The leader shrugged. "It's a woman, what else could it be for?" He walked over to her, his ominous footsteps getting louder and louder as he approached Mahi.
'An exchange?' Mahi became worried.
It seems she's the bargaining chip for something, but for what? She thought about possible scenarios but the only thing that she could think of was human-trafficking. But they would definitely not go to this extent in beating her up if it was for that purpose.
She pushed this thought aside and listened to his footsteps. Her anxiety level was rapidly increasing as he approached her. She could already tell what he was planning to do. She clenched her stomach, and just as she thought, he kicked her. He was checking to see if she was truly unconscious.
It was extremely hard to ignore the pain that was pulsating through the entirety of her body. Every inch of her brimmed with agonizing pain, so much that she could barely think properly. Breathing had already been hard for her and his fierce kick had made it even harder.
"Hm, no reaction. She's knocked out for good." The leader tilted his head to his friend. "How do you want to wake her up? Cold water to the face or torturing her to the point where her own pain wakes her up?" With how casual and bored he sounded, one would think he was simply discussing the weather.
"What do you think about the limb-cutter?" A voice answered, followed by another pair of footsteps.
"Boss forbade anything that would permanently disfigure her. He just wanted her to be brutally beaten up to be taught a lesson. We have three days to make sure that stubborn brain of hers won't work again." The leader replied, turning his head to his people.
"Bring the electric chair and crank it up to full intensity." He added, clapping his hands in glee at the idea of using his latest toy.
The man who paid for her to be kidnapped and tortured had sent him the gift that he always wanted but never got around to buying because of how expensive it was. Now that he had finally got what he wanted, he couldn't wait to test it out on her!
Terrified at the idea of being tortured to the point of no return, Mahi knew she needed to leave this as soon as possible.
Mahi concentrated on her environment.
Only a handful of people knew that she is a Malhotra and that's why she involve in combat training. None of those people would let this fact leak, and she was confident that whoever had planned on having her beaten into submission is not aware of that.
Part of that training was being taught how to detect the presence around her. She counted at least 20 pairs of unique footsteps walking out of the room she was in. Their steps were generally heavier than the leader's and she knew that the burly ones are all used to straightforward beating, unlike the leader's more creative and brutal ways of torture. She faintly remembered that there were at least 30 men who had entered the warehouse which meant that around 10 people had been left behind to guard her.
Peeling her eyes open by the tiniest crack, she saw there was no one within her vicinity. They had left her lying on the floor, seemingly believing that she was truly unconscious. Although she was very close to losing her vision, her will to fight and survive was enough to push her body to stay awake.
The ropes on her wrists and ankles had gotten uncontrollably tight from being tossed around. However, that didn't mean she couldn't try to cut her way out of it.
Without the chair as an obstacle, she finally had access to her waistband.
These morons must've been really stupid to not have conducted a full body check on her. But then again, she couldn't blame them because the location where she hid her little weapon was too hidden. All of her clothing had a small flat blade hidden within it, and this pair of jeans was no exception.
She strained her fingers just so she could reach the little opening near the leather label of her jeans. The label was at the back of her waist line which made it harder to reach for. The task was incredibly strenuous since every little movement she made, the rope kept getting tighter and tighter. She was sure her fingers would lose circulation within the next three minutes if she didn't act fast.
She kept her eyes closed as she spent the next minute attempting to grab the blade. She nearly sighed in relief upon feeling the cold metal against her fingers. Two minutes left. She attempted to cut the ropes but the blade had been dull from all of the months of not being used.
'Come on…' She muttered internally as she struggled to cut the rope.
She felt time starting to run out for her, for her fingers were beginning to feel numb now. She knew there was only a few seconds left before her hands were completely unable to move any further.
The time ticked and she could no longer feel her fingers. She wriggled her arms a bit and finished cutting the last piece of the rope, and instantly, blood was pumped into her fingers.