Chapter 12: The Truth Unveiled

Katie knew Elio well, as she had mentioned. If he wanted to investigate, there was nothing in this world that he couldn't uncover.
In a dimly lit room, the agonizing cries of men filled the air. Elio sat on one side, his gaze dark as he watched those men—those who had once humiliated Katie. The sound of the whip striking against their skin echoed in the dark room, but their pleas for mercy failed to evoke any response from Elio.
"Do you remember now?" Elio's cold voice resounded as the whip struck down.
"I-I truly don't know what you want to know. Please, please stop, stop hitting me!" Dave cried out in unbearable pain. He had no idea how he had angered this powerful figure. He had taken Tiffany's money and planned to escape, but before he could leave, he was apprehended.
Soon after, the vicious beating began.
"Do you remember?" Elio seemed to exhibit great patience. "Fine, let's see how long you can hang on."
With those words, the sound of the whip resounded once again.
"Please, stop hitting me! I remember it now, I know—it was Tiffany. Tiffany made me do it, she orchestrated everything," Dave confessed. He had been in the streets for a long time, and he knew that whether he spoke or not, his fate would be the same. The whip no longer struck him, indicating that he should continue speaking.
Kneeling on the ground, Dave repeatedly kowtowed, "Mr. Parker, it wasn't intentional. It was all because of Tiffany."
"When they gave us the money, they didn't even mention the person's background until later when we found out about Mrs. Parker's identity. Oh, and just a few days ago, Tiffany came to me asking for help. She wanted me to find a group of people to pretend that she had been gang-raped."
Elio's face turned cold and calm like water. He didn't say a word, and his eyes silently settled on Dave.
Dave was trembling with fear, so he blurted out everything he knew, including the fact that Tiffany was an extremely promiscuous woman who seduced all his brothers.
After saying all of this, Dave was afraid that Elio wouldn't believe him, so he kept on saying, "I swear everything I said is true. If you, Mr. Parker, don't believe me, you can go and ask around our street. Tiffany is notorious for being a prostitute."
"Take him away," Elio's words pronounced Dave's fate.
No matter how Dave struggled, all he got in return was being dragged away to an unknown place.
Elio's gaze fell on another corner, where a man in a white coat cowered. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and Dave's fate had already frightened him. Therefore, without Elio having to say anything more, he blurted out everything he knew.
Every additional word Jake said made Elio's face whiter. The hand placed on the armrest of the sofa clenched into a fist, and blood vessels began to appear on his palm.
"Everything I said is true, Mr. Parker. Please forgive me. I just followed someone's order, I just..." Jake was too scared, his voice trembling.
"What did you do?" Elio stood up and walked step by step towards Jake. His expression was ice-cold in a way never seen before. "Since you dared to lay a hand on me, you should have been prepared to be discovered sooner or later."
"No, I, I still have value. Mr. Parker, I can rearrange your memories. My hypnosis still hasn't been broken by anyone. I..." Jake kept begging, continuously kowtowing.
"Kill him."
With these two cold words, Elio unhesitatingly left the dark room.
It seemed that he should find Tiffany and find out what exactly was going on.