“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
What did she mean by ‘your father’s whereabouts?’ She never had a father… not even when she was just a child!Deirdre forced herself to calm down. This had got to be another one of Charlene’s tricks! A stupid scheme to ruffle her feathers—she would make up all kinds of things to confuse her so that she became more and more puzzled the longer she dwelled on it. “I know what you’re thinking, Deirdre. You must be thinking to yourself, ‘My father? But he’s dead! What whereabouts could there possibly be?’” A smug grin surfaced on Charlene’s lips. This was the moment she was finally the one with the advantage. “Well, the answer is simple. Your daddy is alive.”Deirdre clenched her hands into fists and shot Charlene a biting glare. “So, this is why you wanted to see me? So someone can listen to some bullsh*t you made up?” Deirdre retorted frigidly. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t believe a single thing out of your mouth! I don’t even know who my father is, so how can someone who’s n
“How stupid do you think I am, Charlene? I don’t even know if whatever you said is true. Maybe you’re telling the truth, or maybe you’re just making things up! Besides, you said it yourself. You hate me. Why would you suddenly tell me anything just because you got out of prison?”Panic surfaced and settled in Charlene’s eyes.Deirdre nailed it. Charlene never planned to tell her the truth. If this piece of information was enough to get her out of prison, then, Charlene could continue using it as leverage against Deirdre.“Who says I won’t? It’s not like it’s anything useful to me!” Charlene blustered. “I’ll tell you if you make Bren release me from prison within a month.”Deirdre snickered so coldly that Charlene shuddered. “So sorry to disappoint you then, Miss McKinney.”Charlene’s heart raced. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re telling me you don’t care about your own father? That you don’t care about why he’s never come to see you, or where he is now?”Deirdre deadpanned.