Page 99 of The Cute Psycho

"Depending on your answers..." Vlad trails off, smiling from ear to ear before adding, "The devil or..." He purses his lips, looking undecided, "The devil."

"I didn't do anything!" Patrick is quick to profess his innocence. "They're paying me. I'm just doing my job. Please... I have a family..."

Vlad tsks at him. "And I don't care. Save your breath." He rolls his eyes at him before turning to Glen. "Now, where are the twins?"

He's trembling from head to toe, and it only seems to get worse as Vlad's patience is nearing its end.

"You can't take them," he whines, trying to move out of his hold. Vlad has a bored expression on his face as he takes out one knife, playing with it along Glen's throat.

"And you're out of your depth here,Glen," Vlad starts, trailing the knife toward his face. "Let me tell you how this is going to go. You tell me where the twins are, and then you answer my questions about your boss, Miles."

Glen pales when he hears Miles' name, and Vlad merely smiles at him. "If you cooperate, I will kill you fast. If you don't, then I'll just have to take out a body part at a time."

Looking up, he addresses Patrick. "You're a doc, aren't you?" The man slowly nods, or as much as he can, given Seth's firm grip. "Good. Why don't you tell my pal, Glen, how painful puncturing the eardrum is." Vlad chuckles as he places the tip of the knife right over Glen's ear. "I don't hear you," he speaks in a sing-song voice when Patrick doesn't immediately reply.

"It's very... very," he gulps down, "painful."

"There you have it, Glen! A professional opinion."

"I can't tell you!" he exclaims. "He'll kill me," he cries out, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

"Glen, Glen." Vlad shakes his head at him. "A little weak, aren't we?" With a disappointed sigh, Vlad jabs the sharp point of the knife into Glen's ear. His eyes widen, his mouth open in shock as a shrill escapes his lips.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" he yells just as blood pours out of his ear. "They're in the exam room. Last... last door," he breathes out, his entire body racked by tremors.

"Sisi, can you grab the twins?" Vlad asks and I nod, quickly moving in the direction Glen had indicated and leaving Vlad to interrogate them further.

I spot the door, and as I walk toward it I hear more screams, evidence that Glen and Patrick might not have been too forthcoming with the rest of their answers.

And as I enter the room, I realize that nothing Vlad could do to those men could make up for the horror I'm seeing.

The twins are huddled together in a corner, holding on to each other for warmth. In the middle of the room there are two surgical beds, each with an inhabitant on them.

Dead.

I tentatively near the beds, and I have to take a deep breath at the sight. Two children, both of them cut from neck to pelvis, their chest cavities exposed, their organs placed in some containers next to them. It seems to be an autopsy room of sorts, and my heart breaks even further when I hear a small voice.

"Don't look."

Turning back, I see the little boy shielding his sister, thrusting her behind him as he addresses me.

"Hi," I offer tentatively, not knowing how to comfort them or get them to trust me.

The boy looks at me suspiciously.

"Who are you?" He narrows his eyes at me, one arm spread out to keep his sister in the back.

"I'm here to take you home," I say, watching him scrunch his nose at me, assessing me from head to toe. "Do you want to go home?"

For a moment, there's no reply. But then, I hear the soft voice of a girl as she utters a single "Yes."

"Let me take you home." I take a step toward them. "I promise I'll get you home." I crouch down in front of them when I'm about a step away, giving them a tremulous smile and hoping they will feel comfortable trusting me.

"You promise?" the girl asks again, and her brother pushes her back.

"Stop, Leila," he hisses at her.

"It's okay. It's fine to be suspicious, especially after what happened to you. But my friend and I were there, and we saw you get taken. We followed you here and we want to help you get back to your families." I do my best to explain.

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