An hour later, a black Rolls-Royce entered an abandoned yard in the suburbs. The driver parked, and a bodyguard opened the door for Alexis.

She had lost significant weight since the accident.

Looking up at the clear sky, she tightened her windbreaker and walked into the yard, expecting to encounter a disheveled figure.

Alexis had imagined that Leonel might have confined Anika to the point of losing her sanity.

Upon seeing Anika collapsing on the floor, Alexis felt such revulsion that she immediately covered her mouth, unable to muster the courage for a second glance.

The sight was repulsive, truly nauseating.

Clutching her mouth, Alexis hurried out of the room and crouched in a corner, vomiting everything in her stomach. The horrific image of the warehouse, the suffering woman, and the brutal man who had tormented her haunted her thoughts.

As the sun set, a slender figure appeared behind her, blocking the dwindling light.

Alexis turned slowly to find Leonel standing there.

He spoke in a flat tone. “As I said, she won't affect us anymore."

After emptying her stomach, Alexis felt extremely weak, her eyes moist with distress. She was no saint and harbored no sympathy for Anika, even planning to torture her herself.

Yet, she had not anticipated witnessing such a horrifying scene.

Alexis remained silent, her gaze fixed on Leonel. It was in that moment she truly grasped the depths of his cruelty.

Leonel, understanding her thoughts, stepped closer and asked softly, "Are you afraid of me, Alexis? Does it shock you that I could treat someone so cruelly? You might think, given our shared upbringing and education, how could I become such a brutal person, right?"

Despite Leonel advancing towards her, Alexis stood her ground.

She refused to show any signs of weakness or fear, even though fear was exactly what she felt. She feared that Leonel might subject her to the same cruelty if she provoked him.

With a sneer, Leonel said, "Maybe this cruelty is in my genes!"

After a brief pause, he continued, “Alexis, I once thought that if I hadn't gone abroad in the first place, perhaps you wouldn't despise me. I could have given you the life you always dreamed of. No matter how hard I tried to mend things, it seemed impossible to change anything... But now, things are different.”

Despite the many hardships and even a divorce, Leonel realized he couldn't let go of his feelings.

He still loved Alexis.