Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“How are you going to handle it? Are you sure you won’t just give in to him and let him go?”
“Listen to me,” Quinton added earnestly. “You have to be harsh and firm when dealing with men; otherwise you’ll just be setting off a time bomb that will one day explode, and you’ll end up crushed and burned by him.”
“It’s my choice to handle it however I want,” argued Flossie. “I’m almost thirty now. I can deal with the consequences of my own choice…”
Flossie clasped her hands and pleaded with her brother, “I’m begging you, Quinton. Let the impostor be a gift for me on the occasion that we finally reunited again, and let me handle it, please?”
Quinton was eventually persuaded, and he gave in. He turned his head and sighed. “You stubborn girl! Fine, do whatever you want!”
Hearing his words, both Flossie and Chase finally sighed in relief.
Flossie and Chase secretly discussed how to lure the impostor Mr. Q out of the study.
“Ms. Ellsworth,” said Chase with emotion, “although you are his sister, you are nothing at all like Boss. You have a kind disposition, and I’m assured that, at the very least, the impostor Mr. Q won’t be so cruelly tortured once he was handed over to you.”
“You speak as if my brother is a savage beast and that impostor is some kind of angel of justice! Is that guy really worthy of your protection?”
“He is!” Chase nodded gravely. “I believe that everyone else who works in Carmine Pawnshop would make the same choice.”
“Then… is there going to be a mutiny? What will happen to my brother? He built Carmine Pawnshop from the ground with his own hands! Is he going to be replaced?”
“Don’t worry, Ms. Ellsworth. Boss won’t be replaced. I’m sure that Carmine Pawnshop will soon resume its operations in the same way that it once did. It’s just that we’ll all miss the security and stability that we enjoyed these past four years.”
“You’re overthinking it! My brother promised me that for the time being, Carmine Pawnshop won’t get involved with the questionable business it once dabbled in and that it would continue to operate in the same manner as it did for the last few years.”
“It looks like you don’t really know Boss at all…”
Chase smiled, then deliberately changed the subject by pulling out his phone and saying, “I’ve sent a secret signal to the impostor, Mr. Q. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, very soon he’d be at the Carmine Pawnshop. All I ask from you is to let him live.”
“Only a secret signal? Would that really work? Surely he’s too smart to fall for it!”
“But it’s not an ordinary secret signal,” Chase beat his chest and confidently assured her. “It’s one I only send him during extreme emergencies. He always showed up soon after receiving the signal in the past, so as long as the news of Boss’s return hasn’t reached him yet, I’m sure the impostor, Mr. Q would definitely be here.”
Half an hour later, Chase stared at the reply he received, his face swollen after being punched so many times.
“Um, well… He said that he would never reappear again no matter what happens and that he gives full authority over Carmine Pawnshop… to me.”
“He sounds really cautious…” Flossie observed doubtfully. “You didn’t warn him earlier, did you?”
“I swear to God that I didn’t!”
“Then why the hell would he give up his authority to you so suddenly?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s that sudden…” Chase then came clean and told Flossie, “Since he disappeared on the day both of you were supposed to get married, he never showed up at Carmine Pawnshop ever again. In fact, when he left, he made it clear that he would never show up again. It was obvious that he wanted to make a clean break with Carmine Pawnshop. Perhaps… He caught a whiff that Boss was going to return even back then?”
“But what is he planning to do?” asked Flossie, still bewildered. “He’s been running Carmine Pawnshop for the last six years! How could he give it all up just like that? It’s like he’s been working for my brother for free! Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”
All the questions that were playing in Flossie’s head only deepened her resolve to find a way to lure the man out.
Seeing Flossie’s firm determination, Chase clenched his fists and suggested, “I’ve got an idea, but it’s the last resort, and it requires your cooperation. Do you want to… give it a try?”
Flossie slapped Chase violently across his face, her patience worn thin to the bone.
“Spit it out, will you?!” she demanded. “Just tell me your idea and stop sputtering like that! It’s like you’re teasing me!”
Chase smiled awkwardly and replied, “The impostor, Mr. Q is indeed a cautious man, and he would only contact me through text messages. There’s also no way to ascertain his address or whereabouts through his phone number, so unless he’s willing to voluntarily show up, we have no way of finding him. So far, the only person who can make him turn up willingly is you, Ms. Ellsworth.”
“I’m afraid I’m not that powerful…” said Flossie dejectedly. “Ever since he stood me up, I couldn’t contact him at all. If he really cared about me, he would’ve been a little more to say goodbye before he left.”
“I believe the impostor, Mr. Q, must have a good reason for it…”
“So? Get to the point. What should I do to get him to show up?”
“It’s really simple.” Chase curled his finger in a beckoning gesture at Flossie. “Follow me, Ms. Ellsworth.”
In the dead of the night, Chase and Flossie weaved through the vast and labyrinthine Carmine Pawnshop. After a long journey through twists and turns, they finally stopped at the most remote courtyard. The place looked as if no one had stepped into it for centuries, and the door was covered in thick wads of cobwebs, cementing in an air of decay and ruin.
“Chase Cheever, what… what are you trying to do?”
Flossie pursed her lips and instinctively took a few steps back.
“Don’t be afraid, Ms. Ellsworth…”
Chase dusted off his long coat and calmly explained, “This is the area where water torture, one of the ten worst torture techniques employed by Carmine Pawnshop, is conducted. It has been four years since the last person was tortured here, so it might look as if it’s in disrepair, but back in the day, people filled this place all the time. It was a much livelier place back then.”
“Uh… ten worst torture techniques? A lively place?”
Flossie was so taken aback that she almost choked on her own saliva.
“Are you sure you guys weren’t filming a movie here? Torture techniques? I’ve only heard of that in movies!”
“What you’ve seen in movies is probably much tamer than what we actually do here in Carmine Pawnshop. Because some of them might be too atrocious for your taste, I won’t elaborate and go straight to the water torture…”
Chase then continued, “Water torture is the mildest among the ten worst torture techniques. The victim is first tied up inside the water prison, where they will then suffer all manner of tribulations. At first, the water level reaches just around the victim’s waist, but every half an hour, there will be other things added to the water. Firstly, all kinds of venomous snakes, centipedes, and loaches will be released. Then, slowly, boiling water will be added. After that, boiling oil will pour in, and finally… sulphuric acid!”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear it anymore! Whoever thought of such a heinous thing must’ve been a complete psychopath!”
Flossie could hardly bear to even imagine such a scene. Forget about the boiling oil and acid; she was covered in goosebumps even thinking about the snakes! Even worse was the thought of how the snakes would writhe and flail around wildly in a panic once the boiling water was added—she could not imagine how horrifying such a situation might be!
“You’re too faint-hearted, Ms. Ellsworth. I told you that water torture is the lightest among the ten worst torture techniques. Besides, Boss was the one who came up with these punishments.”
“My brother came up with these?” Flossie could not help but sigh. “Wasn’t he a little too aggressive?”
“His original intent for these things was to deter would-be dissidents,” Chase explained, “whether it be the employees of Carmine Pawnshop or the customers. Anyone who disobeyed the rules must face the punishment. Yet, when faced with the grim possibility of being punished with the ten horrifying torture techniques, almost no one dared to cause any trouble, so strictly speaking, the actual number of people who were tortured is very low.”
“I can understand that,” said Flossie. “Historically, rulers must have an extremely strict punishment system to maintain order. I’m sure my brother must’ve seen a lot of period movies and read lots of books about history to come up with such a thing. Otherwise, no normal person could ever think of doing something so insane.”
Flossie was highly empathetic by nature. Although she disagreed with Quinton’s method, she could still understand why he had to take such extreme measures. After all, Quinton must have had to work exceedingly hard to reach his current position, seeing that he came from a humble fishing village. Without taking some extraordinary measures, he would never have made it this far.
“By the way, why did you take me here? Is someone getting punished?”
Flossie asked Chase the question in confusion.
“You’re right, someone’s getting punished, and it’s you!”
Chase smiled and pulled out a key to open the door to the water prison before bowing slightly and making an inviting gesture towards Flossie.
“Go ahead, Ms. Ellsworth!”
“???”
Flossie gulped, her hair standing on end.
The water prison wasn’t even large. It was about the size of a small bedroom with a height of about six and a half feet, more than deep enough to completely submerge a human being. The walls were smooth and polished, but they were dotted with numerous holes of different sizes. These were possibly the cavities from where the snakes, centipedes, boiling oil, acid, and whatever else were let out into the water prison.