Emily's Ordeal

Emily nodded dejectedly and got out of the car. She walked into the coffee shop and saw Dawn at the back who waved with a nasty smirk. The two men who were at the house. Including the one whom Emily had sex with sat nearby at another table. She felt a strong nausea when she saw him,

"Emily, you don't look so good," Dawn said with mock sympathy.

Emily couldn't look at her.

Not getting the reaction she wanted, Dawn scowled before she gave another nasty smirk, "I know what'll cheer you up," and she reached into a rucksack on the floor and slid brazenly across the table to Emily the thong Emily had lost in full view for everyone to see.

Emily snatched the thong off the table and stuffed it quickly into her pocket looking sideways furtively at the other customers in the coffee shop. Dawn sneered at her "friend".

"Why are you doing this to me?" Emily asked quietly in trepidation.

"Why?" Dawn laughed and shook her head like she was talking to an idiot. "I'm doing it because you are so fucking precious and perfect. You always were. You're like a dumb princess who always lucks out and finds someone to look after you like that sap of a husband of yours. You needed to be taken down a peg or two."

Emily flinched at Dawn's words, "My husband has left me because you sent those pictures."

Dawn's smirk turned into a satisfied grin, "You shouldn't have cheated on him then, should you? Gary was cut up that you weren't there when he woke up, weren't you Gary?"

"Yeah, fucking cut up?" Gary answered with a laugh.

Emily shuddered with disgust. He looked worse than when she left him snoring in bed.

"I didn't mean to cheat; you must have given me something. I can't remember having sex with anybody."

"Maybe, who knows. If you did take something, then it will be out of your system by now and you won't be able to say for sure. Hubby will never know whether to believe you or not." Dawn gave Emily an amused stare. "I have to say though you really went for it with Gary. You didn't need a lot of persuasion, did she?"

"Best shag in ages," Gary replied.

Emily began to hug herself. She felt sick from humiliation and felt violated. She was beginning to realise that Dawn had preyed on her and set her up. Everything that happened that night was planned. A tear rolled down her cheek knowing that she had walked into a trap.

"What do you want?" she asked abjectly.

Dawn took out Emily's phone and showed a video of Emily having sex with Gary. Emily watched for a few seconds before looking away, her whole body shaking. What was in front of her sickened her.

"Ten grand worth of Bitcoin in a week or this video goes online, and everyone will know that this Little Miss Perfect act is just an act and you're instead a little slapper," Dawn replied threateningly. Her manner changed instantly to one of business.

Emily's eyes widened, "I don't have that kind of money!" she exclaimed in panic.

"You should pay. Everyone else does," Dawn scoffed.

"I'm serious, I really don't have that much money and I will never be able to get it in a week," Emily fearfully pleaded.

A look of irritation crossed Dawn's face. She had been doing this scam long enough to know when a Mark was telling the truth.

"What can you afford then? I chose you because I thought you'd be rolling in it by now. Shit! Nine grand, eight, seven, six," Dawn's eyes rolled with exasperation as Emily shook her head as she counted down. "Five?" When Emily stopped shaking her head, Dawn gave an irritated sigh, "Five grand in Bitcoin it is then, or it'll be on Only Fans and PornHub. I'll then put a link to it on your Facebook and Instagram pages. I'll put a link in your LinkedIn profile with your side hustle as a porn star. Do you understand? All your family, your friends will think pretty little Emily is a whore. Your boss will think you do porn in your spare time. I will destroy your life. Five fucking lousy grand for all those weeks work! You were hardly worth the effort! I'll send the details to your hubby. Maybe when you're divorced, I'll try my luck with him. He is pretty hot, isn't he?"

"Please leave Will alone," Emily begged. "Because of you I'm losing him, but he doesn't deserve to be mixed up in this. He's a good guy."

Dawn snorted in disgust, "You think I can't get a guy like Will? Do you think someone like Will wouldn't like someone like me? You really are the stuck-up piece of shit I always thought you were. Just go, I can't bear to be around you."

Emily remained seated. Worry was etched over her face.

"What? I just told you to get lost," Dawn said with hatred pouring out of her.

"Can I have my phone back?" Emily whispered.

"When I have my money," Dawn replied dismissively.

Only then, knowing all was lost did Emily stand up and dispiritedly, walk away.

"What happened?" Will asked with concern as Emily walked out of the coffee. She looked worse than when she had walked in.

"Please take me home," was all Emily could whisper in reply.

Chapter 4

Will was overcome with worry when they were at home. At times Emily was a little introverted and shy but when she opened up, she could be bubbly and full of life. He knew she was suffering for what she did, and her tears of remorse were genuine, but she had now begun to lose herself. After meeting Dawn, he now feared the worst for her.

Will helped his deadened wife inside and sat down before taking her into his arms. Despite the days away from her he hadn't been able to figure out what to do about her infidelity. He loved her but could he trust her? Could he trust her not to make another "mistake" as she called it? What he did find strange was her insistence that she couldn't remember anything. Was that a lie or was that the truth? Her infidelity was totally out of character.

Emily felt stiff in his arms. Her arms remained limp by her side.

"I'll stay with you tonight," he said his brow furrowed with worry, holding her a little tighter and tenderly kissing the top of her head. "I'll get my stuff from my parents tomorrow. It was a mistake to have move out. I should never have left you alone. I should have heard you out first."

He felt Emily's arms slowly move and wrap around him.

"Help me," Emily whispered so quietly that Will barely heard her. "Help me, please," she repeated but a little louder. "If you don't, my life will be over."

"Ssh," Will soothed. "Let us deal with any problems tomorrow. Why don't we take the next two days off work and talk?" he felt Emily come a little back to life and her arms tightened around him.

"I love you," Emily whispered.

"I love you too," Will replied and Emily became limp in his arms as she fell asleep.

Chapter 5

Emily woke alone in bed. The space next to her was warm but she was alone. She couldn't remember how she got into bed or how she got into her pyjamas and had no idea how long she had slept.

"Will!" she called out disquieted. "Will!" her voice rising to a panic. Will hurried into the bedroom and held her. "I didn't think you were here," Emily sobbed.

"I was just cleaning," he reassured her. "You've slept a long time. It is nearly lunchtime. You must be hungry. Come downstairs and I'll make you something to eat."

Still in her pyjamas, Emily ate the simple pasta dish Will cooked. Slowly at first, then faster as hunger overcame her. Will watch her eat with concern.

"I'm very worried about you, Em," he told her. "What happened to you? Nothing makes any sense. I've been trying to make sense of it all. I looked at how cheaters behave, and it just doesn't fit you. Apart from your night out with Dawn your behaviour never changed not to mention having sex with strangers is completely out of character for you. I'm also worried about how you've let yourself go since."

"Are you coming home?" Emily asked with despondent hope, not expecting her husband to say he was.

Will nodded, his eyes filled with fear for his wife, "I can't leave you like this. Despite everything I haven't been able to stop loving you."

Emily began to sob with relief, "Please don't leave me again," she begged.

"I can't promise that, Em," he told her with sad honesty. "But I'm going to stay until we work it out. I want us to stay married, but I need to know if I can trust you."

Emily didn't respond, her shoulders drooped, and she covered her mouth with her hand and continued to sob.

"I'm sorry," Will added feeling intense guilt for not being able to give his wife the reassurance she needed. "I'll get my stuff from my parents then we can talk. I want us to save our marriage but when I saw those photos it hurt me so much. I need to be sure it won't happen again."

"Can I come with you, I don't want to be alone," she asked her husband. The disconsolate numbness she was feeling had gone, only to be replaced by emotional pain. She had never been this scared in her life.

When they returned from a difficult visit to Will's parents to collect Will's things husband and wife began to talk.

"Have you done a pregnancy test and a STD test yet?" Will asked straight away as they sat opposite each other at the dining room table. Emily tearfully shook her head. "Okay, I need you to do those things before we do anything. If you are pregnant then we are done. We can go to the pharmacy together and buy the pregnancy test. I can make an appointment for us both at the sexual health clinic while I'm waiting for you. If you have a STD, then we are done." His tone then softened knowing how fragile his wife was, "Let's go, there's no point putting it off."

Emily solemnly nodded. She visibly flinched when Will said, "We are done." That was the one thing she didn't want.

Emily couldn't leave the pharmacy quickly enough with the pregnancy test. It wasn't that she didn't want to do the test. She was sure she wasn't pregnant. It was that she hated the reason she was buying it. She was sure that she was being judged for it by the staff and customers.

"I managed to get us an appointment in a couple of days," he told her when she returned to Will. The idea of even doing a STD test made her feel dirty.

Chapter 6

Emily sat on the toilet staring at the negative pregnancy test, sobbing with relief. Although she knew she wasn't pregnant before she did the test, there had been always the smallest of doubt in her mind.

"Thank Christ for that!" Will exclaimed with relief when she showed him the test when she finally left the bathroom. "Okay, we can talk some more. I want you to tell me everything about that night, Emily. I want details."

"I told you already," Emily pleaded. "I went to the bar with Dawn. We drank and we danced. Two guys tried it on with us and she wanted to go with them to a party, but I didn't. I only went because I didn't want her to go alone. After that, I don't remember anything until I woke up the following morning next to one of the guys."

"So, you had a good time with Dawn, then trying to be a good friend, you went with her to a party with two guys you had just met and after that, you remember nothing until the following morning?" Will repeated Emily's account back to her carefully.

Emily nodded looking distraught. She knew it sounded far-fetched and it did to Will as well,

"The not remembering anything, is the part I am struggling to believe. If you were passed out drunk, I could accept it but, in those pictures, you looked like you were enjoying it."

"It's true and I still don't remember anything. I wish I could remember it. Then I would know that I deserve what is happening to me, but I swear to you I don't," Emily's insistence that she couldn't remember anything bothered Will. It was consistent. She wasn't tripping herself up in her own lies. It was what made everything hard to fathom. He didn't know whether it was the truth, she was lying, or she had somehow mentally blocked it out.

"I want to believe you Em, but I need something for you to convince me," he demanded apologetically, wanting to believe his wife but he just couldn't.

Emily looked away from her husband before her eyes widened with hope as she remembered her meeting with Dawn,

"Dawn told me I would never be able to prove whether I was given something or not and the two guys who we met in the bar were there too! One of them was in the picture!" she told Will hopefully.

Will looked confused, "You told me you needed help after you met her. What did you mean by that?"

Emily then began to look distressed and began to sob, "She had a video of me doing it with the man in the photos. They said they wanted five thousand pounds in Bitcoin or they will post it online?"

"Oh shit!" Will exclaimed putting his arms around his wife. Whether Emily was telling the truth or not about remembering anything or not it was obvious that she had been marked and played. "Are you going to pay?"

"What choice do I have? They have my phone. They're going to put the video online, they said OnlyFans and PornHub! Then they said they were going to put links to it on my Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. My life will be over! I don't know what else to do. I don't have five thousand! I need you to help me pay it!"

"Oh my God! Shit! I'm so sorry!" Will comforted his wife and held her tighter. "Listen, do remember my friend Dan? He had that ex-girlfriend, Gwen, you used to get on with. Well, she is a toxicologist, at least she was. She might help give us an idea of what might have been given to you for you not to remember. Are you okay for me to do this?"

Emily looked at her husband with a weak hopeful smile and nodded. Will disappeared into the kitchen. She heard him talk, then he received a message then Will began talking again. Emily waited and when he didn't return she hurried to find him.

Will looked completely distraught. Emily threw her arms around him, and they began to sob together.

"I'm sorry, Em. I'm so sorry for not believing you. I walked out on you when you needed me the most. It's unforgivable!" he told her between sobs. "I let you down. I thought you had cheated but this, this far worse!" Emily took the inconsolable Will back to the sofa and they just held each other for a few moments before Will recovered himself to speak.

"Well, you need to keep this to yourself, first. She isn't Dan's ex anymore. They are giving their relationship another go, but I am sworn to secrecy and now so are you," Will began with a smile and his eyes red from crying. Emily returned his smile; it was true she did like Dan's girlfriend, but they split up before she could get to know her properly. "Anyway," Will continued, "she works for a lab that processes blood and urine tests for the police. I described what happened to you and she thinks you may have been given Scopolamine also known as Devil's Breath. It is highly toxic and is very risky to give to someone because it can kill them. In the right dose, it will make the victim susceptible to suggestion. It is mostly used in scams to rob people of their life savings but with you, it was to get you to have sex to blackmail you."

Emily's blood ran cold. Five thousand pounds, was that all her life and marriage was worth, just five thousand pounds?

"I am so sorry, Em. You were telling the truth all along and I didn't believe you."

"Do you love me?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I never stopped."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course, I should have trusted you from the beginning," Will's voice began to crack.

"Do you want to stay married to me?"

"Yes, I can't believe how much I have screwed up."

"Do you forgive me?"

"There is nothing to forgive. I need your forgiveness. Do you forgive me?" Emily could feel Will hold her tighter.

"I don't know," was her honest reply.

"Fuck!" and she felt Will's body sag. "Are we finished? I want to stay and help you whatever happens. I owe you that much."

"I don't know if we are finished or not either," Emily answered. "I just don't know about much of anything at the moment, but I do know I still need you right now. I don't think I can do much until this is resolved, I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who is sorry. Sorry for not believing you. This is the worst thing I have ever done. Can we at least try and save our marriage?" Emily could feel Will was now shaking. She believed his sincerity but now the boot was on the other foot. Could she trust him to believe her in the future? Right now, she didn't know. Her whole life was in the balance, and she didn't have the strength to deal with her marriage problems. "I love you, Stella," Will whispered.

Until their conversation began, she would have given anything to hear that but now, she did, she didn't know how she felt.

"Do you still love me?" Will asked with trepidation when his wife didn't say anything.

"Yes but-"

"You don't know if it is enough," Will finished for her despondently. "Do you want me to move out or sleep in the spare room?"

Emily took Will's head into her hands and kissed him, "You've hurt me by not believing me, but I meant what I said, I need you right now which includes in bed with me. I am the most scared in my life right now and I just can be alone."

"I'll get the money for you. I'll take out a loan. You will never have to pay me back," Will insisted.

Emily kissed Will again, "Thank you, did you get the message from Dawn on how to pay the money?"

"Yeah, she wants Bitcoin. I'll get the loan now and see how to convert it into Bitcoin. I promise you, Emily, whatever happens, you have me. Even if that video is released, I want to stay with you. I will know the truth even if others don't. I won't let your life be destroyed by this. I will always be proud that you're my wife."

Emily kissed Will deeply that was what she needed to hear. That was a good start for Will to regain her trust.

Chapter 7

The following day the doorbell rang and two smartly dressed plain clothes police officers stood outside in front of Emily,

"I'm Detective Sergeant Katie Taylor and this is Detective Constable Ben Nugent," the two police officers showed their warrant cards. "We have been made aware that you have been a victim of a blackmail attempt."

"Please come inside," Emily said nervously opening the door to allow the police officers to enter. She looked quickly outside to make sure nobody was watching before quickly closing it something the police officers didn't fail to notice. "I'm sorry if I look surprised that you're here but I didn't call the police. Will, did you call the police," she asked her husband looking at him with a furious expression who shook his head innocently.

"We were called by a Gwen Robertson who had reason to believe that you had been given Scopolamine and made to engage in some acts worthy of blackmail."

"Emily you should talk to them," Will told his wife. "They will be able to help. I'll go and make some tea."

When Will returned with the tea, Emily explained the events of the night in question and her meeting with Dawn. The detective sergeant reached into the bag she was carrying and produced three photos. Emily gasped when she saw them.

"Are these the people who are blackmailing you?" the detective sergeant asked. Emily nodded and tears began to roll down her eyes. Will held her hand in support. The police officers' manner changed from being professional to one of sympathy, "They have preyed on several women. We haven't been able to get enough evidence or get any of the victims to press charges."

"What about sexual assault?" Will asked incredulously. "Emily was drugged and one of those men forced himself on her."

"The problem is that we need evidence that Scopolamine was given to Emily," the detective sergeant explained apologetically, "and that would involve a blood test, but it is unlikely that traces of the drug are still in her body also the face of the man is hidden and there are no distinguishing features like tattoos to identify him. They knew exactly what they were doing. All the other women have paid except for one and she committed suicide when they carried out their threat. The nature of the blackmail has meant none of the women have been prepared to come forward. They are a very dangerous group. You mentioned you knew Dawn Charles."