he had tried to get intimate with his wife, Mandy, but she had ruthlessly rejected him. Her reason? Her boss had ordered her not to let her husband touch her.

What’s crazier was that the boss checked them every single day.

If any woman was caught being "unfaithful" to him with her own husband, there would be severe consequences.

To be honest, this ridiculous story left me completely speechless. My moral compass was spinning out of control.

Who in their right mind proudly stays chaste for a side piece in this day and age?

Ford cried like a child, looking utterly miserable.

"That boss is an absolute monster! She’s my wife! Why the hell can't I touch her?"

"He already has over twenty female employees wrapped around his finger. Why is he still targeting my wife?!"

As he spoke, he furiously pulled up his phone and showed me a screenshot of a Snapchat group chat. The content inside blew my mind.

Those twenty-three women were chatting happily like a big family.

And the moment their boss sent a message, they all replied in unison, calling him "babe" or "honey."

Suddenly, my eyes locked onto one photo in the chat. My pupils contracted in sheer terror—the woman in that photo was my wife, Sophie!

How was this possible?

The women in this group were clearly the boss’s playthings. Why on earth was my wife in there?

The photo had been posted by their boss, announcing a newcomer to the group:

"This is Number 24. She’s your new sister. Welcome her."

"Hi everyone, I’m Number 24. So glad to be part of this family."

"I will do my best to serve the boss alongside all of you."

There were no real names in the chat. Everyone was referred to by their numbers.

The first woman to join was Number 1, and Sophie, being the latest, was Number 24.

The chat log ended there. It was the last screenshot Ford had.

I stared at that screenshot over and over, my face turning deathly pale, my heart sinking into a bottomless pit.

I couldn’t hear a single word of Ford’s venting anymore. I hastily made an excuse, ran out, and drove straight home. I needed to get some answers from Sophie.

But when I got home, the house was empty.

I called her phone. It went straight to voicemail!

Recalling the photo I had just seen on Ford’s phone, a terrible thought crossed my mind:

Was Sophie at her boss’s house right now?

Once a man starts doubting his wife's fidelity, the seed of suspicion grows like wildfire, driving him insane.

I tried calling her every few minutes, but her phone remained turned off.

It wasn’t until past nine in the evening that she finally walked through the front door.

She was holding her lower back, her face exhausted. And on her neck, I could clearly see several dark red marks!

At that sight, I clenched my teeth, fully convinced she had spent the entire day in her boss's bed.

"Sophie! You had a pretty wild time with your boss today, huh? Coming home this late!"

"Do you even care about this home? Do you even care about me?!" I roared.

Sophie froze for a fraction of a second, her eyes instantly filling with panic.

"Leo... what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Seeing her play dumb, I let out a cold laugh and immediately pulled out the screenshot on my phone.

"You don't understand? The evidence is right here. Do you understand now?!"

"Take a good look! The woman in this photo is you, right? Number 24!"

Seeing the screenshot, Sophie’s face drained of color. She started trembling, completely at a loss for words.

"No, Leo! That’s not me! I’ve never joined a group chat like this!"

"If... if you don’t believe me, look at my phone!"

She quickly unlocked her phone and forced it into my hands.

I snatched it and searched through every single app, but indeed, there was no trace of that Snapchat group. What was going on?

Sophie asked cautiously, "Leo, where did you get this screenshot?"

I frowned, thought for a moment, and told her about Ford's situation.

Sophie immediately sighed in relief.

"Leo, Mandy works at Vanguard Group, and I work at Skyline Enterprises. We don't even have the same boss. How could I possibly be in that group?"

"This woman just looks a bit like me. Plus, with the heavy filters girls use on social media, she looks similar, but she's not me."

I froze.

She was right.

Mandy worked at Vanguard Group, while Sophie was at Skyline Enterprises. They had completely different bosses. It didn’t make sense.

A heavy weight lifted off my chest, but I still kept a cold face and pressed further:

"Then why did you come home so late? And why didn’t you pick up my calls?"

"And what the hell are those red marks on your neck?!"