“Daniel—Mr. Carter—he sent you, didn’t he? Whatever he paid you, I’ll double it. Don’t hurt me!”
“Two hundred thousand… four hundred thousand… half a million… no, a million!”
The leader’s expression flickered, but he sneered.
“Too bad. I live by one rule: whoever hires me first, I stay loyal to. Even if you offered ten times more, I wouldn’t betray the deal.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. Best I can do is leave you a whole corpse.”
Panic surged through me. I tried to run, but the door was already barricaded.
They rushed me, fists and boots raining down. The world spun, pain blazing through my body.
“Please, don’t hurt me! I’m begging you!”
But they ignored me. Before blacking out, I felt my legs twisted unnaturally, agony ripping me apart. I thought I was dying.
So convenient—for Daniel and Chloe. The secret of the half order would die with me.
I was going to die. And I was furious.
Yet when I opened my eyes again, I was still in the hospital. Pain tore through me, my legs bent grotesquely, useless.
Then, from the bathroom, I heard whispered voices.
Daniel.
On the phone.