Chapter 38: A Waking Nightmare
As the carriage approached the massive bank building of the Barclay Family, the driver returned to his seat to guide the horses, unaware that behind him in the cabin sat Death itself. Tula reappeared inside the cramped carriage, sitting across from Morgan, whose limbs were frozen in terror.
Tula whispered in a cold voice: "Listen carefully to what I say... these orders are your only lifeline." He leaned toward Morgan's ear and whispered words that sounded like diabolical incantations—orders that would turn Morgan into a mere puppet in Edward's hands within the Barclay bank. Before Morgan could process the words, Tula grabbed his arm and leg and, with a swift, lightning-fast motion... snapped the bones!
Morgan's screams tore through the silence of the night—screams of unbearable, real pain. But the driver in front heard nothing; it was as if the sound was trapped within a bubble of void. Morgan writhed in agony, tears streaming from his eyes, until he eventually blacked out.
The carriage finally arrived and stopped in front of the bank. The driver stepped down and opened the door respectfully, saying, "Sir, we have arrived." Finding no response at first, he assumed Morgan had fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. He began to shake him gently until Morgan suddenly woke up with a terrifying gasp.
Morgan looked around in a panic, checking left and right, then felt his arm and leg which had been shattered moments ago. They were perfectly intact! No pain, no fracture, no blood. He began to laugh hysterically—a laugh indicative of total madness—shouting: "It was a dream! Thank God... it was just a cursed dream!"
The driver stood watching him with looks of pity and contempt, saying to himself, "This man has completely lost it; the terror of debts has licked his brain clean." The driver hurried away to inform his superiors in the Barclay family that their trusted collector had lost his mind, unaware that the orders planted in Morgan's ear would soon begin to tick like a time bomb