Chapter 1025: Chapter 1024
Sure enough, before long, Yolanda was hauled into a dimly lit back room.
Romeo had arrived with his crew in tow.
There, Yolanda sat like a forsaken pup, lifting her tear-streaked eyes to face the man she once dreamed of marrying. A wave of bitter regret and tumultuous emotions washed over her.
Two of Romeo’s goons held her arms firmly, while a third force-fed her a bottle of some vile concoction.
Despite Yolanda’s frantic struggles, the liquid poured down her throat.
"You had Rose drink this, and as her fiancé, I’ll let you get a taste of your own medicine," Romeo’s thin lips parted, his voice cold and merciless. "Yours comes with a double dose."
Blood spilled from Yolanda’s lips.
It felt as though invisible fists were tearing her insides apart. She hadn’t expected the poison to act so fast; in moments, her entire body was wracked with unbearable pain.
Romeo watched her transition from struggling in agony to desperately begging for mercy. His handsome face remained impassive throughout.
Before Yolanda could even crawl to his feet, one of his men kicked her aside. No matter how many times she tried, she was relentlessly shoved away.
"Please, give me the antidote." Yolanda knew there had to be one. How else could Rosemary have survived?
With a slight nod from Romeo, a henchman produced a small clear vial.
Romeo glanced down with detached eyes and spoke without a hint of sympathy, "If you want it, kneel and bow your head fifty times."
Yolanda knew Romeo’s demand was a way to avenge Rosemary.
This act of submission was for Rosemary.
Her forehead bled from the effort, and the torment of the poison made her appear less than human,disheveled and wild.
In agony, she crawled after it, finally managing to pry the cap off. She gulped down the medicine and,after an agonizing wait, felt the sweet relief of life returning to her veins.
"This is just the beginning," Romeo said, signaling his men. They poured another dose of poison into Yolanda’s mouth.
Romeo stood up and left, and Yolanda wanted to plead for mercy, but before she could utter a sound, the effects of the drug once again tormented her to the brink of death.
For the next twenty-four hours, Romeo’s goons put her through hell.
The following day, she was jolted awake by a splash of saltwater, the sting of it searing through the wounds Rosemary had inflicted, almost causing her to pass out from the pain.
"You assault my servant, kidnap my daughter’s friend, and attempt to poison my little girl. Today, I’m going to get even for them," Louisa snarled, dragging Yolanda before her and slapping her across the face repeatedly.
Yolanda’s ears rang from the blows, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she felt like a fish on a chopping block, helplessly awaiting her fate. Now, she didn’t dare hope for Louisa’s mercy-she just wanted this torture to end.
When Louisa grew tired, someone brought over a chair for her to rest. Kenneth massaged her hands and instructed his men to "get creative." The henchmen took out all the needles Louisa had asked them to bring and started jabbing them into Yolanda’s hands and feet.
Some aimed for her wounds, making Yolanda scream in agony, fainting multiple times only to be revived by saltwater, enduring a vicious cycle of torment.
"A vile creature like you doesn’t deserve to live in this world." Just thinking about her precious daughter coming home covered in blood in Romeo’s arms, Louisa felt Yolanda’s suffering was far too light.
It wasn’t until Yolanda was hanging by a thread that Louisa stood up, her high heels crushing down on Yolanda’s hand.
"Ah." Yolanda’s whole body trembled with pain, her vision darkening as she nearly lost consciousness.
"Don’t worry, I won’t let you die easily!" Louisa hissed the words and left with her entourage.
Time lost meaning as Rosemary’s brothers arrived and Yolanda lingered in agony, while from the small, dark room, cries of sheer horror periodically escaped.
Elsewhere.
Rosemary received a call from Grandpa Beck.
"Darling, I’ve come across some leads recently." The voice of Beck resonated on the other end.
"You’ve been investigating for me?" Rosemary was surprised, not expecting Grandpa Beck to still be concerned and active in her affairs. "Based on your last blood test, the antidote you were given, and the symptoms you exhibited, I surmised that the poison affecting you is ’Seven Orifices Hemorrhage.""
This ’Seven Orifices Hemorrhage’ would, after excruciating pain, cause one to bleed from all orifices and die.
Grandpa Beck continued, "A necessary herb for concocting the ’Seven Orifices Hemorrhage’ is called Gutripper Grass. I tracked down the buyers of this herb and ended up with a lead on a guy nicknamed ’Stone.’ He was in his twenties, without much ambition in life, just a desire to make quick, big money. Turns out, he was killed by his own creation."
Rosemary was taken aback, "Are you saying that the person who bought the ’Seven Orifices Hemorrhage’ from him ended up killing him after getting what they wanted?"
"Exactly," Grandpa Beck affirmed.
Yolanda clearly didn’t have the clout or the resources, but who could it be? Rosemary pondered deeply.
"I checked the local surveillance and spoke to some of the townsfolk. A witness claimed to have seen someone heading towards Stone’s residence. I went to Nelson and we sketched out a portrait based on the witness’s description of the guy’s features. Take a look; do you recognize him?" Grandpa Beck sent her the hand-drawn image as he spoke.
Rosemary opened the image and saw a drawing of a man wearing a black ski mask and a black baseball cap, tall and skinny in build.
"Stinger?" Rosemary was surprised.
Grandpa Beck was even more taken aback, "You know him? Who’s Stinger?"
Rosemary recounted the incident where Jack had held the auction house owner at gunpoint, and the man in the sketch closely resembled the description of Stinger, especially the sharp, piercing eyes that seemed devoid of any human emotion, cold as a hitman’s.
"If I’m not mistaken, he’s Erik’s right-hand man. Before Erik died, he left a phone with Serena, which probably has Stinger’s contact details. So, Stinger must be secretly working for Serena," Rosemary
speculated.
Upon hearing her analysis, Grandpa Beck was even more surprised. "So, you’re saying that Serena saw the news, knew that Attlee and Olga were executed, guessed that Yolanda harbored hatred, and wanted to use Yolanda to get rid of you?"
"It’s very likely. Now we just need to catch the Stinger to unveil the truth," Rosemary said, then thanked Grandpa Beck for helping her investigate despite his age, urging him to rest more and not risk probing into these dangerous matters.
But Grandpa Beck couldn’t help asking, "If we catch Stinger and he admits that Serena wanted you gone, what do you plan to do with Serena?"
Without a second thought, Rosemary blurted out, "She wanted to kill me; why would I go easy on her?"
Grandpa Beck was relieved to hear her say this. He was worried Rosemary might feel too compassionate because of family ties.
But now, this answer put his mind at ease.
If it was indeed Serena’s doing, like Rosemary, he wouldn’t let Serena get away with it.
A while later.
Another call came for Rosemary.
"Ms. Rose, Yolanda couldn’t take the pressure anymore and finally spilled the beans. Someone gave her a sum of money, to hire a hitman to kill you. But she wasn’t connected to that underworld, so she didn’t immediately act against you after taking the money."
Rosemary calmly asked, "Did Yolanda say who this person was? Why would they help her?"
"She said that he just told her he was an enemy of yours too, wanting you dead even more than she did, but he couldn’t act openly. Yolanda also mentioned that every time they met, he wore a black ski
mask and a black baseball cap, only revealing that he was a man, slim and about two heads taller than her, with a young-sounding voice. Most importantly, he had a scar about two inches long on the back of his left hand."
"Alright, got it," Rosemary hung up the phone.