Chapter 5
"I'm telling you for the last time. I don't know!" Aileen shouted, her voice trembling with desperation.
Suddenly, she seemed to lose it completely, like she'd gone wild. She stopped begging altogether.
In the darkness, she arched her back and slammed her forehead hard against the cold, unforgiving concrete floor with all her strength.
The heavy, muffled thud echoed through the sealed space, making the hair on the back of one's neck stand up.
"Ever since we were kids, how many times has Ena framed me? Why do you never bother to check, always jumping straight to blaming me?" Aileen screamed. "I'm really unfortunate to have met you."
Thud! Another heavy blow echoed through the room.
"You want a confession? Is my life enough for you?" Aileen screamed.
She kept smashing her head against the floor, not caring about anything anymore, like she was hell-bent on dying.
Outside the door, Kevin's expression changed dramatically when he heard those two desperate, suicide-like thuds.
He frantically slammed his hand against the wall switch.
With a snap, blinding white light instantly flooded the basement.
Kevin burst the iron door open with a forceful kick.
Aileen was already sprawled in a pool of blood.
A deep gash split her forehead, blood trailing down her ghostly pale cheeks and soaking the front of her shirt.
She was drenched in sweat and blood, lying there like a discarded ragdoll, her chest barely moving. It was the only sign she was still alive.
Kevin's hands were trembling, his breathing so rapid it was almost frightening.
He hurried over, desperate to lift the woman from the floor.
Just then, the steady sound of high heels echoed from the basement stairs, slow and unhurried.
"Kevin, why did you have to mess her up so badly?" Ena's voice was sweet and playful.
Ena stood at the doorway in flawless Chanel couture, not a hair out of place, watching them from above with obvious disdain.
She was even rocking a perfectly done, immaculate makeup look.
Kevin froze, then snapped his head around to stare at her.
"Where have you been? Why did you use Gary's car?" he demanded.
"Oh, please, as if I'd be trapped in the Mullers' residence," Ena giggled, covering her mouth as she gracefully descended the stairs. "I went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. And, well, I wanted to see if Aileen is still as hung up on you as she used to be."
Aileen lay in a pool of blood, her eyes moving sluggishly, barely able to focus.
So this was a test?
And Ena had been at a prenatal checkup?
In the end, Kevin had dragged her here for one of Ena's cruel "games," trapping her in this dark nightmare and forcing her to confront her deepest fear, driving her right to the edge of death.
Just moments ago, Kevin had been on the verge of losing his mind over Ena's disappearance.
But now, seeing her unharmed, all the tension drained from his body in an instant.
He didn't even think to blame Ena for her reckless antics.
He stood up, took out a custom handkerchief, and leisurely wiped his fingers, cleaning off the blood and grime from touching Aileen.
"You're really naughty," Kevin remarked, his voice calm, almost indulgent.
Standing above Aileen, Kevin cast a disdainful glance at her sprawled on the floor.
"Since she's still alive, take her to get her wounds treated. We can't have people thinking the Boswell family abuses outsiders," he said, his tone cool and dismissive.
Lying on the icy concrete, Aileen heard the word "outsider" and a silent, bloody smile tugged at her lips.
*****
At the Boswell family's private hospital, the treatment room was filled with the harsh smell of disinfectant.
A nurse used tweezers and a cotton pad soaked in alcohol to clean the wound on Aileen's forehead.
Without any anesthesia, every swipe of the cotton over her torn skin made Aileen's body shudder involuntarily.
Yet she stayed completely silent.
Ena lounged on the sofa nearby, her perfectly manicured nails idly twirling her phone between her fingers.
She looked at Aileen's lifeless face, her eyes filled with triumphant satisfaction.
"Nurse, could you be a little gentler? Aileen's always been so delicate. Kevin spoiled her for seven years, and now she's completely pampered," Ena sighed theatrically.
The nurse's hand trembled, and the tweezers accidentally jabbed deep into the wound.
Aileen let out a muffled groan, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.
Ena stood up, sauntered over to Aileen, and leaned in, whispering in a voice meant for the two of them.
"Did you see how Kevin was losing his mind just now? He was so desperate to find me, he even used Gary's life to threaten you," Ena said.
Aileen squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to see Ena's disgusting face.
Ena, relentless, hooked Aileen's chin up with her cold fingertips.
"Aileen, how are you still so clueless? Kevin only said he'd marry you because you've been obedient these past seven years. He's gotten used to you, and couldn't bear to throw you away.
"Do you really think you could ever replace me and marry him?" Ena taunted. "I messed with you on purpose today. I wanted you to see for yourself what you really are to him."
"Get lost," Aileen forced out through the pain, her voice raw with pain.