Mandy stormed in like a wild animal driven past the edge, her eyes bloodshot with fury as she barreled down the hallway and kicked open the bedroom door.
The sight that greeted her was pure horror: Hank Brown pinning Claire to the bed, the once-white sheets now stained crimson with Claire’s blood.
Claire’s beautiful face was barely recognizable, swollen and bruised from the beating. Her exposed skin was covered in angry, blistering burns, as if someone had poured scalding water over her. She looked utterly broken, her suffering almost unbearable to witness.
Something inside Mandy snapped.
“You bastard!” she screamed, her voice raw with rage. In one swift, unhesitating motion, she drove a knife deep into Hank Brown’s lower back.
Hank’s scream was guttural and desperate. He collapsed off Claire, writhing on the blood-soaked bed, his limbs twitching, agony etched across his face.
But Mandy had lost all sense of restraint. She stabbed him again. And again. Each blow was fueled by pure, unfiltered rage. Hank Brown stood no chance against her onslaught; his body was soon riddled with wounds, until he lay unmoving, eyes wide open in death.
Claire, finally regaining some awareness, stared in shock at Hank’s lifeless body. For a moment, she was frozen, utterly numb.
“No, no… please…”
Mandy had just killed a man. There would be no mercy for that—she’d be facing the death penalty.
Throughout all the abuse Claire had suffered, she had never once shed a tear. But now, watching Mandy lose herself in violence for her sake, tears spilled down her cheeks, unstoppable.
Mandy’s whole future was ruined… because of her.
Mandy finally stopped, her chest heaving. She dropped the knife and pulled Claire into a tight embrace. “Don’t be afraid, Claire. I’m here. I’m going to get you out of this.”
Outside the bedroom, the chaos had died down. The sound of fighting faded, replaced by heavy footsteps.
Jeffry, Liam, Victor, and Normand burst into the room. The moment they saw Claire’s battered, barely-clothed form and Hank Brown’s corpse, all four men froze in disbelief.
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