Hands grabbed me before I could react. My knees slammed hard onto the floor and pain shot up my legs. I struggled, panic rising fast. “Let me go… what are you doing…” but no one listened. Argus took the whip and walked toward me slowly, like this was something he had already decided.
“Scared?” he asked quietly. “Did you ever think about how desperate Grandpa was when he fell? Or how terrified Celine was when you attacked her?”
“I didn’t—”
The whip struck.
Pain exploded across my back and I couldn’t even breathe. My body jerked, a broken sound escaping my throat.
“Speak,” he said, his voice rising. “Admit your mistake.”
“I… don’t…” My voice was shaking. “I don’t admit it…”
He laughed, angry now. “Still denying it? You think if you say nothing, it didn’t happen? Dahlia, you’re a sinner. You deserve this.”
Another strike. And another. The sound echoed, mixing with quiet laughter around me. It hurt so much I couldn’t think, but something inside me refused to bend. I started laughing, I didn’t even know why, tears falling at the same time.