Chapter 5

After they turned me into a sea lion, they often sent me to a dark, hidden underground chamber.

There, the elite, those with twisted tastes and limitless power, looked at me like wolves, their eyes gleaming with sick delight.

I crawled on all fours, dragging my injured body across the cold floor like a real sea lion. Every movement tore at wounds that had never healed, the pain so intense I almost blacked out, but I couldn't stop.

If I wanted to survive, I had to keep performing.

I lifted my torso as high as I could, flapping my arms like flippers, letting out those sharp, high-pitched sea lion cries.

The more I screamed, the more excited they became, laughing grotesquely.

One of them, a fat woman with layers of makeup and perfume thick enough to choke on, stomped up to me, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yanked my head up.

I whimpered, pain burning through me, but I still forced myself to nuzzle her leg like a begging dog.

She laughed, coarse and cruel. Her grip got even tighter. Her other hand roamed my body, nails scraping across my skin, leaving bleeding scratches behind.

Others cracked a whip across my back, shouting obscene orders. I had no choice but to obey. I did every humiliating, sick move they demanded, choking down my shame.

Over and over, I rolled across the ground, dragging my belly across the cold, hard floor, barking and cheering on cue, matching their laughter with my own false joy. Every action crushed a little more of whatever pride I had left.

My head felt foggy. The memories of being forced to please them clung to me like rot. And now, instinct kicked in, I crawled toward Grace, head lowered.

Because if I pleased them, I got to eat.

I let out a muffled whimper and crawled to Grace's feet on all fours. My hand trembled as I slowly reached for her skirt.

My fingers were shaking from fear... and habit. Just as I was about to grab her leg, Grace jumped back like I'd burned her.

"Maxwell, are you out of your mind?!" Her voice cracked with terror. Her eyes bulged like I was some kind of monster.

Nicholas stood behind her, his expression flickering with something between glee and horror, and then he quickly covered his eyes, pretending to be scared.

Isabella and Connor were frozen, faces pale with shock. Their mouths opened, but no sound came out.

Grace's reaction stunned me. I froze in place and let out a confused, helpless sea lion cry. My mind went blank. I didn't even know what I'd done wrong, just that the way they looked at me made me scared.

Savannah looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes went wide, bulging with disbelief.

She stormed over, yanking me to my feet and asking, "Maxwell, look at yourself! Do you even know what you're doing? What the hell have you been through all these years?!

"Do you even remember who you are? You're a Lawson. You're the heir to a legacy!"

Her eyes were burning with fury and shame. "How could you stoop this low?! How could you crawl and grovel like this?! You've completely disgraced the Lawson family!"

They locked me in a small, pitch-black iron cage, soaked in the stench of rotten seawater and blood.

The so-called researchers wore white coats and emotionless masks and performed inhuman experiments on me as they carved into me like a specimen.

They injected strange drugs into my body and cut and reshaped me with machines. The pain never stopped. Little by little, they turned me into a sea lion.

Savannah had sent me here for Nicholas. She'd abandoned me to this hell without a second thought.

But now? Now, she acted like she couldn't bear the sight of what I'd become.

A staff member turned to run.

"You! Stop right there!"

Savannah's voice boomed. "I sent him here to reflect and reform, not to become this freak!"

Free Point

In a panic, one of the staff members started spewing nonsense in a desperate attempt to cover himself. "Ms. Stanton, he's not as innocent as you think.