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The echoes of my fury still reverberated in the dimly lit dungeon as Donna struggled to catch her breath. Her eyes held a mixture of fear and defiance, a reminder of the thin line I had almost crossed. My fingers trembled, the memory of the rage-induced grip around her neck haunting me like a specter.

“Go on then, finish it,” she taunted, her voice laced with a challenging edge. “Or are you just as weak as you were back then?”

My fists clenched at my sides, the echoes of her words like a bitter echo of the past. But even in my anger, I couldn’t let myself become what she wanted—a monster consumed by his own darkness.

With a forceful exhale, I released my grip on her, allowing her to stumble backward as she sucked in desperate breaths. She straightened, her posture defiant as she glared at me.

“What’s your price, Donna?” I asked, my voice a mixture of accusation and resignation.

She smirked, the expression cutting through the tension that hung between us. “Freedom. Release me from