Chapter 206 Twisted Truths

    The moment Helen saw the insects, all the color drained from her face. Her voice trembled as she stared at the jar. “W–What are you doing?”

    Sloane picked one up between her fingers, her tone detached and cold. “They’re called Blood Leeches. Once they get inside the body, theytch onto the throat and start feeding–slowly, steadily—until the host bleeds out from the inside.” She raised a brow. “Want to find out what that feels like, Madam Helen?”

    Panic red in Helen’s eyes, but she tried to keep up the front, even as her voice shook. “You… you wouldn’t dare. You’re bluffing! You’re just trying to scare me!”

    Sloane gave a quiet, chillingugh and stepped closer, holding the creature inches from Helen’s face. “Let’s find out.”

    Helen thrashed in panic, but Sloane’s grip was like iron. She locked Helen’s jaw in ce, and the leech wriggled briefly at the edge of her lips before crawling straight into her mouth.

    It slid down her throat in an instant. Helen gagged, a wave of nausea hitting her hard. She doubled over coughing, pain etched all over her face.

    Her face twisted with horror and pain as she wed at her throat, trying to throw it up. She vomited across the floor, but the parasite stayed buried deep.

    Sloane stepped back calmly, watching with cold precision. She calmly held up a small vial of liquid and gave it a gentle shake. “You tell me what I want to know, and I’ll give you the antidote.”

    “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” Helen finally broke. She copsed to the floor and clung ito /iSloane’s leg, her voice breaking. “I’ll tell you the truth! Your real parents are—”

    But before she could finish, her entire body tensed.

    Her expression twisted with pain. She clutched her head and let out a piercing scream. “Ahh! My head! It hurts!”

    She curled up in the chair, drenched in cold sweat, her face pale and drained.

    Sloane’s brow furrowed. She walked over, pulled Helen’s eyelid open, and saw the burst red veins in her eyes.

    Her gaze sharpened as she studied Helen’s reaction. She realized that the moment Helen tried to speak about her background, unbearable pain struck, as if some invisible force was silencing her.

    “A seal,” Sloane muttered, her tone heavy. Someone had nted a mental restriction. If Helen tried to reveal the truth about her origins, the seal would activate and cause searing pain.

    After a brief pause, Sloane raised her hand and knocked Helen out cold. She held the vial near Helen’s mouth. A momentter, the ck leech slithered out and crawled back into the bottle.

    She’d only ever heard of this kind of seal. She had no idea how to break it. Worse, she knew that once it was triggered, the person who ced it would immediately know. For now, she had no choice but to let the matter go.

    Still, this confirmed it—someone out there was pulling strings behind the scenes. And whoever it was, they weren’t just dangerous. They were calcted. Experienced.

    This was no ordinary person.

    There was no use pushing Helen any further, for now. Sloane had her quietly returned to the Rivers estate.

    Then she turned and headed for the asylum. There were things she needed to

    confirm.

    The director of the asylum flinched the moment he saw her. His shoulders stiffened. “Ms. Rivers–what brings you here?”

    Sloane walked in calmly, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Her tone was as cold as ever. “Where’s Boone? I want to see him.”

    The director let out a huge sigh of relief. As long as she wasn’t here for him. “Right away. I’ll take you to him.”

    The halls of the facility were dim and heavy with the sterile sting of disinfectant. The chipped paint on the walls and the distant echoes of murmuring patients only added to the suffocating atmosphere.

    Sloane followed the director in silence, her steps steady, her gaze razor–sharp. The man in front of her, though, wasn’t nearly soposed. Sweat dotted his forehead. His stride was shaky, uneven. And every few seconds, he nced nervously over his shoulder.