Malcolm placed the empty glass on a nearby table and replied, "It's delicious."It had been a while since he last tasted such good lemonade.The last time he enjoyed luxury was before he was kicked out of Merchant City and had to rely on Thomas' help.Thomas had taken him in as a subordinate, but he treated his employees poorly. Malcolm had to force himself to eat and drink the disgusting food provided every day, or he would have starved!Malcolm could not help feeling sorry for himself at the thought of this.Even though Thomas had promised to take him in, he did not treat him well at all and instead forced him to work as a slave.According to Thomas, laying low was the best option they had. Malcolm had to work and suffer as a subordinate in silence until, eventually, when everyone in Merchant City had forgotten about his true identity, he would be given a new identity as Lucifer Howard.However, Malcolm could not help thinking that Thomas was patronizing him.He was, in fact,
"We're here, Uncle Malcolm!" Nellie led him to a pinewood door and pointed at the doorknob, smiling. "You'll have to go in yourself, Uncle Malcolm. I have some sketches I need to catch up on, so I won't be coming in with you."I'm in the middle of designing a nice bracelet for you, and I'll join you as soon as I'm done!"Malcolm curled his lips into a triumphant smile and gently stroked Nellie's hair. "I'm a man, so why do I need a bracelet?""This bracelet is a special one!" Nellie winked at him meaningfully. "You'll find out after I'm done with the sketch!"With that, she turned and pattered away.Malcolm smiled as he watched her leave.What an adorable little child.He could not help wondering if she would still be so happy after she found out that the only reason he had come here was to kidnap them and cut off one of her fingers so that he could threaten Joshua with it…When Nellie's figure finally disappeared from view, Malcolm let out an exhale and gently pushed the door
Malcolm's entire body was frozen in shock as though he had been struck by lightning when faced with Joshua's cold gaze.His mind was racing with thoughts of how to escape this room.A split second later, he smiled meekly at Joshua and said, "M—Mr. Lynch, how can I possibly dare to use your children like this?"They told me they weren't happy with you and Luna…so I risked my life to sneak here to check on them. After all, Nigel, Neil, and Nellie had lived with me for six years, so of course I'd care about them."How can I not come to check on them after they told me that they weren't happy with their situation?"He began taking small steps backward as he continued, "The reason I came here was to talk to them about cutting you and Luna some slack. They're children, after all, so they wouldn't understand the situation you and Luna are in, but I know that you and Luna care about them just as much as you care about Riley and the lost child."After all, there is no such thing as favori
At this moment, Jim reached out to grab hold of his collar once more, lifted him off the ground, and punched him again.Whoomph! Whoomph! Whoomph!He did not stop after the first blow.Every time Malcolm crumpled onto the ground, Jim would pick him up again by his collar and repeat the same.After almost 20 blows, Malcolm's face was now covered in red and purple bruises.He was in so much pain that he could not bear to move and instead slumped on the ground limply, trying to escape from Jim to no avail."You… Please stop… Please stop hitting me! I…I can tell you who wanted me to kill Bonnie! I'll tell you as long as you stop hitting me!"Finally, Malcolm got on his knees and stooped so low that his forehead touched the ground. "I'll tell you anything you want! I was just following orders, so please don't hit me. Please don't hit me…"As the heir to Quinn Group, Malcolm had never been subjected to this kind of treatment before.This was much too painful to bear!Jim stood moti
Malcolm's words made Joshua perk up a little. "Are you sure the person who instructed you to do this is right among us?""I'm positive!" Malcolm nodded feverishly. "It's true! Otherwise, how would I have known…what time Jim would be leaving the hospital yesterday?"It's… It's because that woman was working with me from the inside, and that's how I was able to sneak into the hospital as soon as Jim left with his son."That woman…told me that she'd help me create the perfect opportunity for me to carry out my task. Think about it: how would I have known when you'd leave if someone hadn't been helping me?"Jim furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this. He glanced dubiously at Malcolm, then at Joshua. "Does this mean that there's someone working with him?"Joshua curled his lips into a smile. "Of course there is."He turned to glance impassively at Malcolm. "However, this information you've given isn't sufficient for me to release you."He shifted into a more comfortable position in h
Jim channeled all the strength in his body into this punch, and after falling onto the ground, Malcolm could not even make a sound, much less move any part of his body.He felt as though all his internal organs had shifted from this blow, and he wanted nothing more than to pick himself back up again.He could not. No matter how hard he tried, he could not.Despair and hopelessness enveloped his entire being.However, Jim did not seem to think this was enough. Instead, he grabbed hold of Malcolm's collar and punched him again.Malcolm slumped limply on the ground like a fish out of water."Anything else you wanted to say?" Joshua shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair and stared down at Malcolm from his towering height. "You should know that you're no longer Malcolm Quinn."Malcolm Quinn has been kicked out of Merchant City and is no longer welcomed into this city. Your new identity is Lucifer Howard, a driver and laborer working for Thomas Howard."If you die rig
Jim froze, unable to believe his ears.He instinctively inched closer to Joshua and whispered, "Are you saying that…Malcolm kept some of the poison with which he was instructed to kill Bonnie and even stashed it somewhere?"Joshua nodded, staring out in the direction in front of him.He persistently prodded and provoked Malcolm so he would finally relent and hand over the poison.Joshua had mentioned that he did not need Malcolm to expose the identity of the mastermind. That was because both he and Jim were capable of finding out who this person was eventually.Not only that, but he even had a suspicion as to who it was already.Nonetheless, it was not enough to find this person.As Malcolm said, this person had minimal contact with him, and even if they managed to find who it was, it would be hard to pin it on her because she had plenty of reasons and evidence that would help her evade responsibility.Because of this, Joshua had to find even more evidence to prove her crime.
Just as Malcolm contemplated the options he had, Lucas and his men dug out a small chest from beneath the tree.Jim immediately lunged forward to open the chest.There was a small box engraved with the letter M, in a plastic wrapper inside the chest.Jim opened the box, frowning, and discovered a small pill wrapped in aluminum foil."She had given me only one of these pills, but…I told her I had lost it so that she'd give me another one," Malcolm explained timidly. "Initially, I had planned to use this to escape…"He lifted his head to stare at Joshua. "You mean what you said, right, Mr. Lynch? You told me that as long as I handed over the pill…you'd let me go.""He promised that he'd let you go, but I never did." Jim tucked the box into his pocket, stomped back toward Malcolm, and landed another punch on his already swollen face."That's enough." Joshua furrowed his brow, reached out to stop Jim, and said impassively, "We have to stick to our word."He shot Malcolm a contemptu