As soon as I arrived home, I hurriedly got out of the car and dashed toward the basement.
Stevie had been incessantly barking in his cage, clearly sensing his owner''s danger and
restlessness.
My heart raced with panic as the wounds on my foot reopened, causing me to stumble down the
stairs. Pain surged through my body, and tears welled up uncontrobly.
Despite the pain, I limped toward the basement, consumed by fear.
If the basement was noisy, I wouldn''t have been as worried because it would have meant Steven
was still smashing things.
It was the silence that terrified me, remembering Joel''s words about Steve''s tendency to harm
himself.
I didn''t know why I was so anxious. It was as if there was a voice inside me urging me to save him,
to go and rescue him…
With trembling hands, I gripped the doorknob and twisted the iron wires on the outside, pushing the
door open.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of blood filled the air, sending shivers down my spine.
Terrified, I stood at the doorway, taking in the sight of the room. Everything was smashed, with
traces of blood sttered everywhere. It was evident that Steven had lost control.
Steveny on the couch, his fingers still dripping blood, appearing exhausted from the rampage.
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He was hurting himself.
"Steve… " I called his name, my voice quivering.
He struggled to open his eyes, and when he saw me, his gaze flickered.
With a surge of strength, he pulled me into his arms, murmuring, "Stephie… I''m sorry."
Even though it wasn''t his fault, he always felt the need to apologize to me.
"You promised me you wouldn''t hurt yourself." My voice still trembled with fear.
"I didn''t hurt myself… " Steven lowered his head, acknowledging the lie.
I grabbed his wrist; the wound on the back of his hand was still bleeding.
"Stephie… " He gazed at me nervously, removing Joel''s jacket from my shoulders, and recing it
with his own.
"Stephie… did they hurt you?" Steven''s eyes focused on the swollen marks on my ankle, evidence
of Bobby''s assault.
Luckily, a policewoman had given me a skirt on the way here, covering the bruises on my thighs.
When Steven noticed the bloodstains under my foot, he knelt on the ground, his gaze turning
violent. "I''ll go kill them… "
"This is my own doing." I held Steven''s face up, forcing him to look at me. "Stephanie… she was
hurt by the people at the orphanage, wasn''t she?"
In my fading memories, Howards mentioned they had drugged Stephanie before, trying to harm her.
Steven gazed at me, gently touching my swollen cheek, his eyes filled with rage and viciousness.
"Stephanie''s body… is immune to drugs," Steven whispered. "Yasmin was the one who lured you
over. You knew her intentions but went along anyway."
"Why would I go along with her ns?" I clenched my hands.
"Because those bastards have been using the same method to… harm Carol," Steven looked up at
me.
I took a deep breath, my fingers instinctively tightening.
"Eason said, many years ago, there was a case where a teenager from the orphanage was
stabbed. The wounds were shallow, not fatal. Although the teenager''s life wasn''t threatened, he was
scared out of his mind when he woke up…
"Did I do that?" I asked, wondering why I had no faintest memory of it.
Did I deliberately let Yasmin trick me and then personally stab someone for the sake of Carol, or
justice?
"Yes, that person was Jayden Cox, the leader among the boys. He led others to bully Carol, seeing
that she was intellectually disabled. That was their secret." Steven took a tissue and pressed it
against the wound on my foot.
So, back then, not only was Stephanie sober despite being drugged, she even stabbed the boys''
leader Jayden.
Jaydon Cox was the first male victim in the serial killings.
Joel, who had shown up at some point, leaned against the door frame and let out a sigh of relief
when he saw Steven was alright.
"Two lunatics… " he remarked.