Chapter 3

"Don't you have OCD?" Her voice was filled with vengeful pleasure as her high heel ground over my fingers. "Don't you disinfect the house three times every day? How does it feel now?"

She gave a thug a look. The man grinned viciously, pulled a baseball bat from the trunk, weighed it in his hands, and tossed it to her.

Kate caught the bat and crouched down beside me, her voice soft.

"Pedro said that day after getting caught in the rain, he felt like his lungs were going to explode."

She slowly stood up and raised the baseball bat.

"Now, let you feel the same."

The bat came down with a sharp whistle, smashing hard into my lower back—right where my kidneys were.

"Ahhh—!"

The intense pain made me scream inhumanly. My body arched violently, and my vision went completely black.

On the car screen, Pedro spoke with fake concern, though excitement leaked through his voice: "Kate, that's enough. Don't break him. I still need him..."

"You're still defending him!"

Pedro's words seemed to trigger Kate, madness exploding in her eyes.

"He almost killed you! This little pain is nothing!"

She stopped letting the thugs do it and took matters into her own hands. Another strike, smashing hard into my calf.

"Crack!"

I clearly heard the sound of my own bone shattering.

The pain nearly made me pass out, but she still wasn't satisfied. She threw down the bat and ordered a thug: "Tear off his shirt!"

The expensive cashmere sweater she'd given me for my birthday was ripped apart with a "rip."

My bare upper body was exposed to the cold autumn wind, trembling all over.

I stared at her intently, using the last trace of my strength.

During a brief gap in the pain, I used my last bit of strength, my fingers trembling as they moved quietly toward my collar.

There was a specially made emergency pin sewn there.

My assistant Leo had half-forced me to wear it before this hospitalization, calling it a good luck charm.

He always said I trusted human nature too much.

I struggled with all my might and finally pressed that tiny switch.

My tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and I almost collapsed from exhaustion.

Leo. He would come.

He would definitely come to save me.

As long as I could hold on until he arrived...

"David, what are you up to?"

Kate's voice pierced through the hope I'd just kindled.

She bent down and yanked open my collar. The small pin was exposed before her eyes.

She froze for a moment, then her face flooded with the rage of being played.

She lifted her foot, the tip of her scarlet high heel aimed at the pin.

"Trying to call for help?"

"Crack!"

"You useless piece of trash, you're pretty cunning though."

The metal casing was crushed and deformed, electronic components scattering everywhere.

I stared at her hard, my vision going black in waves.

I can't die.

In college, I'd taken an emergency medical course and studied physiology well. Now I could only rely on myself.

I curled up in the mud water, using a specific position to reduce pressure and bleeding in my kidneys.

I regulated my breathing, fighting against wave after wave of intense pain.

Seeing that I was actually trying to save myself, Kate's expression became extremely complex.

Pedro's voice came from the car screen again.

"Kate, when I had my asthma attack, the pain almost killed me. How can he still hold on this long?"

"He shouldn't have it this easy!"

"Right, he shouldn't have it this easy." Kate nodded.

She turned and took a white medical kit from the car, throwing it on the ground.

A woman who'd been standing behind the thugs walked over. She wore an ill-fitting nurse's uniform, her face completely expressionless.

"He's lasted too long." Kate issued her cold command. "Give him an injection of diuretics and saline."

My pupils contracted sharply.

"Kate, you're insane!"

I screamed with all the strength in my body: "My kidney function has already failed! This will accelerate electrolyte imbalance and cause cardiac arrest!"

The fake nurse crouched down expressionlessly, opened the medical kit, and skillfully drew a syringe full of clear liquid.

The needle gleamed coldly as it pierced my arm.

"No—"