In the dim, oppressive lighting, the man''s elegantly sculpted features made him look deceptively innocent and harmless.


    "If I force myself to keep holding back, I think I might actually lose my mind. So, for the sake of my mental health... I''ll have to trouble Mr. Sellers to temporarily serve as my personal therapist.


    I imagine this shouldn''t be too daunting a task for Mr. Burton.


    After all, you managed to survive in Foreman''s hands for over a month. You must have plenty of experience by now.


    Make yourself at home here, Mr. Burton. If you need anything at all, feel free to ask your guards."


    Sellers gritted his teeth. "How long are you nning to keep me locked in here?"


    Joshua lowered his eyes, pretending to mull it over for a few seconds before smiling. "Until the day my psychological issues are fully cured... But I''m a big believer in fairness.


    If Mr. Burton manages to find a way to escape this ce, then I''ll let you walk free. How does that sound?"


    Sellers'' heart sank to the bottom of his stomach.


    Foreman might have slipped up out of arrogance and given him a window of opportunity.


    But Joshua would never make such a rookie mistake.


    If he ever managed to escape, it would only be because Joshua orchestrated it for his own twisted amusement.


    Sellers'' gaze shifted to the lion pacing in the adjacent enclosure.


    He tried to decipher what twisted game Joshua was ying by bringing a wild predator into this.


    Was he nning to feed him to the beast?


    As if reading his rising panic, Joshua graciously offered an exnation. "Since you''re so utterly obsessed with uncovering my past, I figured I''d give you a front-row seat to understand me better.


    Files and investigations are so one-dimensional. It''s much better for Mr. Burton to experience it firsthand."


    Joshua lightly pped his hands, and a few of his subordinates immediately stepped into the room.


    Joshua gave a casual wave. "Let Mr. Burton get acquainted with his new roommate. After all, they''ll be spending a great deal of time together in the foreseeable future."


    Sellers'' eyelid twitched as a horrifying realization washed over him. The bloodpletely drained from his face. "You... you absolute lunatic!"


    Joshua looked down at him with an aristocratic air. "What kind of talk is that, Mr. Burton? You went through all the trouble of sending people to the ends of the earth to dig up my history. Now that I''m handing you the experience on a silver tter, you''reining?"


    The heavy iron gate of the cage swung open. Sellers was violently hauled out by several men in ck suits and shoved roughly into the adjoining enclosure.


    Someone brought over a chair for Joshua.


    He leaned back elegantly, his voice cool and detached. "Back when I


    was in Crestmont, if I wanted a single bite of food, had to step into the pit with wild beasts, armed with nothing but a short knife.


    I win, I eat. It wins, it eats me.


    Mr. Burton is fully fed, rested, and has a whole armory of weapons at his disposal. Surely you can handle a single lion?"


    Sellers'' eyes darted to the wall of the cage, where a rack of gleaming medieval-style weaponry was mounted.


    Longswords, spears, staffs, daggers, heavy shields...


    It was a veritable arsenal.


    The Burton family was a dynasty of


    medical pioneers; they dealt in clean, legalmerce. He had always been nked by elite bodyguards and had never experienced a life-or-death braw in the mud.


    Faced with a roaring apex predator, even a man of Sellers'' caliber felt his nerves fraying.


    But he possessed the grit of a true patriarch. Rather than freezing in terror, he snatched a longsword from the rack and lunged forward, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl.


    Sellers knew better than to drag out a standoff with a wild animal, which would only give it time to find a fatal opening. He had to strike first.


    Joshua watched with a spark of genuine interest. "Not bad. You actually have some brains."


    However, the de merely grazed the lion. The moment the beast caught the scent of its own blood, it descended into a feral frenzy.


    Baring its massive, razor-sharp fangs, itunched itself furiously at Sellers.