Chapter 3

Whitney gritted her teeth and yanked backward hard. I clearly heard the sound of my bones snapping. The pain ripped through my entire body. My vision went dark. Cold sweat soaked through my back, and I nearly passed out on the spot.

Before I could even catch my breath, Kelly picked up a wooden bat from the corner. She raised it high and brought it down hard on my right hand. The bat even snapped from the force, and at the same time, an agonizing pain shot up from my right wrist.

Of course, it had to be my right hand, the one I used to sign documents, to code, and to hammer out every business proposal.

That blow didn't seem to satisfy Kelly, however. She repeatedly jabbed the back of my arm with the broken bat, shrieking, "You're as stubborn as ever, huh, Caleb? How dare you hurt Sam! What, you think you're so great?"

The pain became so unbearable that I couldn't even make a sound. All I could do was breathe raggedly.

Eventually, Whitney and Kelly got tired and stopped hitting me. My pained gasps and their panting breaths were the only sounds left in the room.

Whitney crouched down again, the furious frenzy gone from her face. She reached out and gently touched my swollen and broken right wrist. Her movements were light, but her eyes were completely devoid of warmth.

"Your left leg is broken, and your right wrist is fractured. From now on, you won't even be able to stand on your own, let alone sign any documents or try to take Sam down."

She lifted her gaze to my ashen face, her tone carrying a twisted sort of pity. "From now on, just behave yourself. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

Samuel leisurely got back on his feet and dusted off the grime that had gotten onto his suit during his pity ploy. He stared down at me, the bloody, battered man on the floor.

"Now that's much better. You'd better stay right where you are and stop your futile attempts to resist."

He couldn't be bothered to waste any more time on me, so he left with Whitney and Kelly.

The door shut again, cutting off the faint light from outside. All that remained was the agony of broken bones that continued to torment every fiber of my body.

I lay there for a long time—so long that my body had nearly grown numb—before I finally managed to stop the uncontrollable trembling.

The more cruel they were to me, the more reason I had to hang in there and stay alive. I was even more determined for them to pay for everything they'd done, both today and in my previous life. They were going to suffer far more than I did!

I deliberately acted as if I had completely broken down. I stopped paying attention to my surroundings. Even when they brought me food, my gaze was unfocused, as if my mind had already snapped.

After seeing me like this, Whitney and Kelly finally lowered their guard.

A few days later, I overheard them talking about going to a bar to celebrate.

My chance had come.

Once they left, I used my still-functional left hand to grab the metal chain wrapped around my ankle. Enduring the pain, I put all my strength into it and began swinging the chain again and again. The deafening clang echoed through the silent room, rattling my eardrums, but I didn't stop.

Gritting my teeth, I kept going for a full half hour.

Finally, I heard impatient footsteps downstairs, followed by heavy knocking on the door.

A gruff male voice rang out, "Hey! Can you guys keep it down? The noise is disturbing my family downstairs! My son just fell asleep, and I don't want you waking him up!"

A flicker of joy surged in my chest. I hadn't dared to hope for much, but thankfully, there were residents living in the surrounding units.

"Sir! Can you help me call the police? I'm being illegally detained!"