Trigger warning: there's a mention of an anxiety attack in this chapter.
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What if this was all a façade and he was a bait? What if he was still working with those mafias and he was ordered to capture me again? What if this was his redemption pledge to the people he was working with? Could I trust him?
This was the reason why I was afraid to trust anyone; people were coming after me. I knew it seemed
Warning: This chapter contained the use of illegal substances and violence.~*~I hadn't attended school a while ago, again, and I knew that I would be banned soon. But I didn't care. There were far more valuable things that I should be focusing on, and examination wasn't one of them. With all these overwhelming problems we were currently facing, I highly doubted I would pass. Those were consuming me, and I had nothing to worry about because my reputation was free.The day after all the conspiring Hansel and I had, I'd come up to a plan while I was contemplating the steps we had to take. This needed a precise work, no left of traces they could find, and a distraction for Catherine Houston while we moved behind her back.I was sitting at the edge of Hansel's bed, as he paced back and forth in front of me. He was rubbing his thumb on
I hauled Penelope inside the shack as Daniel helped me do the thing. Unfortunately, the filthy chair I once sat a year ago was now broken down into pieces. The remnants of it were still scattered on the ground, and the lights didn't work anymore. It seemed like it had given up holding onto the ceiling that it completely fell on the ground.Plopping her on the wooden floor, I started to search for an alternative for that wooden chair. Since this place was empty and it was mostly filled by filth, I had no choice but to tie her here on the ground."Wait here," I told Daniel, walking away from the vicinity to grab the rope inside the van.I went back to the side of the road and opened the door of the backseat. Grabbing the rope, I almost jumped when I heard my phone rang inside my pocket. I slid my hand and pulled the phone out of it. As the caller ID flashed on the screen, I answered it immediately."Hello?"
I was holding a box that was covered with polka dots wrapper while I sat at the school's lobby. I was waiting for Cathy to arrive, and I brought this gift for her birthday tomorrow.When I spotted her walking down the hallway with her hands gripping the strap of her backpack, she jogged towards me. I stood dead on my track in front of the chair and watched her approach with full of enthusiasm.Once she was now in front of me, she immediately wrapped her arms around my shoulders."Cathy," I greeted. "Happy birthday!"Pulling away from me, I handed the box I was holding in front of her. She plastered a wide smile, as she accepted the gift and tugged it tight against her."Thank you so much, Lala," she replied. "You'll attend my party tomorrow, right?"I looked down and bit my bottom lip. I fidgeted my fingers
Warning: There's a mention of violence in this chapter.~*~"Leverage for what?" I asked, clenching my fists."Why don't you ask him?""Why don't you tell me?""Because I don't want to." She raised a brow as if challenging me. "So anyway, what proposal do you have?"Why did she avoid the question? What was she afraid to tell me? And what lies beneath the surface William had shown me? Though I had these questions lingering in my head, I knew I would find out about it. For now, I needed to settle things with her."Penelope," I started. She immediately flicked her eyes to me, terror apparent on her face, "for my dad."She looked taken aback. Her eyes were widened and her lips were slightly parted."What have you done to her?" she asked through
The gunshot echoed loudly inside the shack, and specks of blood clouded my vision almost instantly. It trickled down to her eyebrows, and the gasp almost became inaudible. She stumbled on the ground, this time, she fell unconscious. Her eyes were kept open, her mouth was parted, and her skin shivered. One last second, and she shut her eyes closed. She was frozen. She was dead. I killed her.As I witnessed the scene unfolded in front of me, the gun slipped out of my grasp as I stared at the lifeless body. Hansel's gasp filled my ears, and the silence resounding the place subsided.I couldn't feel every inch of me. I felt numb, emotionless, and unremorseful. Why didn't I feel the guilt? I asked myself.I felt a hand gripped my arm, turning me around immediately. Meeting Hansel's frantic eyes, I couldn't help but heave a sigh."You killed her," Hansel said, his eyes were welling with tears.
I was sat on the chair in front of the vanity, contemplating what I'd done to myself. The death of Penelope still flashed in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to shake them off. One shot and she was dead. I killed her, it still pierced in my ears.I had become a monster, again. I wasn't supposed to be killing again because the guilt would eat me alive again. I had shaken off everything that occurred and every horrible shits I'd done in the past after I stopped working to William. I might sound sadistic and messed up in the head, but at least when I did all of those I had someone to blame. But this time, I could conclude that it was all up to me. That everything I did wasn't William's fault. It felt like I had turned my emotions off.As I stared at myself, I realized how fucked up I was. My skin wasn't in good condition, and acne started to appear on my forehead. Dark bags laying underneath my eyes became more p
Kourtney, Daniel, and I had conspired behind the Houstons back. Not just Catherine, but the rest of their clan. They were bringing nightmares in our lives, and it needed to be stopped. Now that I had people that would back me up to fight against them, there was no turning back. I was fortunate enough that they were facing the same catastrophe as me, so I didn't have to be guilty about what I did.We just need to move.Fortunately, the day after I joined Daniel and Kourtney's suicide mission, I got a call from someone. Not just someone, it was Catherine.She wanted to meet me, it was probably about the bargain I offered her yesterday that she declined. Nevertheless, Penelope was dead, and Dad was still in their hands. The offer was over, and I was already pissed.I walked inside the coffee shop, as the bell above the entrance chimed. The aroma of coffee beans penetrated my nose, as I looked around
We went to Emma's house. We decided to just chill for this day and not linger around outside. I liked this idea more because having the uncertainty of what Catherine prepared for me out there was frightening. No matter how hard I tried to shake off the thought, it was still in my head. But with my friends surrounding me, my anxiety was eased down a bit.We were all gathered in their living room. It had the same comfortable atmosphere as their beach house, but this was bigger. This vicinity mostly contained of neutral colors, mostly grey, black, and white. The grey-colored couch was decorated with black pillows and fur blankets. Behind it was a tall table with an indoor plant placed above and a white standard lamp. The glass, coffee table before us had some miniature vases placed on top of it, along with neutral-colored magazines to match the entire theme.This vicinity had two lounge areas. Kourtney, Amanda, and I were sat on the couch whi
The whole ride on the way back to the hotel was quiet. We immediately left Paola’s house after the conversation we had, and Miguel didn’t choose to persuade her more for he understood her situation. All that I could do at that moment was empathize with her for her loss and we did everything we could to not make her feel bad about not helping us. Miguel also had told her to go to their mother which Paola instantly declined since she felt hesitant to show up to him. Then we all bid her goodbye along with Xavier.
“I met up with our father yesterday,” Miguel said and it received a baffled reaction from Paola.Her eyes widened and she stiffened on her seat as she stared at Miguel.
The next day, Gwen, Miguel, and I left the hotel in the afternoon along with William’s men. We would be heading to the person Miguel was referring to yesterday and we would try to talk to him or her about Fernando. To be honest, I was full of anticipation and I was being optimistic about the outcome. I wouldn’t deny, I was still a little nervous.We were inside the car and Miguel was in the driver’s seat. Gwen was sitting at the back while I was on the shotgun.
No one knows where the golds are, only your father, I repeated Fernando’s words in my head. I was certain that I knew where my father hid them, and he entrusted those to me that’s why I became the new keeper. Why did he come up to that conclusion? Did the Houstons know that I hid the golds?“You know that my father’s dead, right?” I said, my tone was laced with resentment. “And the treasure didn’t die along with him.”
Seeing Fernando sitting in front of me was probably one of the most unsettling feelings I’d ever had. I stared at him in awe, trying to hide the anxiousness I suddenly felt at the sight of him. He plastered a stoic face, and only two guards were standing on both sides of Fernando. I was right, he looked just like an Italian mafia boss in his early thirties. But I knew he was older than that, he just appeared younger because there weren’t any apparent wrinkles that formed on his face. I knew where Miguel had inherited his features, and I could already visualize how he would look like when he got old.
I was seated in front of these men who were gawking at me as if I was prey they needed to devour. There were five of them, and Fernando sat in the middle, contemplating. Beside Fernando was Dmitri, smiling mischievously like he was planning something sketchy. They’d locked William up in a chamber, and I was left alone because we got caught. We failed to conceal the secret between Arthur and William, and we were about to escape Mexico when we got caught by Fernando.
We got out of the car and moved closer to the house that looked just like a freaking castle. It was an old-style house, a bit outdated if you would ask me. But it was gorgeous, dark, and foreboding. It was the house you would expect a beast would live in. The house was surrounded by trees that there were dried leaves that scattered all over their unkempt lawn. The grass had grown tall, maybe because no one was staying here and no one looked out for their house. The hedges that ran along the front of their house also looked dehydrated, and they weren’t the luminescent green color we’d always had at our home. This looked more like a haunted mansion that no one would ever dare to stay here for long.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.