Chapter 4

Frank's anger grew, and Sue, standing nearby, caught the shift in tone.

With a pale face, she asked, "Marlena couldn't really be in trouble, could she? If you want, I can go with you to confirm."

Howard hesitated and mumbled something vague, then tried to laugh it off with Frank. "Dad, stop letting Marlena fool you into putting on a show. How could she possibly—"

Frank, no longer wanting to waste time, snapped, "You'd better get to the police station right now!"

After hanging up, Howard sat motionless, his fingers tapping nervously on the table. I knew it was a habit he had when he was deep in thought.

Sue leaned against Howard and hugged him tightly. "Why don't we go together? I don't think Marlena's dead. She must've just gotten hurt while acting. Mr. and Mrs. Jenne have always liked Marlena. Maybe they're just trying to help you two get closer by speaking up for her."

Sue's words seemed to comfort Howard a little. He gently stroked her shoulder. "You make a good point. Marlena always liked to act all sweet and weak in front of the elders. My parents must be getting old and confused, so they helped her out.

"She and Xander must've been acting. Maybe she scraped herself to make me worry. There's no way she could be dead."

Hearing this, Xander, who had been hoping Howard would finally notice him, sank quietly into the corner of the couch.

I wanted to comfort him, but he said with a smile, "Marlena, Howard doesn't like you, and he doesn't like me either. With the way he is now, I don't want to love him anymore."

Seeing the bittersweetness in his smile, I couldn't help but sigh.

Xander was 17 years younger than Howard and had been raised almost entirely by him. They had shared a close bond, and there were countless times when Howard had postponed work to be with Xander—whether it was for medical appointments, drawing, or trips to the amusement park.

Xander used to consider his older brother his everything.

But everything changed after Sue returned.

When Xander was kidnapped, Sue's phone was filled with Howard's affectionate messages. Meanwhile, the last time Xander and I spoke to Howard had been two months ago.

The kidnappers treated Sue with extreme care, afraid of hurting the precious "cash cow" she was. Meanwhile, Xander and I were so brutally beaten our bodies were covered in wounds.

When Sue was ransomed, she had arranged for the kidnappers to provide us with new clothes.

"Mr. Jenne is a kind man who can't stand seeing blood... If you make him angry, he might send someone to..."

So, when Howard arrived to pay the ransom, he saw me and Xander neatly dressed, while Sue was there, dirty and disheveled. Without a second thought, Howard rushed straight to her.

"Howard, Marlena and Xander had me brought here... I'm so scared. I sprained my ankle. Will I never be able to dance again?"

She buried her face in Howard's chest and cried out loud before she fainted.

Howard trembled as he checked her ankle, ignoring the wounds on Xander and me and the blood soaking through our clothes.

Xander, in disbelief, murmured, and for the first time in a while, he called out Howard's name in his broken voice.

However, Howard seemed not to hear as he picked up Sue, walking away without a second glance at us.

As we were being beaten, we clung to the hope of being saved. But when Howard left, that hope, along with our lives, ran out of time.

We died in such an ignoble, agonizing way.

Yet, Howard still thought that Xander and I were faking everything to deceive him.

We followed Howard and Sue to the police station, where Frank was waiting outside. Without saying a word, he slapped Howard across the face.

"You idiot! You're truly despicable! I trusted you with your brother! And you threw him and your wife into the hands of kidnappers!" Frank turned to glare at Sue, his face turning bright red. "What kind of poison did you put in my son's mind?"

Sue visibly flinched at that. "Mr. Jenne, I've known you both since childhood. You know I'm not that kind of person… Did Marlena say something to cause a misunderstanding?"

Howard immediately stepped in to protect Sue when she was being scolded. "Dad! You're the ones who have been brainwashed by Marlena! How can you side with her in all this nonsense? She spends all her time with Xander, getting him to do bad things like hitting people and pretending to be something he's not. How can you not see that?

"Sue was kidnapped by them and even hurt her leg, but she never complained! If anyone should be blamed, it's Marlena!"

Frank froze, staring at his son as if he had never seen him before. He looked at Howard's confident, unyielding face, and a cold laugh escaped him. Without a word, he dragged Howard toward the police station, ignoring the officers who tried to intervene.

In the waiting room, Howard rubbed his face, filled with annoyance. "When is Marlena going to be done with all this? Isn't she tired of this needlessly long act she's somehow talked everyone into playing a part in? I'll let her off the hook if that's what it'll take for her to stop this. This whole thing is getting more dramatic… It's getting out of hand."

Frank, standing next to him, was seething with anger. He was too furious to speak.

Howard continued to complain until the police led him to a door.

"Mr. Jenne, please come inside to identify the bodies of your wife and brother."

Howard pursed his lips disgruntledly and started to turn away. But before he could move, Frank kicked him hard in the back, sending him stumbling and falling to his knees.

Howard's face flushed with rage as he looked up. He was ready to lash out when his gaze fell on the sign that read "Morgue" above the door.

I saw how his expression, once dripping with fury, twisted into something far worse.