Chapter 24
The moment the button was pressed, a muffled groan escaped from James through his clenched teeth.
The veins on his arms bulged involuntarily. Cold sweat poured down his face, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
As the intensity of the electric shock increased, even the machine began to shake uncontrollably. The current was frighteningly strong
“Sir! We really can’t keep going with this!” someone shouted,
But Jones looked up and said, “Continue. If no one presses the batton, none of you will receive the pay you’re owed.”
His words left everyone exchanging uneasy glances.
years people who were like sworn brothers
The bodyguards, emotionless and duty–bound, showed no hesitation. But the men who followed James for ye to him–couldn’t hide their concern.
“Sir, Ms. Summers had indeed suffered terribly, but if she had told you earlier, this tragedy could’ve been avoided.” “Yeah! This isn’t entirely your fault!”
His men quickly chimed in, trying their best to persuade him. But James cut them off.
“If not for me, she would never have suffered in the first place. In a situation like that, how could she even tell me anything?
“It’s all my fault. Don’t you dare say a single bad word about Naomi!”
He shouted the words with a rare fury, then turned toward the nearest bodyguard. He commanded, “Keep going!‘
The bodyguard, detached from emotion, followed his order and pushed the electric current to its maximum setting. James couldn’t help but cry out in agony. The pain shot through han like a whip striking deep in his bones.
It was but a single shock, and it already left him completely weak and drained.
He panted heavily, unable to lift his head for a long time in the pouring rain.
“Sir! Are you alright? His men rushed to surround him. They were full of worry.
But James only kept murmuring, “Naomi…”
The priest finally began reciting the rebirth prayer, hoping to use the moment to draw Naomil’s drifting spirit back.
However, Naomi remained unmoved. She only watched.
This level of pain meant nothing to her.
For Naomi, physical pain always had an endpoint. Even during skin grafts, the ointment would eventually provide a moment of cool relief. But humiliation? Desdain? Those never healed.
The priest, sweating from anxiety, feared that if anything happened to James here, the consequences would destroy everything this shrine, and all
those close to them.
James noted the tension and gave a faint smile to reassure him. “They won’t harm the shrine. I give you my word.”
That last line was directed toward one of his closest men standing nearby–a man around his age. The man lowered his head in acknowledgment, but he couldn’t look James in the eye.
Instead, he muttered, “We told you not to bring her back. You insisted. All these years, you’ve fought like hell for her. Now you’re torturing yourself. “Isn’t it enough? Everything we’ve built together over the years… Are you going to just throw it all away?”
James didn’t respond right away. He looked around at the people surrounding him. He finally said, “I was an orphan too. I know how much it hurts. She was my only family in this world. As for the business… It wasn’t just mine. It was ours. So no, it’s not loss,”
The man beside him fell silent and simply stepped back,
The bodyguards grabbed James by the ankle and dragged him across the damp floor of the shrine.
The scraping left his proud, handsome face covered in gruesome scratches, causing blood to flow freely. Meanwhile, Naomi just stood there, watching
