When Lucy woke up, it was already late at night. She woke on the bed in the secondary bedroom of the presidential suite.
Lucy was bewildered. The anesthetic was still taking effect, leaving her dazed. Through her blurred vision, she saw Mr. Zhang's men toss a white t-shirt onto her.
Only then did Lucy realize she was wearing nothing but black underwear. Her abdomen felt numb, marked by neat, almost beautiful stitches.
Lucy instinctively put on the white t-shirt and was led outside the living room of the presidential suite by Mr. Zhang's men.
"What did you do to my stomach?" Lucy began to feel numbness in her abdomen, threaded with pain. That pain awakened her fear.
"Nothing. Just a minor transverse incision." A European-looking man emerged from another room, impeccably dressed in a suit and carrying himself with a touch of courtesy as he wiped his hands with a white handkerchief. He explained,
"It was very successful. In less than a month, you won't even be able to see the scar."
He walked over to Mr. Zhang's side and continued jokingly, "By next summer, you'll be able to show off your figure at the beach."
"I don't care about scars." Lucy spoke stiffly, still dazed and frightened.
"You want to know why we cut you open?" he said. As if trying to calm her, he explained, "Rest assured, we didn't remove any of your organs. We merely stitched a small package into your abdomen. It's a new type of drug that young people in Europe will love. Trust me."
"What is it?" Lucy looked as though she could not believe this was happening to her.
"Its scientific name is CPH4," the European man who looked like a doctor explained. "From a marketing standpoint, the name isn't very appealing.
"So