Chapter 27 Lying on the Ground
He pulled her toward the adjacent room, convinced that Claire was merely pretending.
He anticipated that she would break down under pressure and finally resist him.
In the past, Claire would have slapped anyone who treated her this way.
Yet, under his provocation, she merely begged for mercy.
Frederick was certain that she was acting.
After all, if she could come to Eclipse Nightclub, it meant her previous compliance was just a façade.
Four years in prison had not changed her; she remained as cunning and defiant as ever.
If she hadn’t been that way, Anna wouldn’t have died at her hands four years ago.
Claire, however, was unresponsive, her mind flooded with memories of blood and Frederick’s grip.
It felt as if she had been thrust back into prison, where any sign
Chapter 27 Lying on the Ground
of defiance led to even harsher punishment.
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She vividly recalled her first night in jail, waking to find a pair of bloodshot eyes staring at her, surrounded by blood.
Screaming, she jolted awake, tumbling off her bed, desperate to escape the horror.
She ignored her own pain, desperately trying to shrink away until she reached the wall, with nowhere left to retreat. All she could do was hold herself tightly, trembling uncontrollably.
She had never encountered such brutality before, and it left her trembling, feeling as if her body was no longer her own.
She didn’t even remember what the people in the same cell with her had said that night.
All she knew was that they approached her, laughing and joking, and then they began to attack her.
She clung tightly to herself, lying on the ground as they hit her again and again until she lost consciousness.
After that night, a long, hellish torment began–day after day of humiliation and abuse.
“Claire, it seems you really can endure, can’t you?”
Frederick, noticing her silence, grew increasingly agitated.
He yanked her arm, dragging her toward the door.
Chapter 27 Lying on the Ground
Claire shivered but did not resist; she was paralyzed by the trauma of her past.
It wasn’t that she didn’t resist, but rather that she was unable to. After four years in prison, she had been tormented so mercilessly that it left an indelible shadow within her.
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In prison, it wasn’t that she had never resisted before, but each time she did, even crueler torment followed. The more fiercely she fought back, the more brutally she was punished.
Four years of relentless abuse had imprinted itself deep into her very bones. She was utterly incapable of resisting anymore.
Frederick, frustrated by her lack of reaction, declared, “I want to see if you can keep this up!”
After finishing his words, Frederick opened the door and dragged Claire to the door of the adjacent room.
He couldn’t believe that Claire could remain so quiet and unresponsive at this point.
But Claire showed no reaction at all; her expression was blank and dazed. She lay at the door of the adjacent room, her posture exactly the same as before.
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