67

67
Elena's POV

Just as Lana and I were chatting, catching up on old times, a number of guards walked into the jail cell, interrupting our conversation.

I was actually very happy to see Lana because it had been a long time since the both of us spoke on friendly terms. All along, I thought she was probably still angry with me and didn’t want anything to do with me. I wouldn’t be surprised; after all, I said many hurtful words to her that day.

I couldn’t believe that she had risked her life in an attempt to save me. I had said words to hurt her and make her feel bad, but here she was, defending me with everything she had. Observing how well she had treated me since we got to know each other made me feel really guilty and gave me the feeling that I was a bad friend.

My inability to apologize to Lana weighed heavily on my heart, but now I had the chance. And just when we were beginning to catch up on old times and have a little fun through our conversation, Alpha Derrick's guards interrupted us.

Everything happened quickly, and before I knew it, Lana had been dragged out of the cell. They opened the cell door swiftly and pulled Lana by the hand. The one who did this stood in front of the rest and gave off a vibe that made me feel he was probably the leader.

After dragging Lana out forcefully, he threw a bottle at me, which I caught, curiously wanting to know what was inside.

After observing it for a short while, I turned to him and asked, "What is this?"

"You've been playing hard to get all along, and Alpha Derrick has tried everything he could, but it seems you are not ready to give in to conventional persuasion. That in your hand is an abortion drug, and you are going to drink it if you know what's good for your friend here. Depending on whether or not you drink that medicine, your little friend here is going to be tortured right before your eyes. I don't think you're willing to abandon a close friend who risked her life for you just for your own selfish desires," the guard said with a smug smile.

His words made me freeze in terror. Just when I thought things were looking up and Lucian would be here shortly, this happened. I hadn’t imagined that I would actually have to give up the child that Lucian had put in my womb.

I had deep love for this child, and I was ready to move heaven and earth to protect it. I had shielded it from Alpha Derrick every day with all my might, but now it seemed I hardly had a choice but to give it up.

The thought of killing a child whose gender I didn’t even know terrified me. I knew that even if I escaped this situation, it would haunt me forever.

"Hey, you! Do you think we came here to joke? You have two choices: you either watch your friend be tortured slowly until she dies, or you drink what's in your hand, and we’ll leave you in peace. To be honest, the best decision is obvious," the guard said, tightening his grip on Lana.

"Elena, don’t drink it! You’ve worked too hard, and you’ve suffered too much to give up on that child now. You’ve protected it with your life, and now you'll protect it with mine. If I die saving the life of an innocent child, I’ll die without any regrets. So throw that bottle away now!" Lana screamed.

"Shut up, you bitch!" The leader of the guards said, slapping Lana hard across her face. She fell to the ground, weakly crawling back to her knees.

"Well, we expected this situation to play out like this, and that’s why we enlisted the help of a specialist," the leader said, stepping aside to allow one of the other men to step forward.

He wasn’t dressed in the guard uniform, and now that I noticed, he wasn’t the only one. He took off the coat he was wearing to reveal a large collection of torture tools.

Seeing the equipment, Lana instantly became terrified. She tried to move back quickly, but one of them stopped her.

"Hold her down and restrain her. This is about to get interesting," the specialist said as an evil smile played on his lips.

In the next instant, three men held Lana down tightly, binding her to the ground with special tools.

Once Lana was fully bound, the specialist took out a scalpel and began approaching her.

"This is your last chance, cupcake. You can either drink that or watch us torture her," the leader said, staring at me.

I held up the bottle to my face and began to reach for the cork. Lana had sacrificed too much to save me, and I didn’t want her to suffer anymore because of me. She had turned against her sister to protect me, and I had repaid her with cruel rejection. I couldn’t allow her to keep giving to me while I gave her nothing. Losing this child was the last thing I wanted, but if I allowed Lana to be tortured, I would never sleep peacefully again.

Maybe after this ordeal, I should take my life to compensate for the innocent one I took.

"No, Elena, don’t do it!" Lana screamed frantically.

But just then, the specialist stuffed a large piece of cloth into her mouth, sealing it shut. She could no longer speak but simply groaned and wept profusely. The specialist, eager to get started, began carefully and slowly extracting her toenails.

The sight was gruesome and bloody, and it brought tears to my eyes. Lana couldn’t help but give in to the pain and scream, though the sounds were muffled.

He continued extracting her toenails for twenty minutes, and by then, Lana was losing the strength to even scream.

Lana no longer had toenails, and the layer of skin beneath them was red and bloody.

After finishing with her toenails, the specialist placed her feet in a bowl of salt.

Lana screamed and shouted desperately, but she was heavily bound, and the specialist had no intention of letting her go.

Every time I tried to put the bottle to my lips, Lana would scream desperately, clearly telling me not to.

After placing her feet in salt, Lana’s face was covered with a cloth, and water from a nearby bathroom was poured over it. This continued for forty minutes until Lana began convulsing helplessly.

Through muffled speech, she managed to say, "Don’t drink it. I wouldn’t be able to live with the thought of you sacrificing your innocent child for me."

The specialist allowed her to finish her words, and after she was done speaking, using the last of her strength, he began cutting shapes into her skin.

The sight was messy and incredibly bloody. Lana’s skin was being peeled off slowly, and she could do nothing but groan weakly. She was in intense pain, unable to scream because all her energy had been spent on her earlier screams.

There was nothing she could do now but endure the agony in silence.

Holes were cut into Lana’s skin, and she was bleeding profusely. She needed medical attention immediately, but instead, more and more cuts were made, and blood was lost even quicker.

I cried and wept. All Lana had done was come over to rescue me, and yet she was being met with such a cruel fate just because of me.

"To think that your friend, who came to save your life, is being tortured right in front of you while you selfishly cling to your desires. Just get rid of the child in your womb, and all of this will end. She’ll get the medical attention she needs, and maybe her wounds will heal with time. All you need to do is drink that liquid, and as soon as the child is gone, you’ll lose your reason to fight our Alpha. Maybe then Alpha Derrick will be able to lie with you without resistance," the leader of the guards said.

I listened and considered his words, and the guilt overwhelmed me. Lana had risked everything for me, and yet here I was, abandoning her just when she needed me.

"Now, let’s get to my favorite part," the specialist said, moving his knife toward one of Lana’s fingers. "We’ve done the toenails; now let’s get started on the fingernails," he said, shoving the knife deep into Lana’s finger.

Although Lana had been silent, the pain from this made her release a loud sound, even through the cloth in her mouth.

I had hesitated to save her, but now I didn’t care anymore. Without any further hesitation, I opened the bottle and drank what was inside.