"Bernard, I know how much you suffered back then. Please don't be upset. I'll always be on your side. As for your wife, you should probably let her out. She's saying whatever comes to mind, even threatening to kill us. If this goes on, who knows what she might do. She could turn out just like that brother of hers..."
Ivy's words dragged up every bitter, suffocating memory Bernard had buried, and his fury erupted in an instant. He slammed his fist into the iron wall.
"Raise the temperature another nine degrees. Let's see how long she keeps running her mouth."
The men behind him saw his rage and didn't dare push back. They went and raised the temperature nine degrees without a word.
The heat hit all at once, boring through my body from below. I felt like a slab of meat pressed flat against a griddle.
My organs were cooking. Every inch of me was being boiled alive from the inside out.
I couldn't hold on. I collapsed sideways.
The instant my belly touched the iron plate, blood surged from my lower abdomen.
It ran along the metal and seeped out through the gap beneath the door. Even outside, it was still steaming.