Chapter 3

3.

I was in too much pain to move. Sia picked up her own phone. The screen showed her live stream, with comments scrolling by like lightning.

"Darlings, that's it for today's stream. I have some private trash to take out. See you next time!"

She signaled the guards to drag me to the workbench. They pinned my hands to the surface.

I watched her pick up the bronze inkstone, a sadistic grin spreading across her face. "Please... Miss Reed... I'm sorry..."

To save my hands, I had to swallow my pride. The relic was more important.

"I really have to save the artifact. Please let me go..." I begged.

Sia froze for a second, then her laughter grew even louder. "Begging now? Isn't it a bit late for that?"

"Today, I'm going to show you exactly what 'restoration' feels like."

She raised the inkstone and aimed it at my pinky finger. Then she slammed it down!

"Ah!" The sound of bone shattering was sickening. I screamed, but a guard clamped his hand over my mouth.

Again and again, she struck. It was like a game to her. One by one, she crushed every bone in my right hand.

My body convulsed. Cold sweat soaked my back.

This hand was insured for millions by the state. It was my life. Now, it was ruined.

"That was just the appetizer." Sia tossed the inkstone aside. She pointed to the climate-controlled container I had brought.

"You wanted to fix this? Let me help you." The guards tied me up and dragged me to the center of the studio.

She reached into the container and pulled out the fragile Ethereal Silk Armor! My heart hammered against my ribs.

"You'll destroy it!" I gasped, struggling to breathe. "You can't―"

Slap! She struck me hard across the face.

She grabbed a bottle of high-concentration industrial acid from the workbench. "Three million dollars for this old rag," she said coldly.

"Hunter paid forty million when I accidentally ripped an antique dress last month. I'll give you three for this junk. Be grateful!"

She twisted the cap open. The strong acid poured onto the ancient armor.

The jade pieces and gold threads, which had survived for centuries, began to smoke and dissolve.

I watched as a national treasure turned into a puddle of foul-smelling liquid. My heart was bleeding.

Suddenly, she stopped. She walked toward me with the half-empty bottle.

"Tsk, tsk. I thought you'd be crying and begging for your life by now," she mocked.

"I've used this on three disobedient assistants, but you're the most boring one yet."

I couldn't speak. The guards had taped my mouth shut. Sia smiled and raised the bottle again.

This time, she aimed it at my hands. The corrosive liquid hit my skin.

The pain of my skin melting and the stench of burning flesh broke me instantly. My muscles and skin dissolved before my eyes.

The agony was so intense that my vision began to fade. I prayed to lose consciousness.

Just as I was about to go into shock, Sia stopped and let out a frustrated scream.