Chapter 216 He Lost
William knelt beside the lounge chair, holding that hand.
Outside the window, the sunlight shifted from gold to orange, then finally sank into darkness.
He had another dream.
He never expected that Lester would break into his dreams, forcing him to witness Isabella's suffering.
That face, those eyes, that person standing in the shadows staring at her.
He remembered how she looked lying in a pool of blood.
Remembered her pale face, remembered those words he never got to say.
It was all because of him.
William's fingers slowly tightened.
He suddenly remembered something.
Lester was still alive.
Locked in an iron cage, his hand and foot tendons severed, huddled like a discarded dog.
He had kept him alive, not out of mercy.
But to wait.
Wait for the right moment.
Wait for a chance to make him taste that same pain.
William stood up.
He looked down at her on the lounge chair.
The car drove for an hour before stopping at a patch of wasteland.
This was property the Spencer family had acquired, once belonging to Lester.
The factory had long been abandoned, leaving only some people who shouldn't be there.
Dylan pushed open the car door, and William's foot touched the dust-covered concrete.
In the distance stood several rusted metal buildings.
Beneath the peeling walls, empty window frames rattled in the wind.
Someone emerged from the shadows, hurrying over.
"Mr. Spencer."
William didn't look at him; his gaze was locked on that building.
"Where is he?"
"Inside."
William walked forward.
He pushed open the rust-covered iron door, and a rotten stench hit him in the face.
An iron cage sat in the corner with someone huddled inside.
Hearing footsteps, the man muttered lowly.
"Where's William?"
"Tell that coward to come see me."
"You want to see me that badly?" William approached the cage.
Lester lifted his head, his face gaunt and deformed.
Dark, sunken eye sockets, wrists, and ankles wrapped in cloth stained with blood.
He reeked of urine, his clothes marked with greasy stains.
"Ha," Lester laughed without restraint, "Hahaha."
"You finally came."
His voice was hoarse and dry, but there wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes.
He looked straight at William with his head raised.
Lester used his elbows to prop himself up, crawling inch by inch toward the edge of the cage.
Each time he moved, a suppressed groan escaped his mouth.
But the smile never left his face.
He lay at the edge of the cage, looking up at William.
"You hate me, don't you?"
William didn't respond.
Lester stared at him, bloodshot eyes like spreading fractures.
"Of course you hate me."
"Ms. Tudor's skin was really something."
"Her body smelled so good, too. I've never seen such a shameless woman."
"Again and again, she'd climb on top begging me to fuck her..."
William's hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Lester panted, slowly squeezing out the words.
As he spoke, his breath carried a rotten smell, but his eyes grew brighter.
"Those few days, she wanted it so many times."
"My legs went weak, haha."
"Good thing I have plenty of friends who could take turns satisfying her."
He stared at William, savoring every change in his expression.
"Do you know how soft her body was? So soft you couldn't bear to push her away. When she climbed on me, do you know whose name she was calling?"
Something was breaking in William's eyes.
Lester kept laughing.
"She was calling yours."
"William, save me."
"Beatrice, Beatrice..." Lester mimicked Isabella's tone, "Beatrice, I'm in so much pain..."
Lester laughed until his eyeballs nearly bulged from their sockets, looking almost grotesque.
"Over and over, always calling for you."
"What a devoted woman. Now I finally understand why you agreed to my terms."
His voice was hoarse, yet like a knife, cutting him line by line.
"I just watched from the side."
"Watched her rolling on the ground, watched her tearing at her own clothes, watched her skin turn red all over, watched her eyes fill with tears."
"Haha!" Each of Lester's laughs stabbed into William's heart.
"Just like you, doing nothing."
William spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staggering backward.
"Mr. Spencer!" Dylan caught him before he could fall.
William's hand clenched until his knuckles turned white, veins standing out.
Lester stared at him.
"Guess what she was thinking then?"
"She must have been thinking, where's my husband? Why hasn't he come yet? Has he abandoned me?"
"My body is already dirty," Lester mimicked Isabella's tone again, "I can never go back, I'm dirty."
"Shut up! Shut up!" William roared.
Lester grinned, showing two yellow teeth.
"You think I was trying to escape?"
"William, you underestimated me."
"I came back as soon as I heard Isabella died."
"I just wanted to see how far you'd go for Isabella."
"You're a coward, William. You don't even dare to die with her."
"You don't love her as much as you think you do."
"Stop pretending to be so devoted."
"I saw through you long ago."
Lester's words were like a judge reciting his crimes one by one.
William's legs shook violently, his face frighteningly pale.
But the blood at the corner of his mouth was even redder.
William suddenly rushed forward, reaching through the iron cage to grab Lester's throat.
He couldn't bear to hear any more.
His hand used all its strength, and Lester's bones gave a sharp crack.
Lester couldn't laugh anymore, had no strength left.
But those bloodshot eyes still stared at him.
Under that stare, William's hand suddenly lost all its strength and dropped.
Lester lay on the ground, coughing nonstop, laughing while coughing in bursts.
"Kill me."
"Kill me, William."
"Haven't you always wanted to kill me?"
"I'm right here now. My tendons are all severed, I can't run."
"Go ahead and kill me. When I get to hell, I'll enjoy her body again."
What answered him was a cold command.
"Castrate him."
William pushed Dylan aside, staggering out of the factory.
He looked at the sky. It was gray, without light.
Thick clouds overlapped, impossible to break through.
He leaned against the car door, a bitter smile on his face.
He had lost.
William couldn't even remember how he got back to the villa.
Upstairs, Juniper stood by the window, watching that car slowly drive through the gate.
William stumbled when he got out, leaning against the car door for a long time.
She glanced at the wall behind her, putting her hand in her pocket.
Gripping a cold key, holding it tightly in her palm.