"Yes?"
Collin’s voice was low, almost mocking.
The next second his foot slamd into George’s side.
Thud!
George’s body jerked from the impact, a pained groan escaping his lips as he curled slightly, still trying to regain his senses.
Kathrine let out a terrified scream.
"Stop! Please stop!" she cried, her small voice breaking as tears stread uncontrollably down her cheeks.
But Collin didn’t stop.
Another kick.
And another.
Each blow harsher than the last.
It was as if all the fear, frustration, and desperation inside him had finally found an outlet.
"Bastard... sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong..." Collin muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes dark with fury.
George tried to lift his head, his vision spinning, his body refusing to cooperate.
"Kath...rine..." he managed to whisper weakly.
That single word—
Was enough to make Collin snap further.
"Still worried about her?" he scoffed, delivering one final brutal kick.
George’s body went still.
Completely still.
Kathrine froze.
"Uncle George...?" she whimpered, her voice barely audible.
No response.
Her tiny hands trembled as panic flooded her.
"Uncle George... wake up..." she sobbed, her heart racing wildly.
But he didn’t move.
Not even a little.
That’s when the realization hit her.
Sothing was very, very wrong.
"Please..." she cried harder, her voice cracking under the weight of fear.
But before she could crawl toward him—
A rough grip suddenly seized her arm.
"Aah!"
Kathrine cried out in pain as she was yanked back.
Her small body stumbled, her balance lost as she was dragged toward Collin.
He didn’t hold back.
His fingers dug into her arm harshly, his grip tight enough to hurt.
"L-let go...!" she cried, trying to pull away.
But it was useless.
Collin’s patience had completely run out.
"Shut up."
His voice dropped—cold, sharp, and terrifying.
Kathrine imdiately froze.
Her sobs got stuck in her throat as she looked up at him.
And what she saw—
Made her blood run cold.
His eyes.
They weren’t just angry anymore.
They were dangerous.
Unpredictable.
As if he had crossed a line even he couldn’t return from.
"I’ve had enough of your crying," he said slowly, tightening his grip just a little more.
Kathrine winced, her lips trembling as she tried to hold back her sobs.
"P-please..." she whispered weakly.
Collin leaned down slightly, bringing his face closer to hers.
"Listen carefully," he said, his voice dropping into a low, threatening murmur.
"If you want him..." he tilted his head slightly toward George’s unconscious body, "...to stay alive..."
Kathrine’s eyes widened in horror.
"And if you don’t want to hurt you—"
He paused deliberately.
Letting the fear sink in.
"Then you’re going to do exactly what I say."
Tears spilled silently down her cheeks as she stared at him, her small body trembling uncontrollably.
"I-I will..." she nodded quickly, fear taking over every part of her.
"Good."
Collin straightened, his grip finally loosening—but not enough for her to escape.
"From now on, you don’t cry unless I say so."
Kathrine bit her lip hard, forcing herself to stay quiet.
"You don’t scream."
She nodded again, faster this ti.
"And when I tell you to say sothing..." his gaze darkened, "...you say it exactly the way I want."
Her breathing hitched.
"Yes..." she whispered.
Collin studied her for a mont.
The fear in her eyes.
The way her small body shook.
And finally he smirked. "See? That wasn’t so hard."
But Kathrine didn’t feel relieved. Not even a little. Because deep down she knew this wasn’t the end.
It was only the beginning of sothing far worse.
***
A sharp gasp tore from Kathrine’s lips as she jolted awake.
Her body lurched forward, breath coming in uneven bursts as if she had been drowning and had just surfaced. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her heart pounding violently against her ribs.
For a mont she didn’t know where she was. Her vision blurred as fragnts of mories crashed into her all at once.
A dark room. Cold fear. George... collapsing. Collin’s eyes. Roseline... bleeding... gasping for breath.
Kathrine squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers curling into fists as if she could physically push the mories away.
"No..." she whispered under her breath, shaking her head.
But the mories didn’t fade. They stayed.
Clear. Painfully real. And then—
"Finally... you’re awake." The voice cut through her thoughts like a blade.
Kathrine’s eyes snapped open. Her gaze shifted sharply to the side and landed on him.
Collin.
He sat lazily on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, as if this was nothing more than entertainnt to him. A blade twirled effortlessly between his fingers, catching the dim light as it spun.
"You know," he continued casually, not even looking at her at first, "I was getting really bored waiting."
His lips curled into a faint smirk.
Kathrine’s brows furrowed instantly. But soon her eyes dropped.
And what she saw made her blood boil.
Blood.
Dried stains on his hands. On his clothes. The sa blood she had seen earlier—Roseline’s blood.
The mory hit her again.
Roseline struggling to breathe... her trembling hands... her warning voice.
He is behind you...
Sothing inside Kathrine snapped.
"You bastard!" she spat, her voice trembling with rage as she tried to move.
But the mont she did— she froze.
’Her wrists. Tied.’
Her body stiffened as realization sank in.
"How can you be so cruel?!" she shouted, her eyes blazing despite her helpless state.
Collin chuckled softly.
The sound was low, amused—almost entertained.
He leaned back in his chair, watching her like she was nothing more than a show.
"I thought you already knew..." he said lazily, tilting his head slightly. "I’ve always been cruel."
Then suddenly he paused.
His expression shifted into sothing exaggerated, almost mocking.
"Oh—right."
A smirk spread across his lips.
"How would you know?" he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You don’t rember anything, do you... Kathrine?"
That look on his face— it made sothing inside her burn.
Kathrine clenched her jaw tightly.
He thought she didn’t rember.
He thought she was still that helpless little girl.
But she wasn’t.
Not anymore.
"I rember everything, Collin."
Her voice was low.
Steady yet dangerously calm.
For the first ti,Collin stopped smiling.
The blade in his hand stilled.
But only for a second.
"Everything?" he repeated, amusent still lingering in his eyes, though sothing deeper flickered beneath.
Kathrine frowned.
There was sothing off about his reaction.
Sothing... unsettling.
Then he spoke again. And this ti his words hit far deeper than anything before.
"Then you must also rember..." he said slowly, his gaze locking onto hers, "that it was ..."
Then ca a pause, a deleberate one before he spoke again "...who killed you in your past life, Kathrine."
Kathrine’s expression froze. Her mind went blank. For a second, she thought—she had misunderstood.
That this was just another one of his twisted gas.
But the look in his eyes said otherwise.
Her heart skipped a beat. She had thought this was about her lost mories. About the past she had just regained.
But this—this was sothing else entirely.
Sothing far more terrifying.
Collin rembered too.
Not just this life.
But the last one.
And suddenly— the situation beca far more dangerous than she had ever imagined.
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