Chapter 12

In the real world, David saw Fiona and Jake crying. They are seeing it already. Collin had never said that they should enter his mind during treatment. He suggested to Collin that Beth send them to his mind, and he would give them a password so his mind could let them in.

Of course, he didn't tell Beth anything about this; instead, he told her that Collin wanted them in his mind to help with his treatment so they could see his past. This is one step toward saving the future.

~~~~

Fiona closed her eyes as she watched Collin get punished for breaking the rules. He is around five years old now. And he is receiving a hundred whips on his back from two guards. He didn't even cry or flinch. The only sound they could hear was the sound of whips hitting skin. And all this for feeding a cat?

"You are wasting food," his father had said.

A new set of scars appeared on Collin's back once he was whipped.

He was given his shirt back after being whipped, and he painfully walks out of the punishment room. Nobody was to help him with anything. Mrs. Winter, his nanny, was the only one who helped him in secret.

He enters his bedroom, which contains a first-aid kit. Mrs. Winter must have kept it there. Collin removes his shirt and sloppily dresses his wounds. "At least Mrs. Winter is going to be taking the cat to the pet shop," he thought with a barely visible smile on his face.

He looks at the time when he was done. It would soon be time for dinner. "I don't want to be punished again for being late," he thought blankly. "I am not in the mood."

He goes to the dining table, where he was served dinner. He didn't see his father there as usual, so he asked the butler at the table. "Where is Father?" he asked.

"Your father returned to the company; he has some things to do," the butler replied with a bow.

Collin nodded and turned to eat his dinner.

Fiona's face was filled with tears. She had just witnessed an innocent boy being forced to face reality.

As each day passed, Collin's abuse grew worse, and the cheerful little boy that was guiding them was soon replaced with a depressed version of Collin. "Are you here to kill me?" he would ask every time he appeared in front of them. "Father took away every possible way for me to be by Mommy's side." Those were his thoughts.

Beth wanted them to take a break since they looked a bit emotional, but they refused. What else don't they know about him? Why has he never talked about this?

Fredrick returned home one night drunk, and Collin was summoned into his father's study for another so-called lesson. It was a horrible sight. This was the first time in months that they heard Collin cry and scream for help.

Everyone's emotions were so rampant, their murderous auras were showing in the real world.

The bodyguards that were there were surprised. "I've never seen his highness' aura before," Hansel said.

Fiona's aura was the strongest; it was the most murderous, and it was slightly choking. The tattoo on her wrist glowed a bit before going down.

Collin sat in his room; he had just come out of the bathroom, and his body was scrubbed red. He was even bleeding in some parts of his body. He was shaking, and his eyes were red from crying. He would cry some more, but no tears would flow from his eyes; he had already cried all the tears from his eyes.

The little boy appears in front of them again. "Please just kill me," he begged, and then he began to cry. "Please."

"Take us to the next one," Beth said.

The boy reluctantly agrees, seeing that he can't convince them to kill him. When they reached another door, another Collin, around six years old, appeared before them. "I'll be your guide," he said, sounding monotonous and looking more lifeless. His black eyes looked like a black hole, with light unable to escape its darkness.

When they entered that door, they began to hear Colli's thoughts. "Father has been returning home late at night lately; his company is going bankrupt; no one wants to buy his company's products because they are now out of date."

"He doesn't want to sell the house despite being in debt; he is far more stupid than I thought. "I want to get rid of dead weight," he said. He wants to get rid of me. The quicker, the better."

Fiona gasped. "Was this how he got sold to Grade," she thought.

Collin was summoned by his father, and he was met with the apologetic face of his father. "Collin," he said, mustering the most apologetic tone he could. "I'm sorry for being a horrible father to you," he said. "I hope I can make it up to you somehow."

"You want to make it up to me?" Collin asked. "I'm already pretty much dead inside," he said. "Do me a favor and get me a rope, or allow me to go to the cabinet so I can get a razor so I can finally accompany Mom in the afterlife."

The scene changes, and Collin is in an amusement park with his father. It was obvious Collin's father wouldn't let him kill himself, so he took him to an amusement park.

Fiona remembers this place very clearly. "What do you think Fredrick is up to?" Jake asked.

They were walking behind the father-and-son pair when Nathan called their attention to something. "Is this who I think this is?" he said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Nathan pointed to a little girl. "Baby Fiona," he said.

The little girl had mistakenly bumped into Collin and was frightened by his scary gaze. She quickly ran behind her parents, shaking in fear. "Oh my," her mother said. "Fiona, you bumped into someone; you have to apologize," she said. But Fion refused to apologize. It's too scary.

Her mother smiled helplessly and bowed a bit. "We are so sorry about our daughter's behavior," she said before leaving.

"I didn't know you were acquainted with Collin when you were cute," Jake said.

"Are you saying I'm not cute?" Fiona asked in annoyance.

Jake didn't answer but continued to watch the scene. Collin and his father went on different rides together. Collin even looked like he was enjoying himself. He had a very small smile on his face, although it was barely visible.

He was having fun for the first time in almost two years.

When the fun was all over and the sun was setting, parents were leaving the amusement park. "Wait, where are all the children with their parents?" Nathan asked in confusion. He then pointed to Fiona's parents leaving alone, with no sign of her. "Where are you?"

Fiona sighed. She said the truth about this place. They'll know about it sooner or later. "This place seems like a normal amusement park, but it is, in fact, a place for sold children to be delivered without alarming the Empire," she explained. "We were sold to an illegal organization named Grade for a great price of ten million Flue."

"Ten million Flue?" Jake said in surprise. "That's a lot of money."

Fiona nodded. "Many parents here sold their children because of the money or because of debt, like my parents and Collin's dad did."

Fiona didn't speak with that much emotion; she wasn't angry or sad that her parents had sold her, nor did she seem happy to see them in Collin's memories.

Collin's father left him sitting on a bench, but he didn't seem panicked. He noticed the situation around him and knew what was going on.

"Collin already knew what was going on when he didn't see any children returning with their parents." Fiona was taken aback. "No wonder he was the favorite."

Favorite in what?

Collin stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards a teenage girl wearing an employee's face cap and a cute outfit. Fiona recognized her at a glance. "Blue 001," she whispered.

The girl looks at Collin. "Is there something you need me to help you with?" she asks.

"Cut the act," Collin said.

The girl blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I don't care about any of this acting nonsense. A high schooler shouldn't have a job in an amusement park during a school day," Collin said.

The girl smiled. "We've got an interesting one," she said to the communication device in her ear. "Come on, kid," she said, taking Collin's hand, and together they went to meet a blonde girl. "Gold, we've got a special one," she said.

"Aw, he's a cutie," the blonde girl said, going close to Collin.

"You're awfully cheerful, don't you think?" Collin spoke truthfully.

The first girl chuckled. "Finally, someone who gets me," she said, rubbing Collin's hair. "Live long enough, and we will show you the ropes."

"I highly doubt that," Collin replies following them to a black car. He was knocked out and carried to the car. "Welcome to Grade," the blonde girl said.