Chapter 8

Annabel returned home alone. She silently dressed the wound on her forehead and began packing her belongings. She dragged all traces of Tristan out—the necklace, the ring, the watch, the cards he had written, the photo albums they made together… Everything about him she threw into cardboard boxes and discarded into the trash bins downstairs. When she dropped off the last box, a cold wind mixed with flurries brushed her cheeks under the streetlamp. She couldn't help but laugh bitterly. The memories she once held dearly now sat in dumpsters like broken junk. Then, suddenly, everything went black. A burlap sack was thrust over her head, and she barely had time to react before a sharp pain struck her neck. In the end, she passed out. When she finally awoke, she was still trapped with a bag on her head. Her hands were bound tightly behind her back, and a cloth gagged her mouth. Peeking through the sack's slit, she saw Tristan sitting on a high-backed couch with Cassie curled against him. Around them stood a ring of bodyguards. "He's here, Mr. Morse," one guard reported respectfully. "This is the ringleader of the crew that Ms. Norton sent to mess with Ms. Lawrence." Cassie trembled in Tristan's arms, voice barely a whisper. "Tristan, why don't we let him go? You showed up just in time, and nothing really happened to me…" He sneered coldly. "No way." His fingers brushed Cassie's cheek, and his tone was soft but chilling. "I can't just let him go. I won't hurt Anna, but if she dares to mess with you again, she needs to be taught a lesson." He glanced at Annabel's bound figure, continuing, "Since she sent those thugs, I'll use him to scare her and make sure she never dares again." Annabel shivered all over. The truth had hit her—this was all Cassie's setup! Cassie had pretended to be attacked by those goons, then paid them to kidnap Annabel. She lied to Tristan that Annabel hired the ringleader, just so he would punish her, without ever knowing who it was. Annabel struggled hard. She tried to scream his name, but her mouth was gagged. The only way she could make any noise was to whimper. At that, Cassie seemingly caved and sighed. "Well, then… You should go easy on him. He's one of Ms. Norton's, after all…" "Go easy on him?" Tristan scoffed, emphasizing, "That's impossible. Anyone who dares to violate you will know what real torture is like." The next second, Annabel was dragged up to the edge of a high platform. Below her was a deep swimming pool, the water still and cold under the bright overhead lights. She was tied up. A sack loosely covered her head, and her hands were bound behind her back. Before she could say anything, someone gave her a hard shove. The cold hit her like a wall. Water rushed over her head, into her nose and mouth, making her choke. Her heart pounded as she sank. Her lungs were screaming for air, and it felt like a million needles were prickling them. She was in so much pain that she instinctively curled into a ball. "H-Help… me…" Her faint cries for help were easily swallowed by the water. The sack soaked through quickly, sinking her into the pool like a heavy rock. The more she struggled, the more the ropes tightened. It wrapped taut around her skin, making it significantly harder to breathe. Just when her consciousness started to fade, the rope jerked suddenly. She was yanked back up, breaking through the surface with a loud gasp. Annabel coughed hard, water from her lungs, mixed with blood, spilling out of her mouth. Before she could catch her breath, though, she was pushed back under once again. The same process happened three consecutive times. Each time she hit the water, it felt freezing and harsh, and each time she was pulled up, it left her aching all over. It was an endless torture. Annabel's head was spinning, and everything around her was just a loud buzzing. Her chest burned so badly, it felt like it might explode. Frankly, she had lost track of how many times she had been pulled up. Finally, Cassie, sounding like she couldn't take the torturous scene anymore, stopped Tristan. "Enough, Tristan… Stop hurting him…" However, he simply sneered. "I'm far from finished." He took an iron rod from a guard and stepped right up to Annabel. "Anyone who hurts you has to pay." The iron rod landed against her back, one strike after another, and she reflexively arched her back like an electrocuted shrimp. The searing, electrifying pain traveled down her spine and slowly spread into all her limbs. Despite biting down hard on the cloth in her mouth, she still let out a muffled groan. Tristan struck her mercilessly, without ever knowing who was inside the sack. Each strike felt like it shook her to the bone, rattling her insides. Annabel could feel warm tears slipping from the corner of her mouth and dripping down her chin. There were 99 blows in total, courtesy of Tristan. By the end, she barely felt any pain anymore. Her mind started to blur, darkness creeping in at the edges of her vision. Her body felt like it was falling apart, as if thrown into a meat grinder machine she couldn't escape. As the final blow landed, she collapsed to the floor like a rag doll, weak and exhausted. Her clothes were soaked, and the ground beneath her was stained red. A sharp crack echoed. Tristan lifted his polished shoe and pressed down hard on her exposed finger. The sound of a breaking bone was crystal clear, yet not a single sound could escape from Annabel's lips. She shivered all over with a pain so excruciating that even a single gasp would require too much of her. Only then did he pull back his foot, looking satisfied. He turned and pulled Cassie into his arms, his fingers gently brushing her hair. "Did I scare you? It's over now. Everything's done." He waved his hand at the bodyguards like dismissing trash. "Take him away." With that, he carried Cassie without looking back. As he walked past the blood pool on the floor, his shoes squished with a wet, sticky sound. The cloth gag in Annabel's mouth finally loosened. Using the last bit of strength she had left, she croaked out his name. "Trist… an…" Her voice was barely more than a whisper in the wind, but it took everything she had to say it.