"What?" Sebastian asked, but Dylan didn't respond as he just dragged him back to the lady's ward.
"Why have you brought me back here?" Sebastian asked, staring at Dylan.
"Simply because I can make her talk."
Sebastian chuckled at his words and then dragged his hand off Dylan's, leaning close to whisper into his ear. "This isn't a joke, you know. And this isn't about teasing me. It's someone's emotions here, not to be played with."
"I know," Dylan said firmly. "But believe me when I say I can make her talk. I wouldn't lie about this just because I want to tease you."
Sebastian just stayed looking at him as he contemplated.
It was true, this was the most serious he had ever seen Dylan since the night before, and it was different. He could feel it in the air that he wasn't teasing him or trying to do something funny that wouldn't turn out funny.
So, he nodded and showed his ID card to the guards, letting them know that Dylan was with him.
They both entered, and Dylan saw the state of the lady in the room. Rather than just a r*pe case, it looked more like she had been physically assaulted with severe bodily harm.
The case certainly wasn't only about r*pe, as this could even be termed attempted murder.
She seemed to have numerous broken bones and wounds, and the visible parts of her body that her clothes weren't covering were wrapped in bandages, making Dylan wonder if the rest were too.
But he couldn't think too much, as there was a case to solve, so he moved forward to the lady and sat down on a chair beside her.
"Hi, I'm Dylan," he said.
She just stared at him, looking as though her soul had left her body.
Then Dylan said, "Don't worry, I don't need to know your name. And also, I'm not here to ask you to speak, but I hope you don't mind if I speak."
Sebastian merely rested his back against the wall as he watched.
"So, I know it's hard. It was hard for me too. Sometimes, I even wonder if it was ever easy for any of us."
As the lady heard "us," her attention seemed to be pricked as she looked slightly at him. Because "us" could mean so much, was he implying that he had also undergone this? Victims of the same experience often feel for each other, as they understand the trauma.
But she still didn't speak.
And Dylan continued, "I think I was around 19 years old then. I had decided that I wanted to change, to be better, to be independent, and to try my best to cut myself off from the shackles of my mum. I somewhat hated her so much while growing up."
As he said this, he couldn't help but play with his fingertips. "Well, because of that, I took a job at a bar. I was done with high school then, so it was easy for me to be there almost every night, and the pay was good."
"But soon enough, I realized why the pay was that good. One day, out of nowhere, I received a punch which I couldn't return. I didn't even know who gave it to me, as my eyes had just shut, and I dropped to the floor. When I got back up, there were about ten people, and I couldn't pinpoint one."
"And this went on—me getting beaten. Then one day, the person finally showed himself, and I somehow regretted that he did, because he beat me so badly and then tipped me just as much. He said he enjoyed seeing the way I screamed or reacted when he hit me, and he wanted to do more, and he would pay. But I didn't want to, yet he would beat me whenever I declined."
"So I kept at it. I would always get assaulted. But one day, he told me to come to his place and even paid the fare. I was somehow stupid, because why did I go? And he almost r*ped me. I was beaten so much that my eyes wouldn't open the next day, but I had tried my best to escape."
"Afterwards, I left and told my friend to also leave, without giving details of the reason. About a month later, I heard that she was physically assaulted and r*ped to death. I felt so bad and guilty when I heard it was the same man who did that to me. It was too late, but I could've saved her. If I had just tried to report him then, it might have worked, and she wouldn't have died."
By the time Dylan finished talking, tears were pouring down his face that he could barely see who had offered him a napkin. When he was done, he looked up and saw the lady also crying.
She asked, "How old was your friend?"
"She was 20."
"My sister is also 20, and I don't want him to go after her. He said he likes how I look, and after breaking me, he'll also target my sister or anyone who looks like me. I seriously don't want my sister to be harmed." She started sobbing, and Dylan moved forward and patted her gently.
She looked up after crying and turned to Sebastian, who stood in the corner. "I'm ready to tell you whatever you need."
"I'll wait outside," Dylan said, standing up, but the lady held onto him, shaking her head.
"I don't think I'll be able to talk without you."
And with that, Dylan stayed in the room while Sebastian took the statement.