Chapter 92: The Price of a Life

“Who is that?” Sierra asked, her gaze fixed on the man inside the cage. The longer she looked at him, the more he reminded her of herself. She, too, had been trapped in a cage for three years—on the brink of death more times than she could count, enduring endless torment.

“Obviously, someone who needs money,” Kason replied casually, sipping his drink. “For one round, he walks away with 30,000 dollars. Plenty of people sign up for it.”

Sierra listened in silence, an uneasy weight settling in her chest. Kason made it sound like these people were the lucky ones. They didn’t have to risk their lives and still got 30,000 dollars. A few dog bites wouldn’t kill them—at worst, they’d lose a little flesh. How ridiculous.

“And what about the ones who don’t make it out?” Sierra glanced at Kason. “How much for a fight to the death?”

Kason didn’t seem to notice the shift in her tone. He thought for a moment before answering. “At most, around 150,000 dollars. It depends on the type of fight… and how it plays out.”

Sierra let out a soft laugh, but there was no amusement in her eyes. “And if you take someone straight from prison? That’s even cheaper, right?”

Kason’s expression changed slightly as he shot her a quick glance. “Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

As far as he knew, Sierra had never been involved in anything like this. He had only recently learned of her existence; otherwise, he would have gotten his hands on her long ago. The Xander family likely had pulled some strings to keep her out of trouble. She was still their daughter, after all. Even if they didn’t care about her, they wouldn’t have let her end up dead.

Noticing the suspicion in his eyes, Sierra curled her lips into a faint smirk. “Is that some kind of secret? Don’t forget, I spent time in there. I might not have been part of it, but I saw it happen.”

Kason thought it over, then nodded. “Fair enough. You’re sharp. Yeah, getting someone from prison is dirt cheap—sometimes less than 15,000 dollars.” He took another sip of his drink, as if trying to suppress something.

“So cheap,” Sierra murmured, her voice dripping with sarcasm. So a life was worth less than 15,000 dollars. Back then, Daphne had lost her life over just 15,000 dollars.

She turned back towards the cage. The man inside was covered in wounds, still running for his life. From somewhere in the crowd, laughter erupted. They were all enjoying the show.

Sierra couldn’t stop herself—she shot to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” Kason looked at her, surprised by her sudden movement. Sierra was about to speak when, suddenly, something outside caught her attention. For some reason, the event had been abruptly stopped.

Kason, still caught up in the thrill, looked irritated. He immediately made a call, listening impatiently as the person on the other end explained the situation. When he hung up, his mood was even worse. Sierra glanced towards the cage and saw that the man had been taken out. A wave of relief washed over her. She had nearly lost control for a moment—but someone else had done exactly what she had wanted to do.

10:49 AM

“What happened?” she asked, feigning indifference.

Kason let out an annoyed scoff. “Some idiot called the cops. We should get out of here.”

Hearing that, Sierra finally felt at ease. Someone had put a stop to this madness—thankfully. As they left, she cast one last glance at the cage, her eyes filled with nothing but disgust.

8 Pearls

Kason didn’t notice anything amiss. Seeing Sierra still looking outside, he said casually, “If you liked it, I’ll bring you back next time.”

“Not interested.” Sierra pulled her gaze away, looking completely indifferent.

With the night’s plans ruined, Kason lost interest as well. He dropped Sierra off at her place and drove off. The night hadn’t gone how he wanted. He had a lot of pent-up frustration, and he needed to take it out on someone. But Sierra wasn’t the right choice—not yet. Until he figured her out completely, he wasn’t going to make a move.

As soon as Kason was gone, Sierra let her mask drop. Disgust clouded her expression, and anger burned in her chest. She turned, ready to head to the lab—then hesitated. The lab belonged to the Richardson family. If she showed up now, Kason would hear about it almost immediately.

Just as she stood there debating, a car pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Jonathan.

“What are you doing just standing there?” he asked. Before Sierra could answer, he added, “Want to come over?”

Sierra followed Jonathan home. But instead of handing her a book, he gave her a cup of warm milk.

“I think you need this more right now,” he said.

“Thanks.” She took a sip, and for the first time that night, reality settled back in. Seeing that cage, the man, the dog—it had shaken something in her, like she had been thrown right back into prison.