There was a rule in Finn’s place that no matter how urgent the matter, one must knock on the door before entering. Collins entered in a frantic rush.
The rabbit in the iron cage was scared, banging its head against the iron bars.
Finn raised his eyelids, his eyes bursting with a cold gaze like a hawk, freezing the hearts of those who looked at him.
Collins was not lightly frightened by this gaze, he forgot to breathe, his whole body instantly cooled down. He was too scared to speak, until Finn spoke up, “You better have brought useful news, otherwise…”
Collins swallowed hard, “Mr. Snearl, we have news about Miss Powell.”
“How did you find her, and where is she?” He had been searching for five months, and while there were people who claimed to have news about Aoife, it often turned out to be empty.
Collins highlighted the key points to Finn, showing him a photo to prove that there was indeed news about Aoife, and that they could catch her if they went now.
Finn looked at the photo of Aoife crouching on the ground, with a bloodied girl in front of her.
Aoife’s face was smeared dark, but Finn recognized her at a glance.
He didn’t expect Aoife to have the time to play the hero.
Finn sneered inwardly, flipping through two more photos on his phone. Gradually, his expression darkened as he saw Aoife’s pregnant belly in a few blurry photos.
Aoife was pregnant? Was it his child? Finn raised this question only to see another man’s figure in the photo.
Finn didn’t have face blindness, he remembered faces he had seen before, especially someone like Ethan who left a lasting impression on him.
Finn wracked his brains, unable to imagine Aoife being with Ethan.
No wonder this cowardly man could hide for so long, someone must have been helping him.
Her belly looked like it was a few months along, was it his child? Or Ethan’s?
If it was Ethan’s… just the thought of him being violent and bloody made Finn’s blood boil.
Aoife, oh Aoife, you better be obedient and not dirty your body.
Finn grew tired of looking at the photos and tossed the phone back to Collins.
If Aoife wanted to hide from him and live in such a place, she would have to go to the hospital for a check-up during her pregnancy. And going to the hospital required valid identification, which was obviously forged.
Forgery of documents was illegal anywhere, let alone for someone who had fled abroad.
Finn had an idea on the spot, a cold smile playing on his lips. He grabbed a rabbit from the cage, this time without even skinning it, and threw the whole thing into the snake pit.
Soon, a group of snakes, like ropes, slowly suffocated the struggling rabbit.
“Contact the local precinct and have them detain these two on grounds of forged documents,” Finn squinted his eyes and suddenly smiled. “The rabbit I’ve been chasing for five months is finally going to be caught.”
…
Aoife waited quietly in her room. As she waited, from 8 am in the morning until 12 pm at noon, Ethan still hadn’t returned.
Only then did Aoife realize that something was wrong. She wanted to go out to find Ethan, but was blocked by the officers. No matter what she said, they wouldn’t let her out, nor tell her about Ethan’s whereabouts.
Aoife pretended to have a stomachache, but these people didn’t react at all, as if her life or death didn’t matter to them.
This obvious change in attitude made Aoife anxious, and as the sky gradually darkened, a strange officer approached her. Aoife guessed he might be a higher-ranking officer from his different attire.
Summoning her courage, Aoife, using hesitant foreign language, spoke clearly, “Where is the person who came with me? I want to see him. Can you take me to see him?”
The officer remained silent.
Aoife stammered, “When can you let us leave? I don’t understand what we’ve done wrong to be detained here.”
This time, the officer spoke, “Forgery of documents is a violation of the law, we need to conduct further investigation, so you will be temporarily separated.”
Upon hearing the words “forged documents”, Aoife’s face paled even more, not even the heavy foundation on her face could fully cover up her fear.
“If you have any requests, feel free to tell us, and we will do our best to accommodate.”
Her only request was to leave, but could they? No…
The officer glanced at her once, then turned and left.
Once the room was empty, it suddenly felt very cold.
Aoife couldn’t eat or sleep. Curled up on the bed, she waited for Ethan to come back. He would definitely come back.
Remembering Ethan’s words before he left, Aoife tried to muster some courage. She promised him that even if he wasn’t by her side, she would take care of herself.
Aoife couldn’t eat but forced down a few bites, trying not to vomit.
Another day passed, and Ethan still hadn’t shown up. Now, she was like an ant on a hot pot, aware that being anxious was useless but unable to shake the feeling of impending doom that gnawed at her nerves.
At 9 am the next morning, as usual, an officer came to check on her and informed Aoife that someone had come to take her away.
Aoife’s first thought was that it was Ethan. Getting ready to get up and leave, she saw a familiar figure at the door.
“Aoife, I’ve come to take you.”
Finn’s face showed no signs of displeasure, in fact, he even smiled, but his eerie smile sent chills down one’s spine.
As he walked into the room at a leisurely pace, Aoife’s breath quickened. Her legs trembled with fear, causing her to take two steps back, bumping into the chair behind her and stumbling to the ground in a sorry state.
Clutching her stomach, her eyes filled with fear and despair.
This time, she might not survive…
Finn’s sinister smile deepened, revealing a set of perfect teeth. He bent down, grabbing Aoife’s trembling chin. “Playing around outside for 157 days, are you still having fun?”
Aoife’s face was ashen. “Finn, can you let me go… you’re already engaged… I also want to have a new life…”
Finn’s teeth audibly ground together, his grip on Aoife’s chin tightening, wiping off the layer of makeup on her face, leaving it dirty. Finn wasn’t disgusted, just irked by the sight of Aoife tarnishing her once beautiful face. He took out a handkerchief and began wiping Aoife’s face, from her forehead to her cheeks, and then to her chin, cleaning her up bit by bit until her fair complexion was revealed, now looking much more presentable.
As he wiped, Finn spoke, “What engagement? As soon as you ran away, I had my almost fiancée come to find you at the banquet. Aren’t you touched? You made me search high and low for you for five months, Aoife, do you know how I spent the days without you by my side?” Finn’s eyes softened as he quietly watched her, giving off an air of deep sentiment.
But in the next moment, his words tore apart this facade of “affectionate” hypocrisy.
“I raised a nest of rabbits, catching one every day to skin, bleed, and butcher.” Looking at Aoife’s reddening eyes, a hint of cruelty seemed to hover in his blood, his finger pressing against the corners of her eyes, oppressive. “Yes, those rabbits’ eyes are as red as yours now.”
Aoife trembled with pain but remained silent.
Collins, who had come with Finn, although he was aware of Finn’s volatile nature, couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine at the sight before him.
With Finn’s capabilities, he could have any woman he wanted. Even if he stood still and did nothing, there would be women flocking to him.
Aoife was beautiful, but there were surely women in this world who were more beautiful and entertaining than her. It shouldn’t be difficult for Finn to find a toy similar to Aoife that he was satisfied with.
Why couldn’t he let go of Aoife and find someone else? It was because Finn had taken a liking to her, had developed genuine feelings, and had become attached, only he didn’t realize it. Instead, he treated Aoife as a plaything to toy with at will.
After cleaning her face, Finn turned his attention to Aoife’s stomach. He didn’t want to ask her whose child was in her belly, nor did he want to hear her explanations.
When he took her to the hospital for a check-up, if it was around six months, then it was his child, otherwise, it wasn’t.
Finn was always confident in his own findings, and only believed in what his eyes saw.