Chapter 76
After grabbing a bite, Maximilian told Felix to chill while he headed down to the basement.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, a tall guy in a black suit came over, pushed his wheelchair, and helped him into a nearby black car.
Once the door shut, the car sped off towards the edge of the city.
Inside the car, it was super quiet.
After flipping through some papers, Maximilian set them down, closed his eyes, and leaned back lazily in the leather seat.
After a bit, he asked calmly, "How long has she been locked up?"
Emilio answered, "It's been a whole day now."
Not only had she been locked up for a day, but she hadn't had a drop of water. The stuff they were doing to her was way more than a naive girl could handle. Another day of this, and she'd probably lose it. Maximilian nodded and stayed quiet with his eyes closed.
Since he was silent, no one else dared to make a peep, worried they'd disturb his rest.
The car stopped at a bungalow on the outskirts. It looked like any regular farmhouse from the outside.
But inside, it was a whole different story.
Once inside, Emilio opened an iron door, and a cold, damp, sticky feeling hit them.
Emilio frowned, glanced at Maximilian's legs, and took a blanket from one of the guys, carefully laying it over Maximilian's legs. "It's cold in here, don't catch a chill."
Then he pushed the wheelchair inside.
As soon as they entered, a wave of cold hit them. It was a freezer, with meat hanging and freezing all around.
In the middle, Laura was hanging with her hands tied above her head.
Above her, there was an upside-down water bottle with a hole in the cap, dripping water onto Laura's face and body every few seconds.
Hearing the noise, Laura cried out hoarsely, her spirit broken, "Please, let me go. I know I was wrong."
Laura was blindfolded, unable to see or know how many people were there.
They hadn't hit her, but they had hung her up in a cold freezer for who knows how long. She was freezing and starving.
Her shoes had been taken off, and she stood barefoot on the cold cement floor. Unable to bear the cold, Laura lifted her feet off the ground, curling up and letting the rope support her. But soon, the rope cut into her wrists, making her bleed. The rough rope hurt like hell with every touch.
She put her feet back down to relieve the pain in her wrists, but the cold soon numbed her feet, and she could barely feel them.
Laura feared her feet would get frostbite, and she might need amputation.
Over and over, her wrists were bloody, and her feet were completely numb.
Moreover, the place was already freezing, and there was a bottle of water dripping continuously above her head.
Laura couldn't sleep, her clothes were wet and clinging to her body, but she couldn't take it anymore.
"Why did you go after Katniss?" Maximilian asked softly, his eyes cold as the moon but with a hint of wickedness.
Finally, hearing someone speak, Laura shuddered in fear, then hatred surged in her heart. "Is this for Katniss? Who are you?" These people had indeed captured her because of Katniss.
Could they be Katniss's brothers?
Maximilian chuckled, "It seems you haven't learned your lesson."
As soon as Maximilian finished talking, Emilio, who'd been with him for years, got the message without a word.
Emilio grabbed a big bottle of water from the ground, unscrewed the cap, and dumped it all over Laura, soaking her completely.
Then he told someone to fetch a hairdryer from outside, cranked it to the highest setting, and aimed it at Laura.
In seconds, the already weak Laura felt like she was plunged into icy water, shivering uncontrollably, her voice too hoarse to scream.
"I'll talk," Laura cried, tears streaming down her face. "My dad went bankrupt, and I ended up like this because of Katniss. That's why I went after her. I followed her to the library and attacked her when she was alone in the bathroom."
"I just wanted to scare her. I didn't mean to kill her." Laura was terrified. Their methods were twisted, and she couldn't take another second. She just wanted out, even if it meant dealing with the cops.
"Katniss is just a student. How could she have anything on your dad?" Maximilian frowned, his voice low. "Why suspect Katniss?"
Laura cried, her mind racing, saying whatever came to her, "I have a grudge against Katniss, and she knew about my dad's trouble as soon as it happened. She told me my dad was being investigated for embezzlement. If it weren't for her, how would she know so clearly? The anonymous tipster must be Katniss!"
The more she spoke, the more convinced Laura became. That day in the coffee shop, she had a conflict with Katniss, and Katniss warned her. Then the news about her dad broke on TV.
Katniss knew the news before anyone else. If it wasn't her, who else could it be?
Maximilian asked calmly, "Who told you the tip was anonymous?"
Jackson's case was just a scapegoat. The project had been under scrutiny for a long time, and Jackson's investigation was just the beginning. There were others involved.
The evidence had long been prepared and placed on the prosecutor's desk.
There was no anonymous tip.
Laura shivered, her mind foggy. After a long time, she stammered, "It was Clara. She told me it was an anonymous tip, so..."
So she immediately suspected Katniss.
Maximilian raised his slender fingers, and the blade in Emilio's hand flew out, cutting the rope. Laura collapsed to the cold ground, weak and powerless, only seeing a pair of shiny leather shoes on the footrest of the wheelchair. Then Maximilian turned the wheelchair and left the freezer.
One of the men brought a warm towel, and Maximilian carefully wiped his hands before tossing the towel to the ground.
"Stay here. Call the police at 8 AM and watch them take her away before you leave," Maximilian said.
Emilio nodded. "Got it."
Maximilian was helped into the car.
He took out a lighter, burned a few sheets of paper, and tossed them into the ashtray.
Unexpectedly, the investigation led back to Clara.
Clara was only eighteen or nineteen, but she was exceptionally malicious.
Watching Maximilian get into the car, Emilio blinked. Katniss almost became Maximilian's sister-in-law, and she was seven years younger than him. Now Maximilian was concerned about Katniss. Could it be that Maximilian liked Katniss?