Chapter 4 The Platinum Club

One year later, Tracey was finally leaving the prison in H City.

"Behave yourself out there," the prison guard said coldly as she took back her belongings. There was nothing of any worth there, except the ring.

Holding it tightly, she bowed to the prison guard and then faced the outside world for the first time in a year.

Time had flown by, and H City had changed as well.

She slowly walked out through the gate, her left leg limping.

No one was waiting for her.

No one had visited her while she was in prison, so she wasn't surprised that no one was there to pick her up.

As she was penniless, her only option was to walk. Slowly, and partially unconsciously, she found herself in front of the Zhao family's mansion.

She hesitated, unsure if she should ring the doorbell or not, but she really didn't have anywhere else to go.

Just then, a familiar voice came from the yard. "Dave, put on a jacket. It's windy outside."

It was Tracey's stepmother, Angelina Song.

Suddenly not wanting to be seen, Tracey dragged herself to a flower bed and hid there.

"It's fine," her father, Dave Zhao, responded.

However, the next moment he coughed, and it made Tracey's heart ache.

"It's not okay. You still haven't recovered from the heart attack you had when Tracey went to prison. You have a bypass now, and you need to take better care of yourself," Angelina said.

When Tracey heard this, she froze.

She hadn't even known that her father almost died because of her. It seemed that a lot of things changed while she was gone.

"I told you not to mention her ever again," Dave said, driving another dagger straight into his daughter's heart.

Angelina, however, ignored him and continued, "By the way, she should be out by now. I know you're mad at her, but she is your daughter. You should give her a chance.

Should I ask someone to pick her up and bring her here once she's released?"

"Absolutely not!" Dave yelled, pounding the ground with his crutch. "She brought shame to this family, and I don't want a daughter like that. I want nothing to do with her. If you dare to take her back, I..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, as he started panting heavily, causing Angelina to rush to his side. "Okay, okay. I won't talk about it anymore. Let's get you inside, and you can have some rest."

With that, Angelina helped Dave into the house and closed the door. However, before she did that, she looked at the gate, with a smile flashing at the corners of her mouth.

Tracey, having heard the whole conversation, was crushed. She realized she had nowhere to go.

In her pocket, she could feel the diamond ring, so she took it out and looked at it carefully.

Even though she had planned to keep it as a token, it was now clear that she would have to use it to survive.

She found a pawnshop willing to take the ring, but they only offered her one thousand dollars.

"You don't even have a certificate for this ring. It could be stolen, for all I know. I'm taking a risk by accepting it, so it's one thousand. Not a cent more," the owner said firmly, aware that Tracey was desperate.

Tracey only smiled bitterly.

It had turned out that her love for Weston was worth only one thousand dollars.

Even though she didn't want to, she had to accept the price.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to put a roof over her head for a short while at least.

Her heart slowly filled with hate again.

She hated Weston for putting her in this situation, but she hated Jade even more.

She even hated herself for being so stupid and trusting her so-called best friend.

With the money in her hand, she walked out of the pawnshop and further down the street. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a nightclub. It was hiring.

She looked at the notice carefully, and when she saw the words "offering accommodation," she finally felt hope after a long, long time.

It was something to hold onto in such a desperate situation, and she meant to take every chance she was given.

That was the kind of person she had to be now, so she gritted her teeth and walked in.

The club, called The Platinum Club, was as luxurious as she thought it would be. As she entered, a woman said, "Are you here for an interview?" She was dressed in a glorious black velvet dress, with golden peonies blossoming on it. It revealed her figure completely, and although the lady was older than Tracey, she was beautiful and charming.

She looked Tracey up and down, judging her appearance. Tracey had fair skin, but she was much too small and thin, so the woman frowned and said, "You are beautiful, but you are too thin. I'm afraid you are not qualified to be a bar girl..."

"You misunderstood..." Tracey interrupted her quickly, her voice soft, but a bit hoarse. "I'm here for the beer girl post."

"Beer girl?" the woman repeated, looking at Tracey with disbelief.

Tracey didn't respond, but the woman had a lot of experience working in the nightclub for so many years, so she could see that Tracey had a troubled past of some kind.

After hesitating a while, she said, "Girl, do you know what you will have to do as a beer girl? You are so thin. Aren't you afraid..."

"I am afraid," Tracey interrupted her again. "But I'm more afraid of dying."

She couldn't just give up and die by the side of the road. She wanted to live and get revenge.

"Don't worry. If anything happens to me, it is entirely my own fault. I won't implicate the club or you in it," Tracey said, and the lady finally agreed. After completing Tracey's registration, the woman took her to the nightclub's dormitory.

"Have a good rest tonight. Someone will come get you tomorrow," she said.

"Okay, thank you," Tracey replied, glad to finally have some kind of shelter.

"Oh, and you can just call me Laura. I'll send someone to bring you the clothes you'll need for work. You'll start tomorrow," Laura said, looking at Tracey's shabby old T-shirt.

Tracey thanked her and nodded obediently.