The wound was deep to the bone, blood soaking through. She looked at the figure in front of her, trembling in both pain and fear. "Mm! Mm!" "You mean, you want me to let you go?" Maisie nodded frantically. But the person only chuckled, "That won't do. We still have unfinished business." Her eyes widened in panic as she struggled harder against the ropes. "Relax, the needles are all out. I won't dig at your wound anymore." With that, the person carefully began to bandage her up. Maisie frowned and let out a shaky breath, her wary gaze never leaving him. She was not young anymore, and sometimes her thoughts were slow, but she could still tell if someone's intentions were kind or cruel. Sure enough, once the bandage was tied, the person did not stop. Their face cold, they said, "Alright. Next step." Maisie's body shook violently. Next step? What next step? When she saw them reach again for the tray of steel needles, terror filled her eyes. "Mm! Mm!" Her muffled cries turned frantic, but the ropes at her wrists and ankles only cut deeper the more she fought. The person ignored her, calmly sliding the needles in again, one by one, each jab avoiding the old wounds, carving new pain."I heard you once used this trick on your own granddaughter? "You look terrified now. Funny, why weren't you scared back then? "To be honest, even though I'm the one holding the needle, this still creeps me out. Jabbing needles into people is total freak behavior." The torturer was a bit of a chatterbox. Words spilled nonstop while their hands worked steadily. As the needles pierced in, they even reached over to switch on an old cassette player, drowning Maisie's cries beneath the music. "Quit crying. It's only for today. Tomorrow I'll take them out for you." A pause, then, "Of course, once they're out, I'll put them right back in." That line crushed her. Maisie fainted completely. "Tut, tut, was it fear, or pain?" They slapped Maisie's face a few times, forcing her awake. "Wake up! I'm the one doing the work here. Why are you slacking off with your eyes shut?" Dragged back from unconsciousness, Maisie was once again overwhelmed by the searing pain in her body. Instinctively, she tried to move, but the steel needles were wedged into her joints—every tiny twitch sent agony tearing through her. "Mm! Mm!" The person ignored her pleas, glanced at her limbs, then said, "Sorry, the boss wants things done carefully. I've got a kid at home, so I can't risk you running off and scaring him. So, you'll just have to bear with this." They pulled out a knife, the blade gleaming, and awkwardly cut through her tendons. "Damn, this is terrifying. Being a psycho's not easy."One slip and I'd cut an artery. Boss was clear that you can't be allowed to die too fast." Sweat drenched Maisie as a faint scream escaped her lips before she blacked out again. "Hey, don't faint! Leaving me here in all this blood creeps me out." They slapped her again, but she stayed unconscious. With a shrug, they dropped the knife. "Guess that should do it. On TV, people can't move after this anyway. "Alright, I'm off. Sleep well. Tomorrow, I'll take the needles out for you." Wiping their hands clean, they left the room. The door was shut, the lock checked, then reinforced with a heavy chain. With the key pocketed safely, they muttered, "If TV villains were half this cautious, the hero would never get a chance to fight back." Upstairs, a woman waited on the landing. "All done?" "Yeah, it's finished." "How long do we have to keep this up?" "Cassian said until she dies from it. Judging by her state, two or three days at most." The man was Roderick. He reached out to hug his wife, but Nadia shoved him back and handed him disinfectant wipes. "Clean up properly." Then, she sighed. "Cassian really is ruthless." Roderick wiped his hands slowly. "It's just an eye for an eye. That's not ruthlessness, it's justice."Nadia nodded. "That old woman is disgusting. Just hearing how she used the needles on Ms. Ashford made me furious. No wonder Cassian was enraged." Roderick muttered, "He'd wanted to handle it himself but held back."