He explained to Nathan, âWithout knowing the drugâs name, Iâll need time to analyze its composition and find a match in the database.
Itâs a lengthy process, and the results may not be available until tomorrow noon.
You can go home as thereâs no need to wait here.
â
Accepting the suggestion, Nathan left the lab with Lucind and headed home for a much-needed rest.
It was midnight.
The Shawsâ house was brightly lit, and the servants and bodyguards were panicking.
In the ancestral temple, the unsettling sound of rattan whipping echoed through the dark night.
Standing beside the pillars inside the a
cestral temple, Ryder and Sally were filled with fear and trembling.
In a corner, two fragments of broken deep yellow rattan lay on the floor.
Kyson knelt on the cold floor.
His body shook, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his handsome face turned pale.
His thin white shirt bore a stain of blood at the back.
Despite the sharp pain coursing through him, he clenched his fists and endured in silence.
Next to him, Mekhi held a sleek rattan and persistently inflicted merciless torture upon Kysonâs wounded body.
Whoosh!
Mekhi unleashed his anger with every strike.
âSpeak up! Where is the key?! Did you steal something from the top floor?
Where have you hidden it?â
Kyson drew in a deep breath, attempting to alleviate the ache in his back, and said with difficulty, âI never took Shilohâs key, nor did I trespass onto the top floor.
I certainly⦠Didnât engage in any theft.
â
âLiar!â
Mekhi lashed him five times on the back, leaving no room for explanation.
Beneath the shirt, Kysonâs back bore the gruesome evidence of the punishment-bloody and battered.
Each whip etched a fresh welt, and blood flowed from the wounds.
âEmâ¦â Kyson groaned in pain and was unable to maintain an upright posture.
His trembling arms supported him on the floor.
âMekhi, I swear I didnâtâ¦â
Ryder, who was standing by the pillar, was terrified and couldnât bear seeing Kysonâs pathetic state.
Sally gasped, her hands instinctively covering her mouth in distress.