“Mr. Snearl, Hamish has returned to Chiwood, and there’s still no news about the batch of minerals from South Water Island. Has it been transferred to Chiwood already?” A subordinate with gold-rimmed glasses respectfully asked the man sitting on the sofa.
The man lounged lazily, his long right leg casually resting on the coffee table, a tablet in his right hand, and a cigarette held in his left hand. As he made slight movements with his fingers, a bluish-grey smoke rose gently, with ashes and sparks falling to the ground.
Listening to his subordinate, he raised his hand to take a drag of the cigarette, his eyes drifting casually.
The subordinate immediately fell silent, not daring to even take a breath. With just a glance from the man, he knew not to disturb him, as the consequences would be dire.
The surroundings fell quiet as the man continued to stare at the screen as if no one else were present, watching a video that lasted for an hour.
As the video played, sound leaked out. It was the same video he had recorded of Elisa being tormented.
Seeing the captivating moments, he moistened his lips, a glint of light flashing in his deep brown eyes as Elisa, bound to a plank, pleaded in agony. Her poignant expression was captivating, leaving a palpable impact on anyone who saw it.
The sadistic impulses he had suppressed surged through his body because of this video, spreading to every corner of his being, even causing his fingertips to tremble with excitement.
Elisa was interesting and beautiful. Perhaps not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but her inner resilience was irresistible. Other women might break with a gentle touch, but Elisa was like a cactus, and he enjoyed the pleasure of plucking out the spines.
Seeing Elisa’s calm face gradually crumble, as she begged on the ground, brought him immense satisfaction. He had often desired to possess this woman.
Unfortunately, he had a cleanliness obsession, and Elisa was Hamish’s woman; her body was already tainted.
He wondered what Hamish had been thinking when he had picked up that ragged woman that day. Did he want to kill him?
A sly smile played at the corner of the man’s mouth as he watched Elisa in the video, crying hoarsely after being injected with a sedative. He paused the video and played it back repeatedly.
He had watched this video over a hundred times, and even now, he hadn’t grown tired of it. Initially, it had been a whim to play with her, but he hadn’t expected to become so engrossed.
He even thought about capturing Elisa again, locking her in a dog cage in the basement, to amuse himself every day.
It was rare for him to be so fixated on something, but unfortunately, it belonged to Hamish. Anything belonging to Hamish had to be seized, and if he couldn’t have it, he would destroy it.
However, he didn’t want to kill this woman. Despite being so cruel to her, he felt a tinge of reluctance in his heart.
For someone who took pleasure in tormenting others, Elisa was the first person he didn’t want to kill outright. Suddenly, a strange emotion stirred in his heart. He crushed the cigarette with his hand, and flicked it accurately into the trash can.
“Chiwood?” He fast-forwarded the video, and from Elisa’s lip movements, it indeed seemed like “Chiwood.”
The voice was somewhat distorted, and even at maximum volume, it was indecipherable. He had used a lie detector on Elisa at the time, but no matter how he questioned her, she claimed not to know.
The lie detector indicated that she was lying, but later, when he tried it on others, he realized that the lie detector had been faulty from the beginning.
So, did Elisa really lie? Did she know about the minerals beneath South Water Island?
“Can you make out what she’s saying?” The subordinate leaned in slightly, hesitated for a moment, then said, “It should be ‘Chiwood.’ When you were questioning her with the map, Elisa probably said it in passing.”
“Should be?” The video continued, and the man suddenly chuckled meaningfully as he watched the slowed-down footage.
The subordinate felt a shiver down his spine and didn’t dare to say a word.
“I also thought she was saying ‘Chiwood’ before, but after seeing her expression, I don’t think those were the words she was saying.” Elisa’s subsequent expression was clearly self-mocking, and he had a conjecture that was gradually approaching the correct answer.
“Boom!” He threw the tablet down. “At that moment, she wasn’t saying ‘Chiwood.’ She was saying ‘Hamish.’ There was probably an ‘I hate you’ at the end.”
Initially, the subordinate hadn’t thought much of it, but after this reminder, he couldn’t help but agree. Her lip movements matched as well.
This was too intriguing…
The man who had discovered the truth saw his eyes shining brighter and brighter. For Elisa to redirect her hatred towards Hamish was a perfect development for him. As long as Elisa hated Hamish, he could use it to his advantage to obtain that batch of minerals.
To be hated by the person he loved the most, what could be more delightful for him?
“You said Hamish went to Chiwood?”
“Yes, he took the two o’clock flight this afternoon.”
The man’s expression gradually calmed, his gaze fixed on the tablet on the coffee table, his back against the sofa, legs crossed.
The subordinate remained silent, not wanting to disturb him.
After a moment, the man mused to himself, “If Hamish has gone to Chiwood, then Elisa must have gone as well.”
The subordinate pondered and said, “He was indeed accompanied by a woman, but it’s said that the woman has amnesia.”
“Amnesia?” The man squinted.
“I just received this information. Hamish has kept it well hidden, and we need to investigate further.”
The man listened quietly, thinking about the five doses of the drug injected into the brain. An ordinary person would likely have gone insane long ago, yet Elisa had only suffered simple amnesia.
His hand tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the sofa, his fingertips making a subdued sound. Silence filled the room.
“Book me a ticket to Chiwood. I will depart the day after tomorrow.”
The subordinate acknowledged and then left the room. The man continued to watch the video playing on the screen. The naturally curved smile at the corner of his mouth gradually faded.
One playthrough wasn’t enough. What he wanted was to completely possess Elisa.
“We will meet again very soon.”