Christina wiped her tears and shook her head. "Grandpa, stop hitting Mom. I'm fine!"

Douglas finally lowered his hand and let out a long, exhausted sigh as he sank onto the couch.

Irene, still shaken, crawled toward Leroy, her face full of panic when she saw him lying motionless on the floor. "Leroy, are you okay? Please, don't scare me like this—what did those bastards do to you?"

Tears of humiliation welled in Leroy's eyes as he suddenly threw his arms around Irene, sobbing. "Mom, I don't want to live anymore! I want to jump off a building! I'll never be clean again!"

A terrible thought flashed through Irene's mind, making her heart drop. She immediately reached out, checking his body with trembling hands.

"Leroy, did those monsters… did they do that to you?" Her voice cracked as she struggled to get the words out. "Did they… violate you?"

If Leroy had been assaulted like that, she had no idea how she would even begin to comfort him.

Leroy shook his head but continued s