Chapter 16
In the basement, as soon as Leander opened the door, Marla was blinded by the sudden light.
She hadn’t seen sunlight for days, trapped in this sealed, dark place. For a moment she couldn’t react, instinctively covering her eyes before suddenly remembering and looking up sharply.
It was Leander!
Marla saw him like a lifeline, throwing caution to the wind as she clutched his legs and wailed:
“I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! Please let me go, Leander! I don’t want anything anymore–just let me out and I’ll do anything!”
In just a few days, she’d lost a tremendous amount of weight. Her previously pregnant, fuller figure was now gaunt and withered.
Leander looked down at her calmly: “As long as you pay back what you owe Elara, I’ll let you go.”
Hearing this, hope sparked in Marla’s eyes. She nodded frantically: “Yes, yes! I did everything wrong before. I slandered Elara, I was too desperate to stay by your side. Leander, I know I was wrong now. I caused her to suffer the family punishment–I can pay it all back!”
Just to escape this place, Marla couldn’t care about anything else.
Leander raised his chin, and a bodyguard walked in carrying a thick whip.
The moment Marla saw it, fear gripped her, but thinking she could leave after taking the punishment, she didn’t struggle.
The first lash came down. She screamed as blood seeped from her back.
“Elara received ninety–nine lashes. You’ll get the same–not one less,” Leander said coldly.
Marla gritted her teeth.
Another lash sent her sprawling to the ground.
It hurt so much! How had Elara endured this before?!
Marla’s screams echoed as blood quickly soaked through her clothes. Leander watched from above, counting each stroke aloud.
“Eleven, twelve, thirteen…”
“Seventy, seventy–one, seventy–two…”
The string of numbers–whether salvation or death knell–continued as Marla was beaten until she had no strength left to struggle. Her whole body was nothing but pain, but if she could just make it to ninety–nine, she’d be free.
One heavy lash came down, leaving her back a bloody mess: “Ahhh!!”
She lay like dead meat, unable to move,
“Ninety–eight, ninety–nine… stop.”
Leander finally reached ninety–nine. Marla trembled: “Leander, Leander… can I… go now?”
Full of hope, she tried to crawl her way out of this terrifying basement.
But just inches from escape, Leander’s cruel smile appeared.
“You’ve repaid the family punishment, but you haven’t given Elars back her life yet, Marla.
Leander’s words echoed like hell itself, instantly draining all color from Marla’s face. She screamed in dishelief
“You can’t do this! I didn’t kill Elara! Leander, you can’t do this–you promised to let me go!”
She ranted and raved like a madwoman, her crawling leaving a trail of blood on the floor. She tried desperately to escape, but the basement door slammed shut before her eyes, once again cutting off all light.
Only Leander remained inside, walking toward her.
His dress shoes clicked against the floor: “click, click, click…*
The sound drove Marla to madness, her eyes bloodshot as she shricked:
“You killed Elara! Not me!”
“Everything I did was because you and your family enabled it! Leander, what right do you have to treat me like this!”
“You agreed to send Elara abroad! You agreed to it, not me! You’re the one who wronged Elara!”
The chicking stopped because Leander had reached her. He looked down at the utterly wretched woman, unable to understand why he’d treated Elara so badly for someone like this.
Did he really like children?
Or had he longed for that warm family–of–three life?
Even Leander himself wasn’t sure, but if Marla hadn’t existed, none of this would have happened.
She alone was the most crucial factor.
Leander’s eyes slowly darkened.
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