The doctor wiped my sweat and shouted, "Hurry, the anesthetic's wearing off! The patient's awake!"
The pain was too much and I blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a ward. My younger brother, Greg, was in the room. He went forward to support me.
“Tommy, you’re awake! Are you okay?” he asked. “Lizbeth really went too far this time. Why didn’t you let me that you're the one having surgery? If the anesthesia wears off, you could die from passing out because of the pain!”
“What difference does it make if I were to tell you?” I forced a smile.
Greg asked with worry, “She didn't notice you left that abandoned warehouse, did she?”
“No. We took another mountain road,” I replied.
Redness slowly creeping up to Gerry's eyes. “You risked your life to save Lizbeth back then. You even stabbed ten times. Now you’re dealing with just one person instead of many, why not just kill her?”
I shook my head. “If we kill her, we’ll all die. She’s not the Lizbeth she used to be.”
“Do one thing for me. After it’s done, leave the country, never come back,” Greg said.
I got the message that my passport was ready two days later. During those days, Lizbeth did not send me a single message.
My chest tightened with a thousand pricks of pain; I could not breathe. When I got home, I felt like I had no strength left.
Before I could relax, I heard the clear click of a gun being loaded. I snapped awake and gripped the dagger at my waist. At first, I thought it was one of Lizbeth’s enemies. But my body fell to the ground before I could even control myself.
I didn’t know what exactly happened other than terrible pain swallowed me whole. My body felt torn apart and then sewn back together.
Then, the smell of blood woke me. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed I was lying on a big hotel bed and everything else I saw made me sick.
My body had whip marks, there wasn’t a single part of my skin unmarked. My stomach churned and soon I vomited.
From the hallway Lizbeth’s voice came. “How is it? Did you record the video?”
“We recorded it, but… Mr. Randall has been with you for eight years. Isn’t this a bit too much, ma'am?”
“What are you trying to say?" She replied, unamused. "Remember who you belong to. If he hadn’t insisted on bothering Rick, I wouldn’t have had to do this. He was pushign it, he deserved to be taught a lesson.”