Chapter 1

On my 25th birthday, my perfect boyfriend of three years knelt before me, holding up a magnificent diamond ring, a real showstopper.

Friends and family cheered, and my parents' eyes welled up with tears.

Just as I was about to nod, tears blurring my vision, a blood-red virtual panel suddenly materialized before my eyes:

"Warning! Target subject detected carrying HIV and secondary syphilis!"

"Danger! This diamond ring is stolen property! The owner's armed enforcers will arrive in three minutes!"

I looked at my deeply affectionate boyfriend, then at his shirt cuffs, always tightly buttoned to hide rashes. My outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

No wonder he'd never initiated any real intimacy with me these past three years, always giving some romantic excuse about wanting to wait until our wedding night, wanting it to be truly special.

At the same time, a countdown blared in my mind:

"High alert! Enforcers' arrival countdown: three minutes."

I smiled, took the ring, and slipped it onto my finger. Then, I turned and double-locked the front door, engaging three additional deadbolts.

"Sorry, but this game of trapping the rat? It's just getting started."