Their treatment of him worsened after that. They wouldn't even give him decent meals.
Sabrina often made Malacai act like her child and brought him to various places, only to ignore him later and focus on her own dates.
The first few times, Malacai didn't cooperate, which ended with him getting beaten up, not just with fists, but with a belt too.
As time went on, Malacai realized the man had some underlings who followed him, making sure he didn't escape or do anything that posed a risk to them.
He also realized that his so-called stepmother, Sabrina, was a honey trap.
She would find rich men and then ask them for money. The ex-soldier's role was to deliver threats to make sure they always paid.
After observing them for many years, Malacai noticed Sabrina always researched her targets and never actually slept with any of them.
She would trap them into spending time together, drug them into bed, and then, while in her lingerie, take pictures with the man.
She had never been caught in the nearly three years that Malacai lived with them.
Soon, the car stopped in front of the familiar house.
Nerissa could see that Malacai had that expression again. He got off first without saying anything and entered the house.
Nerissa hesitated; she knew she would just witness another gruesome scene inside the house.
She had dealt drugs, weapons, and illegal items but always avoided any job that required her to kill or kidnap someone.
The worst she had done was break someone's bone, a deed not even worth comparing with the atrocities Malacai committed.
She kept gazing at the front door of the simplistic one-story modern house. Minutes passed by, and then she received a message.
Looking at it, Nerissa sighed. Malacai was asking why she was still outside. Reluctantly, she got out of the car.
Inside the house, she saw a burly man with a scar on his eye leaving the house.
With one look, Nerissa knew he was Malacai's stepdad and had been ordered to do something, his eyes filled with fear.
Malacai was sitting on the couch, and in front of him stood a beautiful woman in a red one-piece dress, her face etched with terror.
One of her cheeks was red, and Nerissa speculated it was because she had been slapping herself.
"Sit," Malacai says to Nerissa, pointing to the space beside him.
He then looks back at the woman in front of him. "So, Sabrina, answer honestly, or do you want to slap yourself to death?"
His lips curl upward. "Why did you treat me like that before?"
Sabrina's body shudders.
A few minutes ago, Malacai returned home and started giving orders to both of them.
He gave a long set of instructions to his stepdad, instructions that made Sabrina gulp in fear.
After he finished, he asked her to answer his questions honestly and to slap herself as hard as possible if she lied.
But how could she honestly say why she treated him that way?
She knows he will hate her even more. Honestly, she had already given up on living. She just didn't want a gruesome death.
"Why still silent?" Malacai's eyes start turning purple again.
"If you don't answer in another minute, you can start pulling out your nails."
Hearing his words, Sabrina quickly answers, her voice stuttering.
"That… that's because we wanted to save money." SLAP! Her hand moves by itself, slapping herself again.
"Nerissa, it's stupid. She knows I can control her, but she still tries to lie. What do you think? Do you have any idea?"
Seated beside him, Nerissa responds, "I think she's doing this on purpose because she's afraid the truth will anger you even more. She's afraid of your retaliation."
"Oh, interesting. Then what do you suggest I should order her to do? To make her answer honestly?"
Malacai asks. He's doing this on purpose. He had already thought of this, but he wanted Nerissa to be directly involved.
Nerissa has some ideas, but most of them disgust her, making her question how she can even think about them.
"Well, she seems to react to your threat earlier, but I doubt physical pain is enough, as she does this to avoid it. Maybe make her do something that will mentally scar her for life."
Malacai then claps his hands, his eyes turning purple again.
"How about this: you always flirt with many men but still keep your virginity. You must treat it as something precious, right?"
His lips curl into an evil grin, his voice turning cold as ice. "If you don't answer honestly, go lose your virginity with a stray dog in the street when there are many people around."
Sabrina's eyes widened; she felt like seeing a red demon now.
Her heart beats loudly, imagining if that really happened.
She bites her lips and starts kneeling, "Please forgive me. I was just following orders."
"The one who helped me with the documents wanted me to test your body's durability."
"If everything went as planned, we would do this until your graduation, and then we would take you to her. I asked why she was interested in you and why your body is so weird."
"But she just told me she wanted your organs and that the reason for your body's peculiarities was not something I needed to know."
Nerissa is surprised by her explanation, and many questions start to form in her mind, but it only lasts a moment as she can feel the room temperature drop.
Malacai's eyes turn deadly cold, "Who is this woman? How does she look?"
If before Sabrina felt like she was seeing a demon grinning at her misery, now she feels like she's meeting one that will eat her soul.
"I… I… don't know her name. She wears glasses, but her eyes don't look like a normal human's."
"I thought she just wore some contact lenses as a hobby, but seeing you right now, I am sure that's her real eyes."