Shea could not tell which flood it came from let alone which room. But she knew one thing—that voice belonged to Charlene! Why would she let out such a bloodcurdling scream if she was the one who came here of her own volition?A thought struck her. Shea reeled in realization and immediately called Brendan. The man himself was in a meeting. When he saw her number, he declined the call noncommittally, only to immediately receive another. It was out of Shea’s usual character—she usually knew to wait patiently for his replies when he declined her calls. Frowning, he signaled the meeting to pause momentarily and answered, “Hello?”“S-Sir!” Shea was sweating cold. She briefly described following Charlene to a certain residential area before losing her completely, only to then hear such a skin-crawling shriek a few seconds later.“I… I think the people Miss McKinney had been working with were taking their grudge out on her, sir! This might be their base of operation. But I can’t pi
Brendan turned to an underling who had just returned from checking outside. He shook his head. “No other passage leading anyone out of here, sir.”Shea had been guarding the only way in or out of the high-rise. Combined with the fact that sawing off Charlene’s leg and treating her wound would require too much time, it was almost impossible that these people could possibly have left before Shea got to the entrance. Brendan mused over the possibilities and asked, “Have you checked upstairs?”“But they are all normal residents. How could they possibly house a syndicate—”Shea left her own answer hanging and bolted out of the room. Brendan immediately brought his people to follow her all the way to the 11th floor. “Here! Over here!” She said, “The rooms here are all vacant. Someone died in these units before, so nobody had wanted to stay here since then. If anyone were to hide in here… the residents here would be none the wiser.”Someone checked the locks and reported, “Sir, the lo
“W-What!?” Charlene cried out in sheer panic and terror that her voice just went an octave higher. “B-But that would mean… they could c-come for me and k-kill me!”“They won’t.” He snickered. “You no longer have the chance to die.”“What?” She looked up in surprise. Her mind was in such a state of disarray that she did not manage to catch what Brendan said. “I said, I’ll protect you. They were after you because of me, after all.”Charlene nodded with tears streaming down her eyes. Secretly, her glee ballooned within her. Her lost limb was never coming back to her, and she would do whatever she could to guilt-trip Brendan with it. He needed to feel guilty—he needed to think that the only reason she would even lose her leg was because of him. That way, she would be more than rightful to be by his side forever.“That reminds me…” Brendan suddenly said. “Weren’t you in the mansion? Why did you go to that unremarkable neighborhood in the first place? Had Deirdre not told Shea to tail
How could that be? She had destroyed every shred of evidence that could implicate her! And… the police knew who Brendan’s wife was, and Deirdre was already sentenced for the crime. Who the f*ck would even care about the truth when everything was already settled!?Who was it? Who the f*ck was it who wanted her dead!?Charlene was hysterical. She started to rip the document with her bare hands like a woman possessed until the police snatched it out of her grip. She turned to Brendan and started to shout for help, “Help me, Bren! Help me now! I don’t want to go to prison! I don’t! Didn’t Deirdre admit to the crime already!? Why the f*ck do I have to be arrested!?“F*ck off! All of you get your f*cking hands off me! That was four f*cking years ago! I’m gonna be Mrs. Brighthall, you f*cking pigs! You can’t do this to me! F*ck all of you to h*ll— Aaaaargghhhhh!”Charlene’s meltdown was indistinguishable from a nervous breakdown, but the police were unfazed. They just hauled her and her w
Deirdre made up an excuse and got Mrs. Engel out of the way before asking Brendan point-blank, “Did you know Charlene was arrested?”“Oh. So, you’ve heard. To be honest, it’s not surprising that you’d know. It’s gotten pretty big,” Brendan replied noncommittally and removed his coat. “I was there when they arrested her.”Deirdre’s lips parted, but nothing came out… at first. She hesitated for a moment and decided to be candid. “Was it you?”It could not be, could it? Brendan could not possibly have done something that could implicate him as well. He must have known that if the whole thing came to light under a thorough investigation, his role in the crime would be exposed and he would be in hot water himself, right?Brendan was unfazed. “It wasn’t me at first.”“What do you mean, ‘at first’?”Brendan thinned his lips. “The people who saw off Charlene’s leg probably thought she was getting off too lightly, so they decided to get her incarcerated. The only thing I added to the mix…
Reparation, he said.Deirdre could not tell just what those words made her feel, but she knew some of it was fear. She was afraid that Brendan was starting to do so much that it was starting to corrode her resolve.“The only reparation I want from you is my mother. I just want to see my mother, healthy and safe, standing in front of my eyes. I don’t need you to do anything else…” Deirdre said, her eyes avoidant. “If this thing backfires on you, it’ll only bring me no benefit. Worse, it might even embolden the conspirators, and then my mother’s return will be impacted.”Brendan’s eyes blazed as he locked them on her, his visage beaming with anticipation. “Are you concerned about me, Dee?”“No. You’re seeing what isn’t there,” Deirdre interrupted him and turned away. “I’ve made myself clear that I’m only worried about you because you’re the only way to get to my mother.”Brendan laughed under his breath. Deirdre caught it and raised her head. His exact expression was a blur to her
Charlene’s only request, after her admission of guilt, was to see Brendan and Deirdre. Deirdre spat out her soup at the tail-end of Sam’s information. “She wants to see me? For real?”She could understand why Brendan was requested—Charlene’s life depended on him, and she was probably still dreaming about the day he would come to rescue her. But why on Earth would she be interested in seeing Deirdre?Brendan shot a look at her before asking Sam, “Did she say anything else?”“Nothing much in particular. She said she wanted to talk to an old friend.”Brendan wanted to reject Charlene’s request right there and then, but Deirdre wiped away crumbs on her lips and said, “I’ll go.”He furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”“Yep,” she replied calmly. “She’s stuck behind a sturdy glass window and trapped in a room. She can’t hurt me. Besides, I’m curious about whatever she was planning to say.”Brendan hesitated. “She might… say things that could drive a wedge between us.”Deirdre ca
Charlene froze, nonplussed. All she could remember was her driving hurriedly to see Brendan after knocking Deirdre off the stairs and causing her to bleed from her head. It was at that moment of rush when she saw a young girl walking on the zebra crossing.Then, like a flash, a cruel thought just dawned on her.She stomped on the accelerator with no hesitation. The car whirred on her command and ran right over the girl, her bones crushed under Charlene’s wheels.There was a neighborhood surveillance camera nearby, so it had taken a picture of her face. But so what?Charlene had always believed that everyone was going to help her out of any consequences. All she needed to do was to send Deirdre—that one person who posed a threat to her ambition—to prison on her behalf, and everything else would fall onto her lap. Who expected it to turn a big round just to swing back at her like a boomerang?“It’s all my fault.” She bit her lips. “I should have destroyed the evidence more thoroug