The imposter’s face drained of color. She had heard rumors about Vincent’s methods—falling into his hands was a fate worse than death.

A flicker of panic crossed the imposter’s eyes, and in a sudden, desperate movement, she turned and dashed toward the wall.

Katelyn anticipated her move, firing without hesitation.

The bullet struck her leg, and she crumpled to the floor with a scream, completely helpless.

Katelyn walked toward her, the gun still firmly in her grip. “I gave you a chance.”

The imposter lay sprawled out, too weak to move, but her eyes still blazed with intense hatred. “I’ll never let you get away with this. Never!”

Katelyn frowned, her hand reaching down to yank the mask from the woman’s face. For a moment, her eyes widened. Official source is FιndＮovel.net

The face beneath was young and plain—nothing distinctive. She knew she had never seen this woman before.

This wasn’t personal; it was just a job. She had been sent by someone else.

Katelyn’s expression hardened, sensing that the net she had been feeling tightening around her was drawing even closer.

“Who sent you?” she asked, her voice unwavering.

The imposter let out a twisted smile, her voice low and mocking. “I won’t tell you. Go ahead, kill me if you’re brave enough! You may win against me, but you’ll never beat my master!”

Her master?

Katelyn’s face darkened as she recalled Elora’s loyal servants. For these people, their employer wasn’t simply a boss—it was their “master.”

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Their families were under the control of their “master,” and failure or betrayal meant certain death for them all.

This was the same reason the assassin sent to kill Amiri had chosen death rather than give up even a sliver of information.

Vincent’s gaze bore down on the imposter, cold and unforgiving, as if she were something filthy beneath his feet.

“I know plenty of ways to make her talk. We can always start by snapping a few bones or maybe gouging out an eye.”

With each cruel word, the imposter trembled harder, her body responding in fear to his threats before her mind could even process them. People like her had long ceased fearing death. What haunted them was pain—the torment, the torture—anything that made life feel like a punishment worse than death.

Katelyn immediately grasped Vincent’s intent. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she spoke in a calm, deliberate tone.

“I remember a method they use overseas. They put people in vats, keep them alive by sterilizing them, and pump them full of saline—so they survive, but suffer every single day.”

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