CHAPTER 65

TRIGGER WARNING

ABUSE

~

"Answer me!" I screamed, my voice echoing against the cold concrete walls.

His hands stilled for a moment, the rolled-up bandage pausing in midair. Slowly, he turned toward me, his expression eerily calm, almost serene. The contrast between his placid face and the hellish scene around me sent a chill down my spine.

"I said, answer me—"

The sound of his palm meeting my face cut me off mid-sentence. My head snapped to the side, pain blossoming across my cheek like fire. A sharp, metallic taste filled my mouth, and I realized I had bitten the inside of my cheek. My chin burned, the skin tingling as if the nerves beneath had been seared.

For a moment, I just sat there, stunned, the world tilting as I tried to process what had just happened.