Chapter 5

Cynthia felt like she'd just heard the most absurd joke in the world. "Am I the crazy one here or are you, Damian Gray?" Damian's brows knitted tightly together. His patience seemed to have run out for good. "I'm not asking for your opinion, Cynthia. Look at yourself. You need professional help and guidance." Damian gave Cynthia no room to argue further. He brought her over to the therapy center after settling everything necessary. Only Alice and Cynthia were left alone in the room once the door was shut. Alice, who'd been putting up a meek and pitiful act all this while, immediately changed expression. A delighted sneer appeared on her lips. "Well? It must feel terrible, huh?" Cynthia was leaning against the couch. She lazily opened her eyes and responded, "At least my situation's better than yours. After all, I don't have to spend 24 hours a day pretending to be mentally ill. Aren't you tired, having to wear the human trash I've discarded as a badge of honor?" Alice's expression contorted in an instant. She hissed, "Do you really still think you're the high and mighty heiress of the Stutton family, Cynthia Stutton? I'm telling you right now—your father didn't do anything to me. I stole that semen and falsified the evidence because I wanted to send him to prison and ruin your entire family! "I've always hated how proud and condescending you are! Now, look at you—your father's a convicted rapist, your mother's dead, and you're nothing more than the scum beneath my shoe!" A buzzing noise filled Cynthia's mind as her long-suppressed hatred broke through its dam. She slapped Alice hard on the cheek without thinking. Smack! The slap echoed especially loudly in the quiet room. The counselling room's door opened at almost the exact same moment, and Damian stood in the doorway with a frightfully dark expression on his face. Alice immediately grabbed onto his arm as tears fell down her eyes. "Dami, I… I was just trying to explain things to Ms. Stutton… And try to ease things out between us… I don't know why she hit me…" "Did you hear what Alice said, Damian Gray?" Cynthia pointed at Alice. "She admitted firsthand that she framed my father and orchestrated everything from the start. She's only pretending to be ill!" Damian's brows furrowed together upon seeing how worked up Cynthia was. "That's enough," he said, voice ice cold. "The case evidence was conclusive and the verdict was given. How much longer will you continue lying to yourself? When will you finally accept that your father—my mentor—is a rapist?" Damian's words were like a freezing shard of ice that pierced the last of Cynthia's defenses. She gazed at him in disbelief. "Damian… You've always felt that way, haven't you?" Damian turned his gaze away, no longer looking at Cynthia. "My wife is highly unstable and shows clear signs of aggression and delusion. She needs immediate medical intervention," he said quietly to the doctor outside the door. "Dami, Mr. Reyes from the third floor is the best at dealing with patients like her. Why don't… Why don't we bring Ms. Stutton over to him?" Alice gently reminded Damian. Damian glanced at Cynthia before nodding tiredly. "Alright." Cynthia was immediately subdued and brought upstairs. Damian was about to follow after them when his phone rang. His brows furrowed tightly upon answering the call. "Go and tend to your affairs if you need to, Dami," Alice said, letting go of her hand. Damian hesitated briefly, glancing at Cynthia. In the end, he still turned around and hurried off. Cynthia was forcefully dragged into the treatment room by two strong nurses. It was only then that she realized that this wasn't some high-end 'counselling room' here on the third floor—it was a torture-chamber like treatment room filled with cold, hard tools and machines. Cynthia was unable to break free from the staff restraining her. She was forced down into a cold hard metal chair before her hands and legs were tied down by leather strips. Alice walked inside the room and took a pair of electrode pads. A strong wave of electricity surged through Cynthia in the next instant. "Ah!" Cynthia shrieked, her body convulsing from the great pain that came from being shocked. She nearly blacked out. "Your father is a rapist—remember that," Alice said in her ear. "No!" Cynthia bit down hard on her lip. The taste of blood began spreading in her mouth. Alice then amped up the electric voltage and repeated in Cynthia's ear. "Your father, Edward Stutton, is a rapist." "No!" Cynthia gritted out. Her father was the best father in the world. He would never do such a thing. A stronger wave of electricity flooded through Cynthia's being. Over and over again, the electricity came. Cynthia wasn't sure how many times she was shocked. Her awareness drifted hazily in the pain. Alice stood gracefully to the side, admiring Cynthia's wrecked being. "What's the point in fighting? All you have to do is say 'Yes, my father is a rapist', and I'll tell them to stop." Cynthia raised her head with great difficulty. Her breaths were shallow and weak as she said, "Come… Over… And I'll… Say it…" Alice thought Cynthia was finally surrendering, so she happily leaned in to Cynthia, carrying a victorious air about her. Just then, Cynthia used all the strength she had left to deliver a hard kick to Alice's stomach. "Ah!" Alice cried before falling down on the floor, not having anticipated this. Cynthia used this short window to pull one of her loosened hands out of her restraints to unbind herself. Then, she leapt toward the door, fighting through the intense dizziness and pain that coursed through her being. However, the doorknob didn't budge. "Grab her!" Alice's expression was one of pain and fury as she clutched her aching stomach. The two nurses immediately lunged at Cynthia. Just as Cynthia was about to be held down again, she turned around and lunged at Alice who was still on the floor. Cynthia used all her might to grab Alice and ram into a window nearby. "I always take my revenge, Alice Holland!" Cynthia snarled. The window immediately shattered, and the two women that were tangled together fell from the third floor.