Chapter 6 Fractured Soul

• "No, Boss... The girl isn’t dead, but she fainted. She needs urgent medical help," Scott muttered.
• Damian let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. He wasn’t sure why he felt relief, but the girl was proving to be a headache without giving him any useful information.
• "Call Dr. Garza to the warehouse and have her check what the hell is wrong with her," Damian ordered before hanging up.
• But even after ending the call, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling creeping into his chest. His mind kept circling back to the girl.
• She was still refusing to talk, even after being beaten. What if she was actually telling the truth? The thought made something uncomfortable settle in his gut. Damian never wanted to torture an innocent person. But then again, she was Ander's sister and she had to know something. Maybe she was just good at hiding it.
• His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as her face flashed in his head again and again. It was annoying. Why was he thinking about her so much?
• With a growl, he made a sharp turn, changing direction. He had almost reached his house, but instead, he began driving back to the warehouse. He needed to see her condition with his own eyes.
• As he was on his way to the warehouse, Damian grabbed his phone and called Chris. The moment Chris picked up, Damian spoke. "I want every single piece of information about Ander's sister. And I don't want any mistakes."
• "Yes, Boss. On it," Chris replied quickly.
• Just as Damian was about to hang up, Chris interrupted, "Boss, we got news about Ander. He’s in France, spotted with a money laundering gang."
• A slow, satisfied grin spread across Damian’s face as he wasn't expecting to catch that cunning rat so soon.
• "Good job, Chris," he praised.
• "But what about his dad?" His smile disappeared instantly, replaced with rage. "Where is that motherfucker still hiding?"
• Just thinking about Miguel made Damian's blood boil as that real bastard should be buried under six feet already who encouraged his son to mess with the devil of the underworld.
• "We’re still searching, Boss, but it’s like he vanished into thin air," Chris admitted.
• "Try harder. Grab Ander as a hostage and once we have him, it’ll be easier to flush Miguel out," Damian snapped.
• "Yes, Boss," Chris replied.
• Damian ended the call and arrived at the warehouse in a while. His feet led him directly to the basement, where the girl was being held.
• "Where is she? Did you really not get anything out of her?" Damian asked, as he found Esther leaning on a wall of the basement.
• Esther shook her head silently and then gestured for him to follow her. She led him to a small cell next to the torture room. As soon as Damian stepped inside, his eyes landed on the girl lying motionless on the cold floor.
• Dr. Garza was sitting beside her, checking something inside the girl's dress. Damian frowned and turned to Esther.
• "Were you really trying to beat her to death? I told you to get information about Ander, not kill her," he snapped.
• "Boss, I did beat her, but it wasn’t extreme… She suddenly had a panic attack and lost consciousness," Esther explained, her eyes flickering to the girl’s unmoving body.
• Damian was about to scold her again when Dr. Garza suddenly interrupted.
• "Mr. Santoro, I still find it hard to believe you’re torturing such a young girl," she said, her voice filled with anger. "I told you before that I don’t want to be involved in your ruthless activities. I told you to find another doctor to treat your victims, yet you called me again after torturing a woman? I don't think it would be possible for me to work further with you."
• Damian narrowed his eyes at her.
• "What the fuck are you talking about? We haven’t tortured her. She was just beaten," he said in disbelief.
• "Just beaten?" Dr. Garza scoffed.
• "Her entire body is covered in bruises, including her intimate areas. These are clear signs of rape and sexual abuse. And there are raw whip marks on her back, all of which show that she’s been tortured for a while," she said, struggling to hold back her rage.
• Though Dr. Garza had been forced to work for Damian under blackmail and threats, there were things she could never tolerate. This was one of them.
• "Stop bullshitting, Doctor," Damian shot back sharply. "Neither I nor any of my men have touched her, and she even admitted that herself."
• "I didn’t use any whip either," Esther added, frowning.
• Dr. Garza crossed her arms. "Whatever. But I’m telling you the truth. If you don’t believe me, Mr. Santoro, you can undress her and check for yourself," she said firmly.
• At this point, she was beginning to believe that Damian wasn’t the one who had caused the abuse. As far as she knew, he could be ruthless, but he would never go that far with a girl.
• Damian, on the other hand, stood there, baffled. He could see from Dr. Garza’s face that she wasn’t lying. And as much as he hated to admit it, the thought that someone had done this to the girl made his blood boil.
• He turned his gaze back to her fragile, lifeless body on the floor.
• 'Was Ander abusing his own sister?' The thought alone made Damian’s fists clench in anger. But he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.
• "Treat her. Make sure she recovers fully. We still need her," Damian ordered coldly before turning on his heel and walking out of the cell.
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• Leah's eyes fluttered open, and she slowly took in her surroundings. It was a different room from the one she had been in before.
• Then, memories rushed back of Tessa’s death, her own kidnapping, and the terrifying man who had questioned her about Ander. A chill ran down her spine just thinking about him. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, yet he scared her to death. She had never seen a man look so mesmerizing yet so scary at the same time. His forest-green eyes had burned through her when she failed to answer his questions.
• The last thing she remembered was a woman coming in, asking her the same thing, and then… the beating. Everything after that was dark.
• But what scared her even more was the fact that they hadn't killed her yet. That only meant one thing that they wanted to torture her slowly.
• Leah’s heart pounded as she looked around the small room. She was alone, lying on a bed. When she tried to sit up, a painful groan escaped her lips. Her ribs felt like they were cracked, her knees bruised and sore. She glanced down at herself and realized her old clothes were gone. Instead, she was wearing a loose cotton dress that reached her knees.
• She should have felt embarrassed or disgusted wondering who had changed her, but she didn’t. At this point, her body didn’t even feel like it belonged to her anymore.
• She tried to get up despite the pain, but her stomach growled loudly. Hunger clawed at her insides. She hated how pathetic it felt to be starving at a moment like this. A bitter chuckle left her lips.
• After struggling for a while, she gave up. There was no point in standing. It wasn’t like she could escape, and no one would help her. With a defeated sigh, her weak body fell back onto the bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling.
• "Are they going to torture me again for answers?" she whispered to herself. "But how can I tell them where Ander is when I don’t even know?"
• And then what? Would they kill her or sell her off as a sex slave again?
• The thought made her throat tighten, and a single tear slipped down the corner of her eye.
• But before she could fall deeper into despair, the door suddenly burst open with a loud bang, making her flinch in fear.