Chapter 3
"Cynthia, what did you do to Evelyn?" Alexander grabbed Cynthia by the collar and hauled her up from the chair, his bloodshot eyes full of rage. "Where did you tie her up? Tell me."
Cynthia's head snapped to the side from the slap, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
She was so shocked that she couldn't make sense of Alexander's words. Her mind was a total blank.
Seeing her like this, Alexander was more furious. "Evelyn was kidnapped right after leaving the courthouse. Who else would target her but you?
"Cynthia, I underestimated how cruel you could be. What happened to Luella was an accident. I can't believe you have the nerve to blame Evelyn for it."
"I didn't kidnap Evelyn, Alexander." Cynthia raised her chin, her eyes utterly hopeless.
Moments ago, this man had showered her with affection, but now he acted like she was his mortal enemy.
"You won't admit it, huh? Let me give you a lesson." Alexander barked toward the door, "Guards, take her away and lock her up in the secret chamber at the Schultz residence."
Two bodyguards dressed in black stormed in.
Alexander's voice was cold as ice. "Nobody gets near her unless I say so."
The secret chamber beneath the Schultz residence was cold and damp, with all kinds of instruments of torture hanging from the walls, each one gleaming in a frightening light. Every inch of this place bore witness to Alexander's cruelty.
Cynthia was roughly shoved inside and sent sprawling onto the icy concrete floor.
Pain swept through her body, and she let out a muffled groan. Before she could get up, a polished leather shoe pressed down on her shoulder, pinning her to the floor.
Alexander stood over her, cold and imposing, a wet leather whip gripped tightly in his hand.
"I'm asking you one last time. Where is Evelyn?" His voice was ruthless, echoing in the empty chamber without a trace of warmth.
Cynthia looked up at him, the red, swollen handprint still marking her face, but her eyes were lifeless and calm. "I told you. I don't know."
"Good. Very good." Alexander nodded, his wrist snapping suddenly and mercilessly.
The whip cracked through the air and struck Cynthia's back with brutal force.
Her flimsy shirt tore apart in an instant, her skin splitting open as blood welled up, a savage red mark blooming across her back.
The agony ripped a scream from Cynthia's lips, her body instinctively curling up, trembling in pain.
Alexander snapped, "Where is she?" and brought the whip down again, this time landing hard on Cynthia's shoulder.
"I don't know!" Cynthia screamed.
The whip struck again with a sharp crack.
"I didn't kidnap her!" Cynthia yelled.
The whip lashed out once more, echoing through the chamber.
One whip after another, relentless and brutal.
Alexander had lost all sense of reason. He stopped asking, just kept swinging the whip, over and over, like a machine.
The only sounds left in the chamber were the whip's sharp whistle, the dull thud of leather against flesh, and Cynthia's pain-filled moans, fading away with each strike.
Blood seeped through Cynthia's shredded clothes, pooling and spreading into a deep crimson stain beneath her.
Cynthia's mind floated in the sea of pain until her body went numb. Only endless darkness and icy coldness remained, wrapping around her like a shroud.
On the ninety-ninth lash, Cynthia's body jerked sharply, and she blacked out completely.
Alexander stopped, breathing heavily, his hand quivering as he gripped the whip.
He stared at Cynthia's broken body, limp and battered like a discarded ragdoll, and somewhere deep in his chest, a sudden, inexplicable pain stabbed at him, for reasons he couldn't understand.
Just then, his phone vibrated wildly once more.
He tossed the whip aside and answered the call immediately.
His subordinate's voice crackled through, urgent and breathless. "Mr. Schultz, we found her. Ms. Keith is in an abandoned warehouse in the southern part of town."