After all, the rule of the underground fight arena was clear: if you owed money and couldn’t pay, you had to pay with your body. As long as you didn’t die, you could continue being a tool for their stress relief.
My consciousness swayed, teetering between excruciating pain and the desire for unconsciousness.
The sounds around me were a blur, as though muffled by a thick, blood-soaked fog.
Someone roughly grabbed my limbs and dragged me into a damp, dark basement, tossing me onto the cold cement floor.
"Ms. Alba said not to let him die. We need him for tomorrow."
The iron door slammed shut with a deafening bang, and darkness swallowed everything.
I curled up in the corner, my body shaking with pain, while my heart had long since gone numb.
I didn't know how much time passed, but Celine's impatient voice finally cut through the silence, echoing through the brightened surveillance screen.
"Why can't I reach Kristian?"
"Celine, don’t worry, Kristian is probably just busy with work."
"Bullshit! He wouldn't ignore my calls no matter how busy he is! Besides, he promised me he’d take care of himself!"
Celine's voice was thick with panic.
My heart lurched, as if squeezed by an invisible hand, and I held my breath.
She was looking for me!
The next moment, Celine received another call.
The voice of her friend, Theo, came through clearly. "Celine, is Kristian with you? His phone’s been unreachable!"
Celine suppressed her anxiety, pausing for a moment before responding in a calm tone. "He's probably secretly working overtime. You know how obsessed he is with his work."
Theo immediately denied it. "Impossible! Tomorrow is the wedding. He wouldn’t still be working at this hour!"
Celine fell silent for a few seconds before hurriedly pulling out her phone to check the surveillance footage for my whereabouts.
My heart raced, and a tiny spark of hope flickered.
Would she notice something was wrong?
Would she recognize that the person nearly killed by her hands today was me?
"There's no one at home. Looks like I was right. Don't worry, Theo. Kristian is either still working or just taking his time getting home."
She hung up the phone and turned to those around her, ordering, "Get the car ready. I'll take Liam home first."
The hope that had started to build was immediately crushed.