Chapter 122

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "Are you still not going to say it?"

Derick clutched his scalded arm, hesitating. Then he replied, "Bruce, I don't know where Joanna's son is."

Bruce laughed sinisterly. "Hahaha. I didn't even tell you which child Joanna lost. How did you know Joanna's son, but not her daughter, was missing?"

Derick paused, realizing his mistake. Everyone had only asked if he'd seen Joanna's child; no one had specified the child's gender.

He looked around nervously. "Bruce, I I'm just guessing."

"It looks like I should push you harder," Bruce said, gesturing to his bodyguards.

Four bodyguards immediately stepped forward, seizing Derick, flipping him upside down, and stuffing him into the toilet bowl. One bodyguard repeatedly pressed the flush button, forcing water into Derick's nose and throat.

"Ugh! Ugh!" Derick coughed, struggling, but Bruce's highly skilled bodyguards easily subdued him. His head remained submerged. Terror threatened to drown him; he'd never endured such torture.

Bruce asked, "How about that? Can you tell me the truth now?"

Seeing Derick weaken, Bruce finally ordered his bodyguards to release him.

"Phew! Ugh! Ugh!" Derick coughed, rolling his eyes. A tooth was knocked out; his nose and mouth bled profusely. His misery was palpable.

Joanna, unable to bear the brutality, turned away. We only suspect Derick; we have no proof. Bruce is ruthless, she thought. "Bruce, stop torturing him," she said.

Bruce ignored her, continuing his interrogation. "Where is the child? This is your last chance. You know I always keep my word. If you don't say it, I won't ask them to stop next round." He suspected Derick had taken the child, and he was determined to get an answer.

"The child the child" Derick's eyes rolled; his face reddened.

Bruce threatened, "Where is the child? I'll count to three. If you don't answer me, I'll have you thrown into the sea to feed the sharks!" Many Greyport gangs disposed of enemies this way, often for hire. He began the countdown. "One."

Derick's heart pounded. Desperate, he shouted, "Bruce, don't forget you're engaged to my sister!"

Bruce ignored him. "Two."

"Bruce, I swear I don't know!"

"Three." Bruce stood, snapping his fingers. The bodyguards produced a black plastic bag, intending to suffocate Derick.

Terrorized, Derick urinated himself. "I I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

Joanna, regaining her composure, demanded, "Where is my child?"

Derick, terrified, stammered, "Your child is in the cistern on the roof."

The revelation hit Joanna like a thunderclap. She gasped, her legs weakening. "Go to the roof!"

Joanna ran towards the stairs, followed by Bruce, Jaydon, and the bodyguards. The studio had three floors and a roof cistern. The thought of a four-year-old in such a place was horrifying.

They reached the roof and found a ten-foot-tall cistern, about five feet in diameter.

"Irvin, Irvin!" Joanna frantically climbed the ladder, ignoring its lack of handrails.

Bruce intervened, grabbing her wrist. "Joanna, it's dangerous! Come down. I'll send the bodyguards." Four bodyguards climbed the ladder and lifted the cistern lid. Darkness filled the opening.

"Mr. Everett, we can't see anything inside!"

"Jump down and look for the child!" Bruce ordered.

"Yes, Mr. Everett!" Two bodyguards jumped in.

Joanna, too nervous to watch, feared finding only Irvin's body. Bruce held her close, comforting her despite his own growing anxiety. The cistern was ten feet deep, half-filled with water—potentially fatal for an adult, let alone a child.

A bodyguard found a small boy clinging to a water pipe, nearly unconscious. Irvin, mistaking the bodyguard for a hallucination, lacked the strength to call for help.

"I found him! I found him! A boy!" The bodyguard shouted, "Get a ladder down! The child's alive!"

Bruce sighed in relief. "Joanna, did you hear that? Your child is alive!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Joanna fainted. Bruce held her tightly as she wept. Jaydon watched, feeling like an outsider.

The bodyguards lowered a flexible ladder. The bodyguard coaxed Irvin, but the terrified child clung to the pipe.

(Note: I removed the promotional text from the original.)