"Please, father… I promise I'll do better next time. Please… father."
Kyle had learned to beg before he learned to hope.
It never worked.
Not once. Not the tears. Not the trembling voice. Not the way his small hands clutched at his father's sleeve as if he could anchor himself to mercy that simply didn't exist.
Failure always ended the same way.
*Click.*
"Ah—!"
The cry tore out of him as he was shoved forward. His shoulder slammed against something hard, the impact rattling through his fragile frame before he could steady himself.
He stumbled.
The man behind him didn't move to help.
"There is no excuse for incompetence." His father's voice was cold like a verdict already carved in stone. "Stay there. Repent. And make sure you never repeat this mistake again."
The door shut.
*Click.*
Darkness swallowed everything.
