CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 33: HIS EMBRACE

The car drove smoothly along the road to the Geoffrey residence. Rebecca Quentin sighed lightly, leaning back against the chair as if in fatigue. Isabella Joanna’s blessings for her and Howard Geoffrey kept echoing in her mind. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, their corners slightly moist.

At this moment, she confessed in her heart, I’m sorry, Isabella. I lied to you because I don’t want you to worry about me...

Actually, she had endured a terrible three months. Her relationship with Howard Geoffrey was far from what a lover might perceive. On the surface, they treated each other with respect and mutual care, like any normal couple. But only she knew the agonizing price of their current, fragile peace...

She still remembered the first day Howard Geoffrey imprisoned her at the Geoffrey residence. Furious, she chose to call the police. He didn’t stop her. When the officers arrived, he intimately held her by the shoulders and simply explained it as a marital dispute. The police then left.

Howard Geoffrey didn’t appear for the next few days, and all her communication devices were confiscated by his men. With no one to rescue her, she vented her anger on household objects. She stomped on his clothes in the wardrobe and tore his files in the study to shreds. However, these acts proved futile, as no one paid any attention to her.

When this tactic proved ineffective, she resorted to a hunger strike, reasoning, Since he cares so much about the child, he probably won’t let both of us die.

As expected, on the third day of her hunger strike, when she was almost faint from starvation, he finally appeared...

She had thought she would achieve her goal, that he would compromise for the child in her womb. But she never imagined that this time, he would show her true cruelty and thoroughly teach her the meaning of "obedience."

She still remembered that day. Her stomach was cramping with hunger. Hearing from a maid that he had returned, and though her vision blurred from starvation, she disdainfully ignored the food the maid brought, determined to wait for his compromise...

He appeared before her then, looking down at where she sat on the sofa, still stubbornly starving herself. "Eating or not?" he asked coolly.

She stubbornly turned her head aside, feigning indifference.

He sat down, tilted his head, and lit a cigarette, appearing utterly unconcerned.

Suddenly, she heard a faint whimpering. Instinctively, she looked back and saw a bodyguard nearby, holding a small camcorder playing a video...

Recognizing the person in the video, she forgot her hunger instantly and sat bolt upright in shock. "Aunt... Aunt Clare?"

In the video, Aunt Clare was tied to a wooden chair by two men in black hoods, her mouth gagged, a bathtub full of water before her.

She rushed towards the camcorder, her eyes fixed on the terrified Aunt Clare in the footage. Whirling back to Howard Geoffrey, she stammered in horror, "This... What is this?"

He exhaled a plume of smoke, his gaze calm as he met her wide, terrified eyes. "Dunk her," he ordered coldly.

At his command, the two men in black hoods instantly thrust Aunt Clare’s head into the bathtub.

GURGLE. GURGLE...

Water flooded Aunt Clare’s throat. Her hands thrashed wildly in the bathtub in her agony.

"AHHH!" she screamed, her hands clawing at the camcorder screen as she cried out, "Aunt Clare! Aunt Clare!"

Aunt Clare, on the screen, was submerged in water, enduring excruciating pain.

She scrambled towards Howard Geoffrey, clutching at his clothes. "You had them seize her? Why would you do this? Why?! Let her go! Let her go now!!"

Howard Geoffrey didn’t even glance at her. He casually flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Still on your hunger strike?" he drawled.

"I..."

Because of that momentary hesitation, Howard Geoffrey ordered again, "Dunk her!"

Aunt Clare, barely out of the water, was plunged back in. This time, she seemed to have no strength left; her struggles were noticeably weaker.

Seeing Aunt Clare’s deathly pale face, as if on the verge of death, Rebecca Quentin finally broke down, crying out in terror, "No... Please, don’t do this anymore... She can’t take it! Please..."

This time, Howard Geoffrey issued no further command. He merely glanced at her. "Don’t worry," he said lightly. "I won’t go so far as to kill anyone. But if you’re disobedient, those around you will be the ones to suffer."

The next moment, she collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.