Chapter 4

"General Lawson, her vital signs are dropping rapidly! The power level has exceeded the human body's tolerance limit! If we continue, she'll suffer brain death!" the technician shouted.

"If she dies, let her die here!" Sean's eyes burned with fury. He looked like a beast that had completely lost its mind.

He shoved the technician out of his way and rushed to the machine himself, gripping the red power control knob with all his strength.

"I want the truth! I want every last bit of it!"

A harsh electrical hiss filled the room.

The current surged to ten times its previous intensity, tearing through every inch of my body. My back arched violently, my spine bending into an unnatural angle as a bloodcurdling scream ripped from my throat. It barely sounded human.

The stench of burning flesh spread through the air. Blood poured from the corners of my eyes, my nostrils, and my ears, streaming down my paper-white face in ugly red trails. Every nerve in my body was stretched to the breaking point, and every inch of my skin trembled.

"Stop! Sean! Stop!"

At last, an elderly military doctor with a head of white hair could no longer stand by and watch. He charged toward the raised platform, desperate to stop the inhuman torture.

"You're going to kill her! This is public murder!"

He had barely made it up two steps when the guards seized him and dragged him away, ignoring his desperate struggle.

"Let go of me! You'll regret this! Every single one of you will regret this!"

The old man's cries echoed through the courtroom.

The enormous chamber had become Sean's personal execution ground. Everyone else had turned into a silent accomplice.

Strangely, the last fragments of my consciousness became painfully clear.

The tender memories I had deliberately buried, the moments of affection he now treated with contempt, returned to me like razor blades slicing through my mind.

I remembered the night sky above the training camp. He had wrapped his arms around me and pointed to the brightest star overhead.

"Janet, look. That's you. In my eyes, you'll always be one of a kind. You'll always shine brighter than anyone else."

I remembered a simulated combat exercise when he had saved the only emergency injector for me, then charged ahead despite his own injuries.

"Don't be afraid. I've got you. I'll always have your back."

I remembered him lovingly cleaning my beloved sniper rifle, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"When we get back from this mission, we're getting married. I want the whole world to know that you, Janet, are the only woman I'll ever call my wife."

'The only woman I'll ever call my wife.'

'I've got your back. You'll always shine brighter than anyone else.'

The sweet promises that had once carried me through countless brushes with death then sounded like the cruelest lies imaginable.

I had once loved that face more than life itself. Now, all I could see in it was a twisted, almost vengeful satisfaction.

Sean, this was the truth he wanted. Was he ready to spend the rest of his life regretting what he did?

With the last of my strength, I bit down hard on the tip of my tongue. The thick, metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

Then, gathering every ounce of strength I had left, I forced the words out one by one.

"Sean... Lawson… You... will... regret... this..."

My voice was faint, but the words struck him like the hardest slap he had ever received.

"I will never regret it!" He was practically feral now, the veins at his temples bulging as he screamed back at me. "You're the traitor! You're the coward! You're the one who deserves to die! Janet, I want you to watch as every one of your lies is torn apart, piece by piece!"

The moment he finished speaking, he shoved the power control knob all the way to its maximum setting.

A deafening roar exploded through the room. White light burst before my eyes, as if a nuclear bomb had detonated inside my skull.

The entire world dissolved into blinding white. Every sound, every ounce of pain, every sensation was stripped away in an instant.

My body crashed back against the restraints. Then, everything went silent.

On the machine, the line tracking my vital signs jumped wildly across the monitor.

"It's stopped... The memory extraction... was successful..."

The technician slumped to the floor, mumbling to himself.

On the raised platform, Sean gasped for breath, sweat soaking through his uniform.

He stared at the screen, and at last, a trace of triumph returned to his face. He had finally forced the truth out of the traitor.

Throughout the courtroom, everyone held their breath and stared at the enormous screen.

Arthur struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with a painful mixture of hope and grief. He was waiting for the final verdict that would clear his daughter's name.

The dark screen flickered with static. A sharp crackle filled the courtroom.

Then, a crystal-clear image suddenly appeared. It was the final piece of truth that I would have rather died under Sean's torture than let him see.