Chapter 8

Valerie Shaw POV

The call was quickly answered, and Brittany's fragile, somewhat aggrieved voice came through: "Ethan?"

"Brittany," Ethan's tone was deliberately soft, "Does it still hurt?"

"Mm... it hurts." Brittany's voice, thick with tears, reached me.

"Don't be scared," his voice was chillingly gentle, "I'll make her apologize to you right now."

Before he finished speaking, he gave a look to the bodyguard.

One bodyguard pinned my right arm, the other grabbed my wrist, and with a sudden, forceful twist in the opposite direction.

"Snap!"

The crisp, sharp sound of bone fracturing echoed loudly in the empty basement.

"Ah!"

My body shuddered violently. I screamed, then passed out from the excruciating pain.

When I regained consciousness, I was in a guest room, on a hospital bed.

Dr. Alex Stone, who came to reset and cast my bone, trembled violently, his eyes bloodshot.

"How could he..."

But I was eerily calm, as if the pain didn't belong to me.

I just quietly gazed out the window at the gray sky, waiting for an opportunity to leave.

Fortunately, that opportunity was soon handed to me by Brittany herself.

Two days later, in the afternoon, Brittany disappeared.

Ethan mobilized all his resources, searching the entire city, but found nothing.

A day later, an extremely degrading video began circulating on the dark web.

In the video, a dozen dirty homeless men were assaulting a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Brittany.

The video production was crude, but Ethan, frantic with worry, didn't notice any anomalies.

He didn't even wait for his assistant to fully investigate before ordering me to be taken to an abandoned building.

"Tell me! Where did you hide Brittany?!" He grabbed my neck, his grip so powerful I instantly gasped for air.

"To use such despicable methods, I never knew you were so malicious!"

My face was turning blue from his grip. I struggled to squeeze out the words: "I don't know..."

"Still playing dumb!" He abruptly released me. "Besides you, who else would harbor such deep hatred for Brittany?!"

"Since you won't speak, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

He stepped back and waved at a bodyguard.

The next second, a saltwater-soaked leather whip slashed brutally across my thin back.

"Crack!"

A red welt immediately bloomed on my pale skin. I trembled from the pain, but bit down hard on my lower lip, refusing to make a sound.

"Continue!"

The bodyguard raised the whip again.

One lash, then another.

After an unknown amount of time, the whipping finally stopped.

Ethan knelt, grasping my chin. "I want you to pay double for what Brittany went through!"

"Bring those homeless men in!" he commanded sternly toward the door.

My unfocused pupils suddenly constricted. "Ethan King, you can't do this to me! You'll regret it!"

Ethan's turning motion paused briefly. A flicker of emotion seemed to flash in his eyes, but it was quickly covered by anxiety and fury.

"You forced my hand!"

Leaving those words, he left without looking back.

Soon after, hurried footsteps, mingled with crude language and lewd laughter, approached from nearby.

I tried to struggle to my feet, but my injuries made it impossible to move. I could only watch helplessly as those foul-smelling, lecherous homeless men walked towards me.

One of them banged a grin, his voice vile: "Today, I'll bring you pleasure..."

As he spoke, he reached out his dirty hand, about to tear at my clothes.

My stomach churned. Just as his fingertips were about to touch my collar.

With the last vestiges of my strength, I lunged upward from the floor, crashing through the nearby window, and threw myself down.