Sierra had no one to rely on. She could only depend on herself if she wanted to survive. She would not be controlled by Shane for the rest of her life.

She had expected all sorts of nightmares about how Shane would treat her: bugs, drugs, anything that would break her nerves and leave her defeated. She could even see herself begging for mercy on the ground.

But what Sierra did not expect was that Shane only brought her to the media room.

Shane’s lips curved into a smile when he saw Sierra’s confused gaze. “Your task today is to stay here and watch a movie. You can only leave when it’s nighttime. Take your time. It is quite an interesting movie.”

Sierra’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Shane’s words. She had no idea what twisted game Shane was playing now. Watch more Home—could it be that simple!

Sierra’s pupils contracted sharply as soon as the movie started playing.

She had no idea how she managed to walk out of that villa. Her ears were still filled with the echoes of screams and desperate cries. It felt like she was walking on clouds.

Shane’s voice drifted past Sierra’s ears. It sounded distant. “How’s the gift? Don’t you think you should thank me for my mercy!”

Sierra walked past Shane like a robot.

Mercy! You all are the same monsters in the end.

After Sierra stepped out of the villa, her phone started buzzing. She only realized it was her phone buzzing after a while. She looked at the caller ID and took a deep breath before pressing the answer button.

“Sierra: Is everything alright? Why couldn’t I reach you?” Jonathan’s concerned voice came through the line.

Initially, Sierra wanted to say that she was fine, but in the end, what came out was, “Jonathan, are you free right now?”

Half an hour later, Jonathan handed her a cup of hot milk tea. It was the first time Jonathan had ever bought something like this. Usually, he would only have black coffee, but he changed his mind the moment he saw Sierra. He felt milk tea suited her better.

Sierra did not speak, and neither did Jonathan. He was deep in thought, watching Sierra’s pale face.

Jonathan did not know about Sierra’s disappearance until Bradley came to him earlier. They had tried to call Sierra countless times, but her phone remained unreachable. No one knew where she had gone. Even the tracker on Sierra’s ankle could not locate her. Bradley had sent someone to check, but they were told that it was impossible to track.

Jonathan immediately knew something was wrong, and he thought of the lunatic Shane.

Seeing Sierra’s expression ease a little, Jonathan asked, “Do you have something to tell me?”

Sierra stared at him and shook her head. “I do. Thanks, Jonathan. The milk tea tastes great.”

Jonathan pressed his lips into a thin line, but he chose not to press Sierra further. He adjusted his glasses and replied, “I noticed a lot of girls buying this flavor. Figured it should be good.”

“It’s really nice. Warm and sweet,” Sierra nodded. It was warm enough to chase away the shadow clinging to her heart and remind her she was still alive.

Sierra’s scalp was still prickled with numbness when she thought about what she had seen earlier.

The ‘movie’ Shane prepared for her was the video showing Kason’s brutal violence and torture of his victim. Sierra would not have believed such cruelty existed if she had not witnessed it herself.

Chapter 43 Shadow That Cling.

Shane liked to crush one’s spirit and watch people shatter and beg in despair.

In those videos, Sierra saw Subject 00000. She watched her blood drain from her body, and she watched as her screaming and begging for mercy fell utterly silent. In the end, she could not make a sound anymore. However, Sierra saw her lips move, and she was saying, “Mother…”

Sierra’s grip on the cup slowly tightened as she remembered what she saw. She did not even realize it until the plastic cup crumbled in her hand and tea spilled out between her fingers.

Sierra jolted back to awareness and tried to reach out for something to wipe her hand. But someone beat her to it. A soft and clean handkerchief was already pressing gently against her skin.

“Here you go.” Jonathan handed over the handkerchief.

“Thank you,” Sierra wiped her hands clean and glanced at the handkerchief in her palm, “I’ll wash it and return it to you.”

“Alright.” Jonathan did not ask what Sierra had just been thinking, nor did he question why her expression changed. He asked like a sincere friend. “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

Sierra was hungry for sure. She had not eaten all day. In fact, she had even thrown up a few times back at Shane’s place.

And yet, she had no appetite at all. An instinctive wave of nausea welled up in her, but she still said…

When the Flame of Love Fades