Old Burns’ expression barely changed, but his eyes noticeably turned cold for a moment. Hamish didn’t want to waste time trying to please Old Burns. He had made it clear he wasn’t interested in the Burns family’s business. His main purpose in coming today was to teach Finn a lesson.
Finn wasn’t particularly surprised. He had known that Hamish wouldn’t be able to resist coming to find him. He smirked, his mouth curling into a sly smile. “Stay away from my people,” Finn said indifferently. “Is it necessary to come here in the dead of night just because we had a meal together? If it’s yours, you can keep it. If it’s not, you can’t hold onto it. Isn’t that right, Hamish?”
In a low voice, Hamish said, “Let’s talk outside.” Finn stood up.
As soon as the two men stepped into the courtyard, Hamish grabbed Finn’s collar and pushed him against the wall, swinging his fist at Finn’s face.
Fortunately, Finn dodged quickly, and the punch only grazed his cheek, but it still cut his skin, stinging with pain. Finn frowned at Hamish. “Can’t handle a little banter? If, in the future, your woman cheats on you and ends up with me, what will you do then?”
Although Hamish knew Finn was deliberately trying to provoke him, he couldn’t help but feel agitated as soon as he heard the words “cheats on.” He was not as talkative as Finn, and for scum like him, fists spoke louder than words. His body reacted before his mind, and he threw a punch at Finn’s face.
Caught off guard, Finn hit a nearby tree, causing a branch to snap. Blood trickled from Finn’s mouth, and the impact left him feeling dizzy. Inside, Atonal, who had been resting on the sofa, heard the commotion. He hesitated but eventually couldn’t hold back and addressed Old Burns, who was resting with his eyes closed. “Old Burns, Mr. Hamish and Mr. Snearl are fighting.”
“I know, my ears aren’t deaf.”
“The noise seems quite loud. Should we send someone to intervene?”
Old Burns opened his eyes slightly, a glint of sharpness flashing deep within them. “Intervene for what? It’s not as if they haven’t fought before. Sibling rivalry is quite normal. As long as no one dies, it’s fine. Wait for half an hour before going over.”
The butler was taken aback. “This is considered sibling rivalry?”
Old Burns knew the temperament of these two. They had often fought over the same things in the past, and he found himself somewhat nostalgic at the sight.
Old Burns closed his eyes and continued to rest.
…
Hamish lifted Finn by his collar, his jaw tense, and sneered, “Finn, watch your mouth. If you want something from the Burns family, I can give it to you, but if you keep coveting what’s in my hands, I can break your legs!”
Hamish wasn’t making an empty threat. He meant what he said. Finn held himself up weakly, his tongue licking the blood on the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t worry, I’m a clean freak and don’t like picking up others’ leftovers. But Hamish, do you really think you can keep Elisa with you forever? If I’m not mistaken, Elisa should be taking cancer medication now, and she seems to have lost her memory, not remembering anything. You haven’t told her the truth, have you?”
“Why? Are you afraid she’ll remember something and leave you?”
Hamish’s face turned grim. “How do you know all this?” He dared not imagine what would happen if Finn let slip any of this to Elisa. He had been careful since Elisa woke up, weaving a web of lies, trying not to bring up the past, fearing she might remember everything and leave him. But now, Finn knew, and a cruel expression flashed across Hamish’s face. He moved to strike again, but this time Finn caught his fist.
“I know even more,” Finn said with a light and teasing tone, almost as if he was deliberately trying to provoke him, staring at Hamish as he continued, “like the marks on her collarbone made by a sharp object, and the burns on her chest, and the fingers pierced by steel needles…”
Hamish realized something, and his pupils constricted sharply.
Finn’s brown eyes rippled with malice, as he leaned in close to Hamish’s ear. “You have no idea how she cried beneath me that day, how her pain tore her apart. I still remember it vividly.”
“It was you.”
Finn smiled meaningfully. “Who else could inflict such torment? Hamish, why is it that after leavingChiwood for these years, your mind has regressed? If I didn’t say anything, would you have never figured it out?”
Gritting his teeth, Hamish’s eyes flared. “I’ll kill you!”
Faced with his intense hostility, Finn showed no fear. “You want to kill me now? But don’t forget, it was you who used her as a bargaining chip. Wasn’t this kind of event within your expectations? It’s a shame you were too preoccupied that day. Now, thinking back, you regret not consuming her. Her skin was so fair, leaving red imprints at the slightest touch. Her waist was so delicate, easily held in one hand. I still remember the sound of her painful gasps…”
Hamish’s expression turned incredibly grim. Before Finn could finish his disgusting words, he threw a punch, but Finn evaded it.
Finn wasn’t one to take a loss lying down. Perhaps it was in the blood of the Burns family. Like Hamish, he carried a stubborn determination since childhood. If anyone dared to make him suffer a loss, he would return it tenfold.
Rubbing his wrist, Finn scoffed, “I hit a nerve by hitting the mark, didn’t I? You can’t blame anyone but yourself for not keeping a closer eye.”
His words were light, but to Hamish, they were deeply mocking, each word cutting like a knife. Hamish clenched his fists, and the joints emitted a creaking sound. He howled like a wolf and charged at Finn, who, refusing to show weakness, met him head-on, and the two tangled in a fierce struggle.
You hit me, I kick you. The two of them fought like madmen, until there was a loud thud.
Something fell to the ground. It was Finn’s phone. Hamish’s gaze froze as he looked at it.
The wallpaper on Finn’s phone depicted a gruesome image: a woman’s limbs were fastened to a wooden board, a chain running across her collarbone. Her clothes were tattered, her body covered in blood, her fair complexion contrasting with the stains, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, tears glistening in her eyes, a redness around them, exuding a beauty of despair that was impossible to look away from.
It was Elisa, a version of her Hamish had never seen before.
Elisa was slender, and her neck was as white as the best mutton tallow jade, with faintly visible veins beneath her skin. Any man who saw a woman like her couldn’t help but feel the urge to be violent and abusive.
Hamish’s eyes reddened. He stomped on the phone screen, then bent his knees and forcefully lunged at Finn’s abdomen, following it up with a kick to his knee.
Finn’s expression changed slightly; he let out a low, pained cry. If earlier Hamish had sought to cripple him, now it seemed he wanted to kill him. The murderous look in his eyes was undeniable. Even with all of Finn’s composure, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
After being thrown to the ground, Finn clutched his stomach, a faint smile on his lips. However, the pain made it appear rather grim and grotesque.
Spitting out some blood, Finn said, “It’s nothing. I have hundreds, even thousands of such photos. I must thank you for letting me have Elisa that day. Otherwise, how could I have captured such beautiful pictures? Besides the photos, I also have an hour-long video. Would you like me to share it with you?”
“Delete it!” Hamish raised his voice, his tie askew due to his forceful movements. He loosened his grip and stomped on Finn’s injured knee.
Grimacing from the pain, Finn said, “I won’t delete it. Even if you beat me to death, I won’t delete it. Oh, by the way, if you accidentally end up killing me, those millions of backup videos might just accidentally get leaked. Then it’ll spread like wildfire. Can you delete them all, Hamish?”
“If I can’t, so be it. I’m just afraid that when Elisa sees them, it might trigger something, and she’ll go insane, won’t she?” Hamish’s expression twisted instantly. He looked down on Finn and exerted force, grinding on his knee.
Despite the pain, Finn gritted his teeth and tried to push Hamish away. Before he could make contact, Hamish kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying like a sandbag, crashing heavily into the wall with a resounding thud.
Unable to hold back, Finn cursed. They had fought many times before, and he had never won. Sometimes, talent could be quite the torment.
Hamish had exerted all his strength in those blows. They weren’t fatal, but they were excruciating, tearing through flesh and skin, almost breaking bones.
Yet Finn, seemingly impervious to pain, goaded him further. He shifted the topic, hoarsely continuing, “What if Elisa regains her memory? How will she face being hurt all over because of you?”
It was Hamish who had initiated all of this, he was at most an accomplice.
“Hamish, do you regret it now? Regret trading Elisa for Lila?” Hamish advanced towards him, his eyes filled with deep malice.
In a short time, Finn’s entire mouth swelled up, his half-closed eyes barely holding on: “Does getting angry with me help? What did I say wrong? Wasn’t it you who handed her to me in the first place? If you regret it now, you deserve it.”
Hamish’s toe pressed against Finn’s chin, his actions and tone filled with humiliation: “Finn, do you really think I can’t handle you? I don’t want your life, I want you to suffer. You want revenge for your wretched mother, don’t you? Let’s see if you have what it takes.”
Suddenly finding strength from an unknown source, Finn looked at Hamish as he approached, seizing the opportunity to grab his leg and forcefully throw him down, delivering a punch to his face.
Hamish gritted his teeth, rolling over and pinning Finn down, raining down punches on his face.