"Come you shouldn't see this," Roman said and tug her hand but Julie didn't move she stay they rooted.
Seeing her reaction Roman question.
"Are you sure you want to see this?" he asked, voice low but steady. "Once you do, you can't unsee it."
Julie hesitated. Her heart was pounding. Her stomach twisted.
But then she remembered that night.
The alley.
The laughter.
The hands.
The fear that clawed through her like wildfire.
She lifted her chin and nodded. "Open it."
Roman unlocked the door. It groaned open like it hadn't been touched in years. But inside, it was alive.
A single dim bulb swung from the ceiling, casting weak yellow light over the stone cell.
Three men sat slumped against the back wall, chained—bloody, bruised, barely conscious.
One had a swollen face. Another was missing a few teeth.
The third looked like he hadn't slept in days, shadows deep beneath his eyes.
Julie froze in the doorway.
Her throat tightened. Her lungs forgot how to breathe.
