Chapter 43: Interrogation

Chad burst out laughing while taking a few steps back. Hank was still as calm as ever, watching everything like he was watching a movie from the comfort of his cell. Cecilia took deep breaths as the scorching charcoal was finally away from her. Her sobs echoed in the dungeon and her tears flowed continuously.

“Do you have something to say, dad?” Chad smirked as he once again addressed Hank, “I’ll stop if you say so.” Cecilia’s eyes lit up at once. She looked over at Hank and started pleading. “Dad! I mean, leader.. Please help me! He’s going to kill me.. I don’t want to die. I’ll do anything you tell me to..”

Hank folded his arms and closed his eyes. Cecilia started feeling nervous. They waited. One second.. two seconds.. three seconds.. Nothing happened. Hank was so still one might have thought he was dead.

“Leader! Leader!” Cecilia kept calling out, holding on to hope like it was the only lifeline. “Dad! I know you hated it when we called you that but, please, for once.. Just this time.. Help me out! You’re the only one who’s capable..” Her words were cut off as he opened his eyes again.

“You said you’d do anything?” His calm voice was clear. “Yes, anything..” she nodded vigorously. “Get me out of here, then.” Cecilia’s face paled at once. How could she possibly do that? She looked at Chad. Immediately, she felt like a fool. Chad stood there, looking as laid-back as when she first saw him in the shed. The metal tong in his hand was a real problem. The coal glared back at her, like an angry dog on a leash held by its owner. Her eyes traveled back up to the owner’s face.

He was waiting to see what she would say. She felt trapped. In that situation, whatever she said would be wrong, either to one of the men. The gears in her head turned so hard, you could see smoke coming out of it.

She had been staying in the clubhouse almost all her life. They told her to stay hidden. Once someone saw her and she was starved for three days while the man was killed in front of her. Staying hidden on the highest floor of the clubhouse where only the leaders were allowed to be was boring. There were specific men assigned to train Michael from time to time. While he was away on training, she would roam in the dark corridors and peeked into the rooms.

Oftentimes, there would be girls serving the leaders in their respective rooms. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she learnt her social skills from eavesdropping. She tried hard to think of what those girls would do in this situation.

Suddenly, she rushed forward. The two men held her in place. She struggled hard but the men were too strong for her. After trying for a while, she came to terms that she wouldn’t be able to move forward. Instead, she faced Chad and tried her best to kneel. The men looked at Chad and he signaled for them to let go of her.

The men moved one step backward and stood on alert. Cecilia almost fell on her face when they let go of her. Both her palms found the floor, supporting herself. She tilted her head to look at Chad. He was watching her coldly from his spot.

Images of the girls she saw back in the clubhouse came to her mind. ‘Crawl to him.’ She moved forward on four, till she almost reached his feet. She eyed the weapon on his hand. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she felt the heat from the burning charcoal. She swallowed hard. ‘Strip,’ she told herself.

With a swift motion, she pulled her shirt over her head and threw it to the side. Then, she reached for the straps of her undergarment.

“Stop.” She froze at Chad’s command. “What do you think you are doing?” His brows furrowed as he questioned. She started fumbling over her words and actions, like a broken machine. “That’s what they did..” she finally said. She looked like she was going to cry again. Chad sighed. “Is this how you raise your daughter?”

“I didn’t raise her. Her mom did. Nice try, CC,” Hank replied from his cell. It was Cecilia’s turn to look troubled. “She’s not my mom..” she said softly, almost to herself.

“I can’t let him out,” Chad said, “but I can give you a chance to save yourself.” Cecilia immediately came to attention. “Tell me what I can do.”

“My question. Are you going to answer it?” Chad reminded her. “What qu..” she stopped herself. “I’ve only ever asked you one question, the one you never answered.” Cecilia immediately looked over at Hank. She fell into another dilemma.

“I’m sure you can tell me something your dad won’t. Then, I can do something for you, something he won’t,” Chad added.

Hank remained quiet. Cecilia bowed her head while she did the fidgeting thing with her hands when she was nervous. “I’m not sure what happened. It happened so fast, I almost lost my life as well,” she said.

It was Hank’s turn to burst out laughing. The Viper duo finally managed to annoy Chad this time round. “That’s what your dad said,” he said as he moved closer to her, “that he didn’t know anything.” The aura around him made Cecilia shiver. She almost peed her pants. “And do you know what I did to him?”

Cecilia couldn’t take it anymore. This time round, she broke down. She cried and cried and cried. Tears flowed out of her eyes, like a broken dam. “I really don’t know anything! They.. they.. they didn’t tell me anything… Some.. something about being a girl and not.. not.. not.. I don’t know!” She said in between sobs.

She started saying incoherent words. “When was the last time you saw your brother?” Chad asked another question since it didn’t look like they were going anywhere with the first one.

“We.. we.. he..” she stuttered. “You better tell the truth. There are things that we already know,” Chad warned. She looked up in fear. “We came back from the bar. He.. he.. said that he needed to meet someone to talk about something at the other side of the clubhouse. He..,” the water works started again and she started sobbing, “he.. he.. he left me alone there.. then.. then, I was entering the clubhouse from the backdoor.. someone.. some.. in black.. a.. a girl in black.. climbed out through the window..”