Chapter 556 Charlotte's Tragic End
The group quickly understood what was happening inside the shack. For a moment, they stood outside, debating whether to enter or not.
As they hesitated, the intermittent sound of a woman pleading for mercy came from within. "It hurts so much!"
It was Charlotte's voice.
Patricia felt a sudden chill run through her. She couldn't believe that the woman partaking in a twisted affair with a man inside was Charlotte, who had completely lost her mind.
Charlotte's desperate pleas echoed again. "Please, stop hitting me. It hurts... it hurts so much..."
"The more you hurt, the more it excites me," a sleazy male voice said. "Scream, come on, scream... louder... If you do, maybe I'll stop."
Sure enough, Charlotte, playing her part all too well, began to scream.
Patricia felt goosebumps all over and couldn't bear to listen any longer. Just as she was about to burst through the door, James lifted his foot and kicked it open, charging inside. Patricia and the cops quickly followed.
The scene in the room came into view. Charlotte was stark naked, her wrists bound and hanging from a crossbeam, her legs spread wide and tied to two posts on either side, exposing her in a mortifying position. A grossly overweight man with a scruffy beard stood before her, lashing her with a belt repeatedly.
Charlotte was covered in wounds—lash marks, burns, bruises, and even traces from a branding iron. It was a horrifying sight, too painful to behold. The scars on her body were enough to imagine the inhuman torture she had endured.
Although Patricia felt intense hatred, the sight of such cruel, sadistic treatment was still a huge shock to her. She turned her head away, unable to watch.
James walked over, intending to cut Charlotte down.
The man obstructed his path, saying, "Who the heck are you? This is my turf. What gives you the right to come busting in like you own the place?"
Without a word, James delivered a powerful kick straight to the man's abdomen.
The man grunted and toppled over, his butt hitting the ground hard. He writhed in pain, unable to get up for a long while.
Two cops immediately stepped forward, untying Charlotte from the beam, one draping his police jacket over her to cover her bareness.
Fortunately, Charlotte wasn't tall, so the oversized police uniform covered all her privates.
The man tried to get up several times but ended up falling back down on the floor.
"You dogs can't do squat! This here's mine; I forked over the cash. I'll do as I damn well please, and you ain't got no right pokin' your noses in."
Inwardly seething, Patricia he picked up his fallen belt from the ground, charged at him, and started lashing him, each strike harder than the last.
Her anger wasn't just for Charlotte but because of what the man had said, as if women were not humans but mere objects to be bought and sold.
The man cried out in pain as his skin broke and began bleeding.
"She's a person, not a thing! Who the hell do you think you are to 'buy' her? What do you take us for, toys for your amusement?"
The more Patricia talked, the angrier she became. Her mind was spinning, and she mindlessly continued to whip the man.
She had caught him off guard, but once he snapped to his senses, he grabbed the belt and yanked hard.
Patricia, smaller and weaker, nearly lost her balance and fell on top of him, but James was quick to pull her back just in time.
The chief intervened, "Let's sort this out back at the station."
"Why I gotta go there?" the man protested. "I ain't done nothin' wrong! What's the deal with you arresting me?"
The chief ignored his complaints and instructed two officers to lift him from the ground and forcefully take him away.
At the station, Charlotte had been given a set of clean clothes by a female officer and taken to a separate interrogation room. Having just endured inhuman treatment, she was in shock, curled up in a corner, cradling her head. The female officer tried to get information from her but to no avail.
Meanwhile, Patricia and James were in the interrogation room with the man. He couldn't endure the intense questioning and had lost all his earlier bravado.
"I'll spill, I'll spill. Just hit me with whatever, but please, no more. I can't handle it if it keeps on."
Patricia and James sat side by side on the interrogation chairs. James wore a mask, his expression unreadable, but Patricia could feel his anger. Ever since they had come out of that dark room, he had been silent, an icy aura enveloping him. His face might as well have had 'DO NOT DISTURB' written across it in big, bold letters.
"Who did you buy her from?" James asked in a heavy tone.
The man replied, "Big Joe, it was Big Joe! By the time she got to me, she had been tossed around like a hot potato. Too unpredictable to turn a dime, so they just kept shuffling her."
"Turn a dime?" James said through clenched teeth, each syllable crackling with fury.
The man shuddered with fear. His body shrunk as he looked down and murmured, "Yeah, for the cash! I asked Big Joe about her, and he said she was unruly. Bit the client a bunch, so he had to sell her. Sure, she's pretty and men dig her appearance, but she doesn't listen."
Patricia gasped as she finally realized what he meant by 'sell.' What on earth had happened to Charlotte during this time? How could she have ended up in such a state? It was a fate worse than death.
James turned to the police chief. "Is Big Joe that powerful?"
The chief looked troubled as he nodded. "Big Joe does have some clout. We've always kept out of each other's way. As long as he doesn't go too far, we tend to turn a blind eye."
James inquired, "And he is?"
The chief answered, "He owns a bunch of the entertainment joints around here."
James looked at the man. "What else do you know? How did she end up with Big Joe and become like this?"
The man shook his head frantically. "I dunno, I swear I don't! She just looked kinda pretty, and I figured I could score some cash. And sometimes... she'd be like someone I could vent on, you know?"
The temperature in the interrogation room plummeted to freezing.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
