All of a sudden, Brendan’s dark eyes glistened for a brief moment before dimming again. “How did he die?”Sam was overwhelmed with emotions. “He got into a conflict with someone on the street, and he was…”Brendan furrowed his eyebrows and fell silent. Sam was a close acquaintance of Steven, so he was having trouble accepting the situation. “How did that happen so suddenly? Steven would never get into a fight so easily in view of his personality. In addition, he was living abroad, so he should be more vigilant and cautious. How did that…”Brendan did not speak, but his dark eyes were glistening with emotions. After a while, he said, “Noted. You may leave first.”Sam nodded and headed outside.Brendan continued to read the documents, but he was distracted. He lit a cigarette and then put it out again, his dark eyes tainted with shock.‘Dead… How did he die at such a coincidental time?’Steven was living well abroad initially, and when Brendan wanted to inquire him about the pri
“If I were to tell you that I was completely unaware of the things that happened to you in prison, would you still hate me so much?”Brendan’s dark eyes glistened while his voice was tainted with drunkenness and hope.It was as if he were hoping to hear an answer that he wanted from Deirdre. “No.”In the next moment, his enthusiasm was dampened by the woman’s cold tone. Deirdre’s expression was filled with hatred. “If you did those things that hurt me because you hated me, I could only convince myself that I deserved what I got even if I couldn’t make sense of it. However, if you let me go through all those things when you weren’t even planning to hurt me, I will only hate you more.”The woman’s remark sounded crystal clear and put Brendan’s eager heart down in the dumps. He felt powerless. “You should sleep.”He lowered his gaze and got up from the bed next to her before walking out of the room. The room became quiet and empty instantly, leaving only the sound of the howl
“We tracked Ophelia all the way until Lowe, according to Charlene’s photos. The place had already been vacated when our people got there, but we received information from the villagers today. They claimed that many people live in East Lowe, which is the location in the photos. Moreover, those people are strangers that the villagers are not acquainted with. Hence, I boldly speculated that Ophelia is possibly being kept there!”A tinge of hope flashed past Brendan’s dark eyes. Since there was information, it signified they were already getting closer to the truth. If he could save Ophelia, he would still stand a chance at making up for the mistake he had made in the past.However…Did Charlene really have the capability to hide Ophelia in such a far location?“Commission the professionals and get them to depart tomorrow. I want well-trained professionals to go to the mountain to investigate this matter. I won’t allow any mistakes.”“Yes, sir!”“One more thing.” Brendan stopped fo
Deirdre returned to the living room from the garden and changed the subject, “I’m hungry, Mrs. Engel.”“In a minute, sweetie. Your porridge will be ready soon!”The night, surprisingly, turned out to be a restless one. Then, the next early morning, Deirdre found herself woken up by a shrill commotion with Mrs. Engel’s best attempt at consolation thrown in. She rose, put on a coat, and pushed open her door.The racket became clearer and sharper. It crashed into her ears. “For the last time, where the h*ll is Brendan Brighthall!? Tell him to get down here right now! I am not leaving until everything’s even! “How could he do this to me? I sacrificed my entire youth, my better years, to the Brighthall Group! I let them drive me like I was a slave! And he’s repaying all that devotion by sending me away to some foreign country and forcing my children’s schools to expel my kids!?“What the f*ck is this!? If he’s not going to give me godd*mn explanation, I’m taking this to his old reside
Deirdre looked up. “But why would he hide it from him? Do you really think Brendan’s scared of a guy like that?”“Well…” Mrs. Engel faltered.Deirdre flashed a smile. “I’m going back to bed.”She turned on her heels and made her way back inside. The reveal did not make her feel anything in particular—instead, it just reminded her how talented Brendan was at acting. She almost bought it and believed that maybe, deep down inside, he did care about her or love her.Deirdre had only just stepped inside her room when she heard the sound of Mrs. Engel trying to call Brendan’s phone.The call never connected.-Two days passed. One day, Deirdre propped the side of her head with her palm and asked, “So… That Mr. Jensen guy came back?”“Like clockwork, that man. He left after learning Mr. Brighthall was not at home, at least.” Mrs. Engel looked unsettled. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Miss McKinnon. He seemed very unstable today. He was still himself two days ago, but today… God,
”He’s alright. His wounds just tore a little.”Deirdre felt a pang of guilt. “Sorry, that was me. I didn’t know he was hurt when I pushed him.”“It’s okay. It’s got nothing to do with you at all. Even if you didn’t push him, his wounds would have been torn open anyway. He had been driving all the way here from Central Hospital.”Deirdre froze. That was half an hour's journey! Had he gone mad?She pushed away the complicated feelings as they arose and asked, “What’s with his injuries? I thought he’s been spending his time with Charlene. Did something happen halfway through? An ambush?”“Spending time with Charlene?” Sam was taken aback. “Who told you that? He wasn’t spending time with Charlene.”“No?” Deirdre’s mind turned blank. Brendan had lied to her about the business trip, but Charlene was not the ulterior motive, after all? Then where had he been?No. It did not matter where he had been. He had lied to her. Nothing was going to change that.“So, he was ambushed?”Sam look
Sam shot a worried glance at Deirdre and left. The door closed behind him, but Deirdre was still one step away from opening it again. Brendan gritted through his pain and beckoned. “Come here, Deirdre.”She did not move. Instead, she asked, “Doesn’t your wound need to be addressed?”Brendan’s eyes glinted. “Are you concerned about me?”Deirdre snickered. “Is that even possible?”Brendan’s eyes dimmed. “No,” he remarked with a slight hint of self-deprecation. Deirdre clenched her hands. “Glad we’re on the same page. Now, I'm going if there’s nothing else for me here.”“Where to? It’s late at night.”“Downstairs where I can sleep. Or maybe share a bed with Mrs. Engel.”Brendan’s eyes turned cold. His tone turned firm, like an order. “Come here.”Deirdre was about to say something when he interjected warningly, “You know how I’m like, right? Don’t make me say it twice.”If she made him say it twice, there would be consequences. Deirdre had no idea what kind it could be, but s
Sam almost gave her the answer straight away. He had to stop himself right before it happened and change it to something less direct. “It’s… someone very important to you.”“Someone important… to me?”His answer threw her mind into disarray. She knew Sam would never lie to her over something so trivial, but if that were the case, then who could this person be?A figure took form in her mind, and she immediately rejected it. It could not be her. She was dead.Her mother was dead.“Who?”“I can’t tell you, Miss McKinnon.” Sam intoned helplessly. “All I’m allowed to say is that I did not lie when I said Mr. Brighthall had not been spending his time with Charlene at all. Instead, he had been using all this time to redeem himself in your eyes.“When he was attacked by a gunman yesterday, all he cared about was calling you to tell you he’s fine. But his phone was switched off, and maybe that was why he raced to this place from the hospital as quickly as he could.”Deirdre remembere