Page 35 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 2

“But for the past three weeks, every single shipment that came through the docks required Priest’s direct supervision.Every security check. Every inventory count. Every fucking thing.”

My voice didn’t rise. Didn’t need to.

“And I started asking myself—why? Why are seven experienced dock workers suddenly incompetent? Why is Priest doing their jobs for them?”

I stopped in the center of the line. Looked at all of them.

“And then I realized,” I said. “You weren’t incompetent. You weredistracted. Too busy feeding information to Rahsaan to do the work I was paying you for.”

“Mr. Landry—” one of them started.

“You picked the wrong side,” I said, cutting him off.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. Sent a single text to Priest.

Start.

A mechanical whir filled the warehouse.

The chains holding the men began to lower.

Slowly.

Six inches.

Then they stopped.

The men started screaming.

“No—no, please?—”

“Mr. Landry, we’ll fix it—we’ll tell you everything?—”

“Please, I got kids?—”

I put my phone back in my pocket.

Watched.

The acid was two feet below their dangling feet now. Close enough that they could see it. Smell it. Understand exactly what was about to happen.

“Hydrofluoric acid,” I said, my voice cutting through their panic. “It’s interesting stuff. Doesn’t burn like sulfuric acid. Itdissolves. Breaks down organic tissue at the molecular level.”

Another whir.

The chains lowered another six inches.

Eighteen inches now.

One of the men was hyperventilating so hard I thought he might pass out.

“It’ll start with your feet,” I continued, as if I were explaining a recipe. “The acid will eat through your shoes first. Then your skin. Then the muscle. Then the bone.”

Twelve inches.

“The pain is…” I paused, considering. “Extraordinary. From what I understand. I’ve never experienced it myself.”

“Please—”