Katelyn sat there, her expression unchanged. Only a true monster could inflict such cruelty with such eerie calmness. She was terrifying. And she wasn’t going to stop.

The knife was lifted again, ready to carve into him once more.

Chester’s last shred of defiance shattered. “I’ll tell you!” he screamed.

Katelyn finally lifted her gaze from her phone and looked at Chester, her expression calm and unsurprised. “Go on,” she said.

Her unshaken confidence only fueled Chester’s irritation. He was seething inside—he had been played by this cunning woman.

But when his eyes landed on the cold gleam of the blade under the light, his anger quickly turned to fear. The thought of resisting vanished instantly. If this continued, Katelyn wouldn’t hesitate to carve him up. She was terrifying.

Her men, following her silent command, lowered the knife and stepped back.

Chester exhaled shakily, relieved that the blade had moved away. At least for now, he wasn’t about to be cut again. Yet, the pain radiating from his arms served as a brutal reminder—Katelyn wasn’t done with him. She might have something even worse in mind.

When he remained silent, Katelyn’s voice sliced through the air again. “If you won’t talk, then we’ll just continue.”

“I’ll talk!” Chester blurted out, his voice rushing with panic.

She wasn’t giving him a second to breathe. She was worse than a demon. He cursed her in his mind, calling her every foul name he could think of, but he didn’t dare let any of it show. He knew better than to test her patience.

Without further hesitation, he started speaking. “Back when the current king was just another noble like us, before he seized power, he despised the Ruiz family. He wanted them gone.”

? → a?ν

Katelyn stayed quiet, listening intently.

Chester took a deep breath, his mind drifting back to those days—it felt as if it had happened only yesterday.

The fall of the Ruiz family had sent shockwaves through the noble circles, ensuring no one else dared to challenge the King.

After a pause, he looked up at Katelyn and added, “I’ll tell you everything I know, but I want something in return. I need you to help me escape—get me out of the country.”

If word got back to the King, Chester was as good as dead. Whether it was now or later, the result would be the same.

At that moment, a plan formed in his mind. If he was destined to die, he might as well gamble on Katelyn sparing him. If he made it abroad, he might just survive. It was his only chance.

Katelyn leaned back in her chair, resting her head on one hand, her lips curling into a faint smile. “I might consider it—but only if what you tell me is worth the price.”

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