CHAPTER 86
Ace's house, New York.
Their eyes now met in a choking silence. Even though her cheeks were wet, Alicia didn't want to move to wipe them.
She wanted the truth.
She gathered all the guts she had lost and asked, "What do you mean, Ace?"
Then the tall man sat down next to Alicia. Although the girl moved to take her distance in the end. "When I was bothering you in the cafeteria, do you remember that you said that my face reminded you of someone?"
And the blue-eyed girl furrowed her brow in surprise.
"I was the one who wanted your parents dead, Alicia," Ace said slowly. "I approached you and found out information about them, then I let dad manipulate my brain. Because I thought that your parents would destroy mom and dad's business back then."
Alicia was shocked, so she got up and exclaimed, "So, you killed them, huh?! You killed my parents!"
Instead of shouting back, Ace calmed down and looked at his girlfriend regretfully. "It wasn't me. It was Dad. He was the one who prepared the accident," he said frankly. "You should have been there too and died in San Antonia's single accident."
The blue eyes rounded in disbelief. How could Ace say such a cruel thing so lightly to her. But in the end, Alicia kept silent, unable to speak out.
"Unfortunately, you were adopted by Amanda's parents who also made my parents' business worse," Ace continued. "Dad killed them again and this time you have partial amnesia. It's bad enough, but dad hasn't stopped yet."
Alicia then turned around and looked at the large window in front of her nervously. She wanted to cry, scream, curse and abuse Ace right then and there. But what happened next was that the tears started flowing down her cheeks again.
A piece of the past slowly came back and flashed before Alicia.
"I planned to put you in prison and make you suffer more by faking James' death," Ace continued. "I purposely turned off the surveillance cameras and made you the last person to pass through the hallway before he was found dead." The brown-eyed man then let out a short snort; scoffing. "But unfortunately, Elena caught James in front of my room and I thought it was quite dangerous."
"So you killed Elena?" asked Alicia sarcastically. She really knew the answer, didn't she?
"Why do you think the police couldn't find the website, Alicia?" Ace looked straight at Alicia's back. "Because Elena didn't have it. I deliberately made Nicholas believe in the dark side and tried to trap you there. But I failed again because of Jake."
"So you killed him too?" she asked. Alicia then snorted in amusement. "You killed your friends just because you're a coward, didn't you?"
"After killing them all, I unexpectedly fell in love with you, Alicia," he said in a softer voice. "I was caught up in a complicated situation at the time and it was lucky that Amanda was also involved. She hated you so much and I took advantage of the situation."
"You've been lying to me all this time!"
Then Ace got up and grabbed her lover's wrist. "You may not trust me for a lot of things. But my feelings are serious. I've been depending on you, Alicia." and tried to embrace the thin body that was trembling before him.
"No, Ace!" Alicia roughly pushed Ace's hand away from her. "I can't trust you anymore." The thin girl then wiped her wet cheeks and stepped back. "You killed innocent people for reasons I can't accept."
"Those people ruined my life, Alicia!" said Ace, not to be outdone. "You want to know? That woman in the theater is the nurse who used to take care of my mother and almost harmed her over a small matter. And that fat greedy guy? He grabbed all the dad's shares the dirty way until my dad is in a coma in the hospital right now."
Alicia closed her mouth tightly. Her eyes searched her girlfriend's face.
"And your lecturer... she was impregnated by someone else, but tried to manipulate it by saying that the child she was carrying was dad's and she was asking for a lot of money!" Ace wiped his face in frustration. "Those people, they're not as good as they look, Alicia! And this is the truth."
Alicia's body instantly fell to the floor. She collapsed after her legs suddenly gave way. And her gaze was now only fixed on the cold floor beneath Ace's feet.
The girl really couldn't accept the truth right now.
She really wasn't ready to accept everything.
"But believe in one thing, Alicia," Ace said softly. "Believe that I would never hurt you. Even to think of hurting you a little, I wouldn't be able to."
Slowly, Alicia looked up. Their eyes met and the girl found no lies there. Ace really said it sincerely.
But before Alicia could reply to her lover's words, Nicholas suddenly appeared from behind the door and pointed a gun at Ace. "Ace Wilson Blake, you are under arrest for the premeditated murder and attempted assault of your girlfriend," he demanded sternly. "Put your hands up and surrender!"
Ace was frozen in place. He raised his hands in the air as he turned his face towards Alicia. A look of sadness mixed with hope was evident on his face.
"Alicia..."
But the dark-haired girl chose not to react and bowed her head. She choked back more sobs as Nicholas cuffed Ace's hands and led her out of the room.
The look in Ace's eyes was sad, and disappointed. He wanted Alicia to react or at least turn around to look at him. But Alicia refused.
Alicia looked up, staring at the remnants of Ace's image that still lingered in her mind.
Wasn't this the ending Alicia had been hoping for? She finally knew who killed Mrs. Portman and the people in her past.
Shouldn't Alicia be relieved by the truth?
CHAPTER 87New York City Courthouse."Can I hug you one last time, Alicia?"The blue eyes instantly turned dim. Her tears were unstoppable. And quickly, she opened her arms to immediately hug her boyfriend tightly. Tighter as if they didn't want to be separated right then and there.Ace Wilson Blake, had been sentenced to death for the planned murder of his seven victims with the evidence of the footage that Nicholas had."I don't regret what will happen to me today, because at least, I can feel loved before I die," Ace said softly. He then closed his eyes and smiled slightly in the girl's arms. "I'm sorry, Alicia."Louder sobs were finally heard. Alicia's tear-drenched face sank into the crook of the neck of the lover she loved so much."If only I had known I would love you this deeply, I wouldn't have done those stupid things in the past," Ace continued, which only made Alicia sadder. "Now we have to part ways.""Ace, I--""Sshh, take it easy, Alicia," Ace cut in, trying to calm her
CHAPTER 88Alicia sat in a long chair across from the city's court office. Her blue eyes gazed around as she enjoyed a caramel macchiato in a cup from a nearby coffee shop.Everyone seemed to be busy with their own business. They came and went like the wind on Alicia's face that afternoon.The hot steam on the cup's surface slapped Alicia in the face, making her realize that the reality she was facing was more bitter than the coffee in her cup."Alicia?"The voice didn't distract Alicia. She was still busy with her own thoughts. Her attitude showed antipathy. She didn't care at all.Alicia's indifference, however, annoyed Nicholas. The man in the white coat sat next to Alicia. He looked at Alicia's sad face worriedly, then let out a long sigh there, "Are you okay?"Alicia shrugged her shoulders. But her face held little expression. She wasn't in the mood for conversation in this situation, but Nicholas' presence was also unavoidable."At least... I kept my promise. I proved that Ace w
CHAPTER 89THE DEATH SENTENCE THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO ACE BLAKE HAS BEEN COMMUTED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT. ACE BLAKE'S LEGAL APPEAL WAS APPROVED BY THE JUDGE.One year later.Knock! Knock! Knock!A knock on the door made Alicia turn her head. She looked at the closed door of her flat, then turned to the television in front of her.The anchor had just broadcast the latest news about Ace Blake's murder case. One year on, Ace had filed an appeal to reduce his punishment. The CEO of Golden Group was not sentenced to death and received a mitigation. His punishment has been changed after he passed a twelve-month trial period.A lot of judgment went into Ace's success in receiving leniency. But Alicia didn't expect Ace's sentence to be reduced this quickly."Wait a minute!"Alicia switched off the television, walked towards the door which made another sound.Knock! Knock! Knock!And when Alicia opened the door, her blue eyes found Nicholas standing in his black clothes."Nic?""We have to talk n
Chapter 90Prisons for serious crimes do have a more tense atmosphere when compared to prisons at other levels. As the perpetrator of a premeditated murder case, Ace was given a heavy sentence. Ace was placed in a special prison for serious criminals.Ace's murder case had been going on since he was seventeen years old when he was attending Golden High School and living his life as a teenager.Ace was now twenty years old. He missed his birthday yesterday, but Ace didn't care about that. Because all his thoughts were filled with Alicia.Knock! Knock!The sound came from the iron fist of a prison officer at work. The man hit the prison door to wake up the sleeping Ace. It had been three hundred and sixty-five days since Ace had been in the cell. He occupied a prison room with no luxurious amenities like the one in his flat."You have a guest."Ace looked up, seeing a large man in his black uniform. The man's eyes were slanted like a Chinese descendant, but his body was large like the A
CHAPTER 91The booming laughter reflected satisfaction. Angela's loud laughter was full of insults for Ace who was sitting in his chair."What did you say, kill me? Hahaha, oops! Sorry, I underestimated you, didn't I?" Angela pretended to cover her mouth, then she lowered her hand. Tapping her long, polish-colored fingernails on the table, Angela said, "But 'kill' me sounds a bit much, Ace.""What do you want from me?" Ace looked at the pictures of Alicia again, especially the one Angela pointed to with the pointed tips of her nails. She had used silver nail polish, making them sparkle in the light above their heads. "I couldn't even do anything while I was in prison.""Persuade your father to give me all his shares. I need all of it to build a business in England."Ace snorted. He grinned sarcastically. His gaze turned sharp, like a criminal ready to prey on his next victim. "This is all for money?""I need your father's shares in England," Angela continued, becoming more serious as
CHAPTER 92Nicholas helped Emma put the dinner menu on the table. From roast chicken, pasta to salads made by Emma herself, everything was served on the table. It was like they were having a big event with that much food!Alicia sat beside Nicholas, observing how Nicholas and Emma had a very close relationship as son and mother. She smiled occasionally, feeling happy for the warmth that Nicholas' family created.Especially when Alan, Nicholas' father came and joined them.Alan and Emma talked a lot, inviting Alicia to join in the pleasant small talk. Nicholas' parents didn't discuss Alicia's past, or the things that offended her during their time together."You should try this, Alicia," Emma said, cutting off a piece of chicken breast and placing it on Alicia's plate. "Chicken breast is high in protein. It's very good for your body.""Okay, Emma. Thank you."Emma pointed at Nicholas who was sitting opposite her while squinting. "Nicholas really likes chicken breast, it makes his chest
CHAPTER 93Alicia tied a striped scarf around her neck. The wind in the late fall began to feel colder than other days. People started to change their clothes into warmer and thicker outfits. She turned around and picked up her gray backpack that she kept on the table.The taxi she had booked through an online app arrived and Alicia got in. Alicia checked the ID card of the driver and he was a forty-five-year-old man."We're going to Golden University, right?"And Alicia nodded her head. "Right."After traveling for more than thirty minutes, the taxi carrying Alicia arrived at her campus."Thank you."Alicia paid the bill and walked into the campus. From outside, the girl could immediately see gold and black balloons decorating the tall iron fence. People from the campus were celebrating their graduation. The more Alicia walked in, the more her blue eyes caught sight of people wearing their graduation robes and togas.It wasn't until she reached the end of the street that she found th
CHAPTER 94Brittany tapped Alicia on the shoulder. She realized something was wrong with her best friend. "What's wrong, Alicia? Are you uncomfortable? Are you seeing someone you know?"Alicia blinked. She gasped and immediately turned around. Smiling awkwardly, the girl opened her mouth. "I kind of saw-"But Alicia didn't finish her sentence. She considered talking about Ace in front of Kevin. They weren't very close, so Alicia felt reluctant to discuss it."Seeing who, Alicia?"Brittany scanned the surroundings. Of all the people huddled around, there was no one that Brittany was sure of. Alicia looked at Kevin for a moment, then turned to Brittany again and replied, "No, forget it. I just saw it wrong."Kevin then commented. "I want to take Brittany to lunch at a steakhouse. Would you like to join us, Alicia?"Brittany sulked, shaking Alicia's arm, which was wrapped in a long T-shirt. "You have to come, Alicia. It's to celebrate my graduation and Kevin's birthday."The man who was