Violet's gun was aimed at us, and we didn't dare move. Resistance meant death. Had I known she had a gun, I wouldn't have taken the hard approach.
But just then, Violet's expression suddenly changed. Her hand bent backward in an impossible arc, the gun now pointing at herself.
"What... what's happening? Who's doing this?" Violet screamed frantically, but no one answered. It was as if an invisible force controlled her hand.
Could it be her boyfriend? Impossible. With the Red Lotus Yaksha tattoo, that ghost wouldn't dare appear. I blamed myself - if I'd listened to him and not trusted Violet, none of this would have happened.
"Amelia, help me!" Violet cried desperately.
Amelia rushed forward immediately, but something strange occurred again. Amelia's feet seemed grabbed by something - she couldn't move at all, struggling uselessly with all her strength.
"Violet, what... what's going on? Something's holding my feet!" Amelia's face paled with terror.
As Stein and I stood bewildered, white shadows emerged throughout the room - tiny fetal forms crawling across the floor. These were what restrained Violet's hand and Amelia's feet.
"Little Boss, this... this is what I mentioned - The Grudge of the Fetus!" Stein exclaimed excitedly.
The Grudge of the Fetus? Could Violet's excessive consumption of fetal blood have manifested this curse?
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Karma's arrived! She brought this upon herself!
Had Violet let me tattoo that Yin-inspired Tattoo - the Dog-Raised Child of The Grudge of the Fetus - she wouldn't be in this predicament now.
Haha, such rich karma!
"No! Impossible! I made up that fetus story! There's no Grudge of the Fetus! Get away, you ghosts! Mere unborn fetuses dare confront me? Get out!" Violet shrieked madly.
As her final word echoed, a gunshot roared. The bullet tore through her mouth, exited her throat, and splattered blood across the wall behind her.
Violet was dead! Lying on the floor, eyes wider than brass bells - a horrific death!
With Violet's death, The Grudge of the Fetus vanished. I saw the white-shirted man standing in the hallway, laughing silently before disappearing again.
The police arrived shortly after. Taken into custody, we were cleared of all wrongdoing after a day and night in jail.
Violet's boyfriend's body was finally recovered, his organs were restored, and he was given a proper burial, while Violet's death was sensationalized by news reporters.
I thought Violet's story had ended, but what I didn't realize was that about three months later, Amelia inherited everything from Violet - the company, the mansion, all the properties - which she then used to pave her way to becoming the next top star, the next Violet!
By the way, Amelia is Violet's BFF. She was the one who introduced Violet to Southeast Asian black magic and that showbiz guru. She was the one who... came up with the idea for Violet to kill her boyfriend and sacrifice him in the Five Elements Feng Shui formation.
The reason Violet always kept her close was because of all this - Amelia deserved credit too.
Also, the child Violet was carrying wasn't actually her boyfriend's. Her boyfriend was cuckolded without realizing it and even paid with his life - how tragic!
Amelia later revealed all this to me, because she owed us her gratitude. If it weren't for us, she wouldn't have achieved what she has today.
She had been calculating when to take Violet's place, and because of us, she succeeded in taking everything from Violet.
How could I have imagined someone even more terrifying than Violet by her side? Of course, these matters don't concern me. The competition for fame and fortune involves many vicious schemes - the ruthless actress and the horrifying girlfriend were equally matched. I don't want to probe too deeply into the abyss of human minds, nor get involved in any利益 conflicts. I just want to earn my living peacefully.
I learned all this three months later. Now, returning to the present: Stein and I left the police station somewhat relieved. If Violet's death had been blamed on us, that would have been terribly unjust. The fetal spirit's vengeance took her life, but ultimately, she killed herself! And of course, there was her BFF counting on playing accomplice to her demise.
The saying about self-inflicted destruction rings true!
Back at the tattoo parlor, we immediately showered - that police station was no place for humans. Being detained for a full day and night was worse than death.
Just then, a woman entered the parlor. Her face looked somewhat unfamiliar, but her figure seemed familiar - I couldn't quite place who she was.
"You guys don't recognize me?" the woman asked with a smile.
Did we know her? I scrutinized her carefully, and when my eyes fell on her voluptuous figure, it suddenly clicked.
This girl... it couldn't be Freya, could it?
I guessed correctly. Freya nodded at me, saying she'd come specifically to thank me.
Damn... just two days had passed, but Freya looked completely transformed.
The current her—I wouldn't call her pretty, but her facial features were now completely normal, a world of difference from her former ugliness. Combined with her plump, alluring figure, she could probably charm a crowd of men.
The effect of this Painted Skin tattoo was truly overpowering. This Yin-inspired tattoo couldn't just be called magical anymore.
Freya thanked me profusely, saying I'd given her a second life. Now she could live normally, never facing rejection again—and that lazy boyfriend was finally out of her life.
Now, finding a decent boyfriend would be no trouble at all. This $300,000 was worth every penny!
I told her not to thank me—this was just my job. You pay, I deliver—simple as that. All I asked was that she help spread the word in the future. And, most importantly, she had to remember the timing: fifteen days after getting the tattoo, she had to come back to have it removed.
Freya nodded eagerly in agreement… but she didn't keep her word. Her next visit came just five days later.
By then, she was already stunning—her features far more delicate than before, radiating a strange, mesmerizing charm.
But Freya still wasn't satisfied. She wanted to be even more beautiful, voluptuous and dazzling. This was nothing like her original wish—back then, she'd only wanted to look like a normal person!
But she couldn't stop. Ever since becoming beautiful, more and more men flocked to her, offering perks and privileges. She loved the feeling of all eyes on her, the intoxicating thrill of men fawning over her.
At work, every male colleague adored her, granting her special treatment and favors. But she ignored them all—only crawling into the boss's bed. Money, status, influence—all because of her beauty.
She had boyfriends now—several of them. Some were handsome, some were rich. After years of being ugly, her first act as a beauty was to make up for lost time—all at once. But it wasn't enough. Not even close.
She could be even more beautiful. She could have even more. She wanted those who'd once gagged at the sight of her to now grovel at her feet.
I sensed something was wrong and quickly warned her: The Painted Skin Yin-inspired tattoo was extremely dangerous. She had to return in fifteen days to remove it.
But she didn't listen. She never came back within the agreed time.
I knew something terrible would happen.
The greed of the human heart is like a bottomless abyss—once it tastes sweetness, it can never stop.