Arianne did not reply to what Melanie had just said. ‘I’ll definitely feel some kind of mental pressure since the matter happened close to me.’The weather was pretty humid that day, and feeling a little suffocated, Arianne took off her mask.The moment the scar on Arianne’s face showed, Melanie asked in shock, “What happened to your face? I was wondering why you were wearing a mask even under this hot summer’s day, but I just thought you were down with the flu and didn’t want your son to get infected!”Arianne determined that there was no need to hide her face from Melanie, since the latter definitely would not tell Mark anything. “If I told you that I was abducted by Mateo’s mom, would you believe me? I almost died in her hands and it was Mateo’s friend, Geralt, who saved me. Geralt’s the medical examiner who verified the finger belonging to Mateo; you might know him. Mark doesn’t know about this matter. I didn’t dare tell him because I don’t intend to pursue the matter.”Melanie
After listening to that, Arianne felt her heart becoming tighter. She did not even dare to think of how the kidnappers had tortured Mateo to death before chopping off his finger.When she saw how bold Geralt was as he walked past the cordon to enter the bloody crime scene, Arianne was slightly worried. “Wouldn’t you contaminate the crime scene?”Geralt stopped in his tracks to look at her before gesturing her forward. “Don’t worry, the investigation here is done. The cordon will be removed at any moment. The thing that I wanted to show you is here.”Arianne frowned as she hesitantly walked a few steps forward; within the cordoned area was a wooden chair that was filled with dust. There were also some pieces of rope scattered and blood splatters that had already begun to turn black. The scene before her was extremely chilling to the bone.Then, Geralt bent down as he slowly pulled away a piece of rock that was as big as his fist. “Look here.”Arianne went forward and saw some scrat
At that moment, Arianne only had one thought in her head. However, it was neither to leave Mark, nor be fearful of him. She only wanted to protect him!“Geralt… can you… not report these markings? Just turn a blind eye to this. After all… it’s just some very messy markings that somehow form an ‘M’. We will never know whether this was left here by accident or if it was deliberate. Plus, this won’t be concrete evidence to evict Mark… There are so many words that can be formed with an ‘M’, so how could you be sure that it’s directed at Mark?!”Geralt frowned. “Are you really going to… defend Mark senselessly? I’m not saying this because I’m siding with Teo, but it’s all because… you’re the woman that my best friend has fancied for so many years. I’m only advising you because of Teo. Are you really going to wait for the day you finally die in Mark’s hands?”Determination filled Arianne’s eyes. “He would never lay a hand on me, and even if he does, I won’t regret protecting him. Isn’t th
Mark’s gentle look made Arianne recall Geralt’s words. ‘Would Mark really kill me? Would he be as cruel as he is to others…’Then, Arianne unexpectedly asked, “If I were to do something you find intolerable, would you want me dead?”Mark was slightly startled before he answered. “No, if I couldn't tolerate it anymore, I’d just get a divorce. Why would I need to take your life? Get some rest, I’ll take a shower now.”‘A divorce you say…‘If it really comes to that, would he really be able to divorce so easily?’As she heard the sound of rushing water, Arianne laid in bed and raised her hand. Then, she followed the messy markings that Mateo left as she drew in the air. ‘It would really be hard to carve out the word “Mark” if a person was dying, so is that why only an “M” was left behind?’…Mateo’s body still had yet to be found, so the Rodriguezes could not wait any longer. A month later after the incident, they announced that they would conduct a funeral for him. Arianne found
En route to Mateo’s funeral, Arianne passed by the man’s Chinese restaurant.The day was still young, so naturally, the shop had not opened, and at that moment it looked rather barren. Empty, even.As empty as a place would be when its master was gone, Arianne reckoned.She put on a pair of shades and a mask once she reached her destination to avoid recognition. Although many had shown up to pay their last respect, which should make her stand out even less, Arianne still felt a little antsy and unsafe about her appearance.The ever-perceptive Melanie quickly located Arianne despite the volume of people after a careful glance. They nodded at each other in acknowledgement and had a simple exchange.And then they let silence drown them both.As below, so above. Grey overcast hung above the crowd today, with none of the sun’s light in sight. The air was sultry; it was as though a dollop of the endless dark clouds in the sky had taken to cling to every attendant, squeezing against the
A child about seven to eight years old had led Arianne away to a place where no other person was in sight. Noticing the kid’s full black getup, she asked, “So, you’re a relative of the Rodriguez family?”“Yeah,” the child nodded. “Um, you know, they told me Mat’s dead, but I’m not very sure about it? Do you think they are being serious? ‘Cause if he’s dead... doesn’t that mean Mat’s never coming back?”Arianne found herself too hard-pressed to answer him. She could not bear to cut into a child’s hope with a blade as cruel and blunt as reality.The duo continued forward until the funeral almost faded out of sight. Arianne stopped in midtrack in confusion and took off her mask. “Where are we going, honey? You told me someone’s looking for me, yeah? Where’s that person now?”The child looked around them, his head swinging wildly. “Hey... wait a minute! This is the place, though! OK, is that guy ditching us?”Arianne was just about to say something when a pair of hands suddenly reache
When Melanie finally understood what had transpired, she quickly ducked aside to call Alejandro for help. “Something terrible has happened—Arianne went missing while attending Mateo’s funeral! And now your brother has gone mad from worry… God help me, I don’t know what to do!”Naturally, this bombshell sucker-punched Alejandro into confusion. “Hold on. Arianne went to Mateo Rodriguez’s funeral? And Mark is attending it too?!”Melanie was not in the mood to divulge the details. “The most important thing is that Arianne has somehow gone missing,” she repeated. “And Mark—for God knows why—is here, like right now, conducting this frantic search for her. From the looks of it, no one’s found her yet. My God, Alejandro, it’s pure chaos! Please come here as soon as possible!”Without another word, Alejandro hung up. Melanie understood that he was not going to turn his back against such a request and let out a sigh of relief. She tucked her phone safely and strode toward Mark and Mrs. Rodr
Words of Arianne’s disappearance quickly reached Tiffany and Jackson. Then, with help from Alejandro, three powerful families launched into a massive, city-wide search together.All through his life, Mark Tremont had never known true fear as he was experiencing now. For once, he was terrified of vengeance against him—in the form of Arianne, who would die like Mateo did!He could not live without her!The day quickly died into the night, but the things that had happened in the former did not end in the latter. In fact, the night only seemed to have pushed outward frenzy into inward anxiety.Mark was chain-smoking in his study while he held his phone with his other hand. All to make sure that he would not miss any new development about Arianne’s whereabouts.Smore pushed open his door fearfully and poked his head out from behind. “Dad? Um, when is Mom coming home?”Mark froze in mid-action. Then, came his croak, “Soon, little man. Very soon… She’ll be back… You just have to be a go