Chapter 23: The torture
Cold sweat pricked her.
Noah had already tied her up and locked her in a dusty house. Wasn’t that punishment enough? Now he had even sent men to torture her.
How cruel?
"I’m his wife," she argued weakly. "He can’t do this to me. You are lying."
"I’m only following orders," the man said indifferently. "You hurt Miss Tessa. And Mr. Sinclair wants you to go through the same pain as her."
Elena stopped sobbing at once. Every word was like a dagger piercing her heart.
Before she could process those words, he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face—then another and another.
Elena’s cheeks burned and swelled within seconds. Her jaw throbbed so badly that she felt as if her teeth would shatter. Then he punched her in the stomach.
She doubled over and coughed up blood.
The other man laughed and recorded the whole thing on his phone. "That’s good," he mocked. "Miss Tessa will definitely enjoy watching this."
At that, Elena looked up at the man, gasping for air. She finally realized everything was Tessa’s plan. And Noah had allowed it. He had let Tessa torture her like this.
Another punch crashed against her face. Blood trickled from her nose, staining her lips and chin. Her vision blurred, and her head spun.
She could barely keep her eyes open.
But the man showed no mercy. He kept hitting her again and again.
The one who was recording continued provoking him. "Hit her harder. Finish her off."
Elena coughed up more blood when another punch landed in her stomach.
He squeezed her jaw tightly. "Listen," he said gruffly. "We have no personal grudge against you. We were paid to do this. Don’t blame us."
"Please let me go," she pleaded. "I’ll pay you more."
"Sorry," the man said. "You have seen our faces. We can’t risk leaving you alive."
His calloused fingers wrapped around her throat and started strangling her.
Outside the hospital, Elias could no longer sit calmly. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. Just then, Owen rushed out.
"I checked the footage," Owen reported hurriedly. "Miss Elena was kidnapped. I got the license plate number of the car and told Henry to track it down. We should get the location soon."
The moment Elias heard those words, his entire body tensed dangerously.
"Drive," he ordered coldly before getting into the car.
Owen immediately got behind the wheel and sped away.
Back at the old house...
Elena couldn’t keep struggling. Her body had become weak from the relentless beating.
On the verge of passing out, she cursed Noah in her mind.
’Noah, you are so cruel. Even though you don’t love me, you have no right to treat me this way. I regret ever loving you. I regret the day I entered the Sinclair family.’
Her vision darkened little by little. She could no longer feel any pain. She thought it was good. Finally, she was free from all the agony, torture, and humiliation.
’Maybe it’s better this way.’
She thought she was going to die. But then a burning determination surged through her.
’I can’t die yet. I have to send my aunt abroad, away from the Sinclair family, away from Noah’s influence.’
She stopped moving, pretending to be dead. She didn’t even breathe.
Thinking she was dead, he slowly loosened his grip and placed two fingers beneath her nose.
No breath.
The other man stopped recording and lowered his phone. He stared at Elena. "Is she dead?"
"I think so," the first one replied. "If she is not, she will die soon enough. Let’s get out of here. We can’t get caught."
He turned and strode out in brisk steps. The other one shoved the phone back into his pocket and followed behind him.
The moment the door shut behind them, she opened her eyes.
The instant the air rushed back into her lungs, unbearable pain exploded through her entire body. Her throat burned. Her ribs ached. Every breath felt like knives piercing into her chest.
Gritting her teeth, she twisted her wrists again. But no matter how hard she tried, the rope remained tightly secured.
"I need to get out of here."
She looked around, her gaze searching for something, anything she could use to cut the rope. Then she saw broken shards of glass lying beside the shattered window.
Hope flickered in her eyes. She could finally get out of here.
She rocked the chair left and right until it toppled over.
"Uh," she groaned in pain as she collapsed onto the dusty floor.
She dragged her aching body along with the chair. Blood dripped down her nose and seeped into her mouth. Her wrists were already raw and bleeding from the rope cutting into her skin.
Every tiny movement sent unbearable agony through her aching body. But she wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t.
She ignored everything and moved toward the shards inch by inch.
"A little more. Just a little more."
Gathering all her strength, she slithered forward.
Her stomach twisted painfully from the punches. Her head pounded violently. Even breathing hurt. But she continued moving.
The door burst open again.
Elena stopped and glanced up. Through her blurry vision, she saw a tall man.
Horror made her bones tremble. She thought those kidnappers had returned.
Elias paused at the doorstep. The moment he saw Elena on the floor, bound to a chair, covered with blood, his heart clenched violently.
"Elena..." He rushed toward her and dropped to his knees beside her.
Elena’s tensed body eased. It was not the kidnapper.
"Elias?" she whispered, relieved and surprised at the same time.
"It’s me," he said. "I’ll take you out of here."
Elena tried to smile a little. "You came..."
Before she could complete the sentence, her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.
"Elena, open your eyes."
But Elena didn’t respond.
Meanwhile, Owen rushed in. He paused right at the doorstep when he saw the scene. "I checked the whole place. No one is around."
Elias’s expression turned terrifyingly cold as he stared at Elena’s battered face. "Find out who did this to her," he ordered coldly.
Then he untied the ropes around her wrists, carefully lifted her unconscious body into his arms, and carried her out of the dilapidated house.