Tortured

The city never sleeps, but it dreams in shadows. Beneath the hum of streetlights and the rhythm of hurried footsteps, there's a pulse—a quiet, relentless beat that drives everything forward. Deals are made in back rooms, promises exchanged in whispers, and power shifts hands in the dead of night. It's a machine, grinding away, fueled by ambition, fear, and the unspoken understanding that some rules are meant to be broken. But every machine has a cost. Every cog, every gear, every turn demands payment. And when the machine is built on corruption, the price is always blood. For years, the city's streets have been stained with it. The victims are nameless, their stories buried under paperwork and excuses. The perpetrators wear badges, their crimes hidden behind the shield of authority. And those who dare to challenge the machine? They pay the highest price of all. Jenny Harm knows this. She's seen the receipts—hospital records, affidavits, bruises that bloom like dark flowers. She's heard the stories, the ones that don't make the news, the ones that die in silence. She's felt the weight of the machine pressing down, daring her to look away. But Jenny doesn't look away. She can't. Because she knows the truth: corruption isn't just a stain on the city. It's the city itself. And if she's going to survive, if she's going to make even the smallest dent in the machine, she'll have to pay the price. The question is, how much is too much? And when the bill comes due, will she still believe it was worth it?