David asked in a cold voice, “Where is Zoe?”
Angus hurriedly replied, “She… she’s in the room. Let me take you there.” Angus quickly got up from the ground and led the way. .
Arnold, Sophie, and the others followed, their faces filled with worry, as if they had a bad premonition. They all followed Angus to his room. Angus stood at the bedroom door with his back to everyone, his hand hesitating on the doorknob. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind to open the door.
As the door was pushed open, everyone frowned. They saw Zoe lying naked on the bed, covered in bruises and scars, with bloodstains on the sheets. Her hands and feet were bound, and her mouth was taped shut. It was unimaginable what kind of torture she had endured.
“Zoe!” Sophie’s eyes immediately turned red, and she rushed forward to untie the ropes around Zoe’s hands. Sally also hurriedly came forward to help. She took off her jacket and covered Zoe’s body.
“Zoe, what happened to you?” Sophie’s voice trembled with tears as she looked at Zoe’s miserable state. Zoe, who had been numb and hopeless, finally showed some signs of life when she saw Sophie and the others. She hugged Sophie and burst into tears.
“Sophie, Angus is not human. He brought a group of people back and they took turns violating me. They… they even said they were going to kill Arnold and David and take away your supplies.”
Suddenly, Zoe realized that David and the others were unharmed and appeared here. “You… you’re all okay?”
Arnold’s anger flared up when he heard this. He rushed forward and kicked Angus in the body. Angus was kicked against the wall and let out a muffled groan, showing a pained expression.
Arnold flipped him over and mercilessly punched him in the face, one punch after another. “Angus, you beast! You’re worse than a pig or a dog!”
Angus’s face was covered in blood from Arnold’s beating, but he didn’t dare to fight back. He cried out, “Arnold, please stop, they forced me. If I don’t agree to their demands, they said they would kill me.”
Arnold didn’t stop his actions at all, instead, he hit even harder. “You dare to lie! I’ll fucking kill you.”
Angus’s appearance in the hallway didn’t look like someone who was forced. David stepped forward and stopped Arnold, pulling him up. Then he searched Angus’s pockets and found his phone. He first checked Angus’s calls and messages, and then looked through his communication apps.
After a thorough search, David finally found the chat records between Angus and “Knife Brother” on a video app called “titok”.
He handed the phone to Arnold, who, after reading it, couldn’t help but curse out loud, “This is what you call being forced? This fucking bullshit is what you call being forced?!”
He stepped forward and stomped on Angus several times, feeling unsatisfied. Then he grabbed a stool and ruthlessly hit his head a few times. Angus was beaten half to death, muttering, “Please, stop… stop… I really was forced…”
Sophie closed the bedroom door and, together with Sally, helped Zoe put on clothes. Zoe weakly got off the bed, her steps unsteady. Sophie couldn’t help but feel heartbroken, supporting Zoe and shedding tears uncontrollably. She had always treated Zoe like a younger sister since their time at the barbecue restaurant, and seeing Zoe in such a state was like a knife to her heart.
After dressing Zoe with Sally’s help, Sophie and Sally led her out of the bedroom. David glanced at them and sighed. “You two go back for now. Arnold and I will handle things here.”
Zoe suddenly walked up to David, choked with sobs, and said, “David, I’m sorry. If only I had listened to you and lived with Arnold and Sophie, I wouldn’t have ended up like this. It’s all my fault.”
David sighed, his expression complex. He had tried to convince Zoe earlier, but he hadn’t been able to persuade her. He never expected Zoe to be so devoted to Angus. But what surprised him even more was how cruel Angus had been to a girl who loved him so deeply.
“Go and rest,” David didn’t know how to comfort her. What had happened to her was too cruel for a young girl, and he could only hope that time would heal the wounds in her heart. Sally and Sophie led Zoe out of Angus’s room.
David said to Arnold, “Why don’t you go and rest for a while too? Your hand seems injured. I’ll deal with him.” Arnold beat Angus too hard, injuring his own hand in the process. His knuckles had split open, and blood kept dripping.
“I’m fine, David.” Arnold’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Angus like a ferocious beast selecting its prey. “I want to slaughter this animal with my own hands.” Arnold pulled out a folding knife and walked slowly toward Angus.
“Arnold, no! Don’t kill me! I beg you!” Angus, lying on the ground and beaten half to death, was suddenly filled with fear. He used his hands to crawl and roll backward, trying to escape. But Arnold and David blocked the doorway, leaving Angus with nowhere to run.
At that moment, two women’s screams came from outside the door. “Ah! Zoe!”
David and Arnold rushed out upon hearing the voices. However, all they saw were Sophie and Sally. Zoe was nowhere to be found. Sophie sat on the ground, her face full of despair, while Sally looked pale and stared downstairs.
Arnold hurriedly helped Sophie up, and David asked Sally, “What happened? Where’s Zoe?”
Sally’s voice trembled slightly. “Zoe… she jumped off the building.”
David glanced down through the internal window of the hallway and saw a gruesome scene below, wrinkling his brow.
“What do we do, David?” Sally’s voice was tinged with a sob, and her body trembled uncontrollably. David embraced her, gently stroking her back.
Suddenly, David heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and met Angus’s panicked gaze. Angus quickly turned and ran, seemingly attempting to escape.
David casually threw a spatial blade, instantly severing one of Angus’s legs. “Ah!” Angus let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground. Clutching his severed leg, he cried out in pain, “My leg! My leg!”
David patted Sally’s shoulder. “You and Sophie go back first.” Sally nodded, helped the distraught Sophie, and walked back into the room with her.
Sophie appeared completely lost, clearly deeply affected by the situation. Arnold stood up, glaring at Angus, clutching the folding knife tightly, and slowly approached him.