Megan trembled with rising panic.
"Are you going to talk or not?" he barked.
Startled by his outburst, Megan flinched. "I don't know anything," she whimpered.
Another slash. This time across her other cheek.
She wailed in pain, her strength crumbling. "Please, let me go. Nathan, for the years we spent together—please help me."
But Nathan's face twisted with disgust. "Let you go? Never."
"I'll release you," Augustine said coldly, "but only if you tell me everything."
Nathan turned toward Augustine, confused. "Are you serious?"
Augustine raised a hand, silencing him. "You have my word," he said, locking eyes with Megan. "Talk, and I'll let you go if your answers satisfy me. Lie, and I'll cut you again and again until you bleed to death."
Megan stared at him, trying to read the truth in his hardened face. She could tell he was serious. 'This man is crazy. He'll torture me to death. I need to tell him the truth.'
