"Answer me! Who are you trying to seduce!"

"You tramp! You're nothing but a promiscuous tramp!"

Dowager Vance held Carey's hair in a death grip with one hand. With the other, she pulled out a needle she always carried and began stabbing it into Carey's body, one prick after another, without mercy.

Today was Rosemary's birthday. There could be no blood.

So, a needle was the perfect tool.

It was excruciatingly painful but wouldn't leave any obvious marks.

As she jabbed, Dowager Vance hissed, "I'll kill you, you whore! Shameless! My son died because of you, and you're already trying to lure other men! I'll teach you to seduce men!"

A wave of familiar terror washed over Carey, her eyes widening. She remembered twenty years ago, right after she had woken up, Dowager Vance had used a needle on her then, too.

But it had been so long since she'd used one.

The pain was sharp and overwhelming. The moment the needle pierced her flesh,

it felt like she couldn't breathe.

Dowager Vance's cruel, twisted face blurred and merged with the face from twenty years ago, then sharpened into focus.

At the same time, a man's voice echoed in her mind: "I want our daughter to be free and unrestrained. What if we name her Free?"

Then a gentle woman's voice replied, "Free sounds a bit strange for a girl. How about Freya?"

"That's perfect, Carey. Our daughter's name will be Freya Gonzales. We'll call her Freya for short."

Carey...Freya...

Something felt like it was trying to claw its way out of Carey's mind.

Torn between the physical agony from Dowager Vance and the searing pain in her head, she finally succumbed, collapsing to the floor.

*Thud!*

Carey lay motionless.

Seeing her on the ground, Dowager Vance kicked her viciously. "Bitch! Stop faking it! Get up! Get up right now!"

When the first kick elicited no response, she drew her leg back for another. *Knock, knock, knock-*

A knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Ma'am, it's me, Tina," a voice came from the hall. "I'm here to bring the madam her medicine."

The door was ajar, and from the

outside, Tina could see Dowageret

Vance perfectly including the final moments of her brutal assault on Carey.

Tina took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm and act as if she had seen nothing.

Dowager Vance smoothed her disheveled clothes and looked toward the door. "Come in."

Tina entered, carrying a tray with the medicine.

Once she was inside, Dowager Vance narrowed her eyes. "Where's Shirley?"

Tina smiled faintly. "Ma'am, Shirley

is preparing a special medication for

the mad

I've been tasked with

her care during this time."

At her explanation, some of the suspicion left Dowager Vance's eyes.

Carey's memory was extremely fragile. Without the medication to suppress it, she

would have likely remembered everything by now.

For years, the drugs had kept her compliant.

Since Tina was aware of the situation and Shirley was her senior colleague, that meant Tina could be trusted.

Dowager Vance nodded ans said,

"Make sure that bitch takes every last drop. We don't want her having another episode and embarrassing the family."