The bad news had arrived.
For so reason, she felt more relieved that Charles hadn’t lowered himself to Juho’s demands for her, rather than sad over the fact that she wouldn’t be getting out of here any ti soon.
"What do you want from then?" she asked.
"We’ll need your help to give him a little encouragent," Gustav answered.
Her chest tightened. Uh-oh. This was starting to feel like one of those movie scenes where the kidnapping victim’s body parts got chopped off and mailed to their family in fancy boxes.
She swallowed hard. "C-could you be more specific?"
"Just follow ," Gustav replied with an easy tone. "You’ll understand."
That easy tone didn’t help her nerves at all. Her imagination was already running wild with every possible scenario. But she was in no position to protest, so she quietly nodded and followed Gustav out of the room.
He led her all the way down to the basent, one floor above the garage. This floor had no decoration at all, all plain and functional like a storage level. The corridor stretched long and narrow, with multiple doors lining both sides, all shut tight. They stopped at the one at the very end.
Inside, there was absolutely nothing except a few fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Kaija entered first. Gustav followed behind. The door closed shut. When Kaija turned around, her body went still.
Two more n had slipped into the room, standing right behind Gustav on either side. Their faces were just as intimidating as his, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, like they were waiting for his command.
When had they co in? She hadn’t even noticed. Her stomach was already churning. She’d seen enough movies to know what ca next.
Juho was nowhere to be seen on the way down. Now that she knew how unhinged he really was, she shouldn’t have been surprised if he’d ordered sothing like this.
She held both hands up, forcing a weak smile. "Look, gentlen. I’ve told you over and over. I hold no value whatsoever to Charles Kosonen. Really, you don’t need to dirty your hands. It won’t change anything."
"Let’s not waste ti, Miss Sepala," Gustav said flatly, waving his hand. "Boys, let’s get this over with."
Without a word, the two n started toward her.
"Hey!" she stumbled back, her panic rising. "Wait!"
It was no use. There was nowhere to hide. One of them grabbed her wrist and yanked her back hard. Her body hit the floor. Before she could get up, their boots ca down.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Urgh! Argh! Stop!" she cried, struggling to shield her core and her head.
"Avoid the face and the hands," Gustav instructed coldly, still standing where he was. He had a phone in his hand now, filming and comnting like a director. "Good. Make her scream more. Make it look convincing, boys."
Rage and sha flooded through her. Who did he think he was to do sothing so inhuman to her like this? She bit down on her lip, refusing to scream. She wouldn’t give them what they wanted.
Her silence only enraged the two n further. Their kicks ca harder, more rciless. After a while, they grew bored. One of them grabbed her hair and forced her to stand while the other threw punches into her stomach.
Gustav fild the whole thing. Once satisfied, he finally signaled for them to stop.
Kaija collapsed to the floor with a painful thud. She couldn’t even feel her own body anymore. They scooped her up and brought her back to the bedroom upstairs. By then, her consciousness was already gone.
She stayed in bed the next few days. Whenever the maids ca, she just hid under the blanket. She didn’t want to talk to them. Didn’t even want to see their faces.
The more days passed, the more paranoid she beca about what would happen if Charles refused to give them what they wanted again.
Would they try sothing more than just punching and kicking next ti? Which part of her body would they start with? If they did, would she be able to continue the training at all, with so of her body parts gone? If not, how would she ever repay that enormous debt?
Soon, Kaija stopped eating altogether. She no longer bothered opening the door for the maids. She just told them, "Co in," and stayed buried in bed when the knocks ca, like she just did now.
The door slid open. The cart entered with its sa creaky sound.
"I don’t want to eat," she muttered under the blanket. "Stop bringing it."
The maid must have been confused by her words. No answer ca.
"Just leave," she muttered again. She had no patience or energy to ease the maid’s confusion.
Suddenly, the maid sat down on the bed.
Kaija frowned at the sudden intrusion, pulling the blanket down. "What are you—"
"Was the food not good?"
Her eyes flew wide open. It wasn’t the maid. It was Juho.
"You don’t look well." He reached a hand toward her.
She jerked away to the corner imdiately, pulling the blanket up her neck to shield her body. "What do you want?!" she shouted.
Juho seed stunned. His hand suspended midair. Slowly, he lowered it, his face calm again. "I ca to check on you," he said evenly. "The maids told you haven’t eaten since yesterday."
"I’m fine! I don’t need your food or your concern. Just leave alone. Leave!"
His brow furrowed slightly. "What’s wrong? Did the maid do sothing to displease you?"
She clutched the blanket tighter, covering her body even more as if that alone could protect her from the young man. What the hell was wrong with this maniac? Why couldn’t he understand that he was the problem, not any maid?
She crawled back under the blanket, not wanting to spare him another word. Her body was already drained from a day without food.
"No one did anything to ," she shot back coldly. "Just seeing you makes sick. So please, leave."
Unfortunately for her, Juho was the stubborn type. He left the bed only to walk around to the other side, and suddenly yanked the blanket away from her.
"What do you think you’re doing?" she yelled, pulling it back, but she couldn’t.
His hand was gripping it so tightly his knuckles had turned white. For a long while he just stood there, eyes widened, staring down at her with a horrified expression.
"Kaija..." he stamred, his lips trembling faintly. "Your... your hands. What happened?"
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