“What is he saying?”
“It seems like he’s saying we can’t be together?”
“Let him finish speaking.”
The person holding Leland hostage took the steel pipe away, easing the tension. Leland immediately knelt down, his knees hitting the steps hard. His resistance was futile, and he could only beg the adults not to burn his mother and the man together, not to bury them together.
Begging was something he was good at. Leland pressed his palms to the ground, before anyone could react, he fiercely knocked his head on the ground, almost as if he was hitting it hard. The sound echoed loudly, causing everyone to flinch.
Didn’t it hurt?
Of course, it did, but Leland acted as if he couldn’t feel the pain. He knocked his head three times, blood oozing from his forehead. As he begged, “Please… don’t burn my mother with that man, don’t bury them together… please, she finally escaped from him, don’t taint her soul, please… I’m begging you, separate them.”
He raised his head, his bloodied eyelashes forced open, feeling heavy and uncomfortable. His eyes were sore, and he could barely keep them open as he looked at his mother lying on the ground.
His mother had fought hard to leave that man. She suffered in life, and death was a release for her. She wanted to leave cleanly, not tainted by that man’s ashes and soul. If they were buried together, that man would surely torment her.
Separated by life and death, he couldn’t even protect his mother from being mistreated.
“Okay, okay…” the police officer quickly pulled Leland up by the arm. “We won’t burn or bury them together. They will be separated, very far apart. Are you willing to come with us now?”
Leland bit his lower lip, looking deeply at his mother for the last time.
In his world, his mother was the best. Without her, he would be nothing but a weed. Even as a “weed,” he would be the strongest one, resilient to fire and reborn with the spring breeze.
Rubbing his hot eyes, trying to wipe away the tears and blood, but no matter how he wiped, the water there remained. His chest ached terribly, as if something had pierced through, causing cold sweat to break out on his back. The pain made it hard not to bend over.
For a moment, Leland bent over but then straightened his back again. He let go, turning without the need for the police to push him, willingly following them.
As long as his mother wasn’t with that man, he would obediently follow the police.
Mother, I promise you, I will try to survive. I will succeed, and I will completely leave this place behind.
No one knew what Leland was thinking at that moment. The sound of his determined footsteps, his upright posture seemingly unbreakable.
He got into the police car, looking out the window as the man’s body was brought down and placed on the car behind him. The bodies were put together, to be taken for examination first. Once the case was resolved, they would be sent to the crematorium, where they would be cremated separately, their ashes handled differently.
The news of Leland’s incarceration immediately reached Winifred’s ears.
Upon hearing the news, Winifred, who had just finished eating, stood by the ornamental fish tank sprinkling fish food, playing with the fish.
Suddenly, she noticed a fish floating belly-up in the corner. She poked it with the hose to make sure; another fish had died.
The fish tank on this side was beautifully arranged inside the wall. The maid regularly changed the water and cleaned the tank, but still, fish died every day.
Mr. Hamilton stood beside her, recounting Leland’s situation. Winifred seemed distracted, but she took it all in.
Poking at the dead fish, she said, “Get rid of this dead fish to prevent it from contaminating the tank.”
Mr. Hamilton hesitated, feeling Winifred’s implied meaning. Did the dead fish refer to Leland’s father?
“Yes…” Since they were speaking about the dead fish, it should be handled first, Mr. Hamilton called the maid, “Check the tank thoroughly, remove the dead fish.”
Winifred put down the excess fish food in her hand, clapped her hands, and began to focus on the matter at hand. “His parents are both dead. If Leland has gone crazy, it will be troublesome.”
She had planned to keep Leland around to use him. But if he lost his mind, how could she use him?
Everything that had happened, Leland poisoning his father, his father not dying resulting in retaliation, Winifred had foreseen it all. She believed his parents would eventually die, sooner or later, they were just liabilities.
Apart from Leland stabbing his father, everything had gone according to Winifred’s plan. Even four stabs… what was he waiting for?
Mr. Hamilton said, “He seemed crazy for a while, even bit a police officer’s hand. After calming down, he voluntarily went with the police. He is currently being questioned at the station, and the bodies are being examined.”
“They’re still questioning him?” Winifred frowned. “Didn’t you tell them Leland is under my care?”
“Miss, there’s a process to follow.” Mr. Hamilton looked conflicted. “Miss, do you really want to keep Leland by your side? He might blame you for what happened to his mother.”
“Mr. Hamilton, care to make a bet?”
“A bet on what?”
“A bet on whether Leland will willingly stay by my side.”
Was that possible? Mr. Hamilton felt that the boy had a cold demeanor, vengeful and fierce. It was like handling an unfamiliar wolf pup. Thinking back to him stabbing his own father four times, Mr. Hamilton couldn’t help but feel a chill. But then again, the father deserved it, and four stabs were letting him off easy.
Mr. Hamilton had gambled with Winifred before, and he had lost plenty. This time, he hesitated but eventually agreed.
If he noticed any malice from Leland, he would kick him out immediately.
“Now, I must think of how to handle Leland’s situation perfectly.” Winifred sat on the sofa, asking the maid to prepare a cup of lemon and passionfruit tea. The fruit tea was soon delivered, and Winifred sipped it through a straw, lost in thought.
After about a minute, she set down her cup.
“Mr. Hamilton, send the information we’ve gathered about Leland’s father to the police. His father had severe violent tendencies, not only beating his wife into paralysis but also making young Leland work as a child laborer to earn money. This time, he tried to poison his wife but was interrupted by Leland, who accidentally killed the other man while trying to protect his mother.”
Half-truth, half-fiction, making sure Leland’s poisoning and intentions were completely scrubbed clean.
“But how do we explain the poisoning of his father?”
“Hmm…” Winifred thought for a moment. “Let’s say he accidentally ingested poison, and it wasn’t until he was in the hospital that he had thoughts of harming others. Mr. Hamilton, can you handle the hospital aspect?”
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Faking a few medical records should be no problem.
“Regardless, the fact remains that the man killed his own wife, and he beat Leland is also a fact. It was excessive self-defense, and I believe the police will understand. They are good people and will sympathize with Leland’s plight. Besides, how could a child who has hardly been in contact with cephalosporins think of adding alcohol to commit murder?” She paused before continuing.
“But before releasing Leland, let him spend three days in solitary confinement.”
Winifred’s face lit up with innocence, seemingly devoid of any cunning. Mr. Hamilton couldn’t fathom her thoughts.
“Why three days in solitary confinement?”
Polishing it up as solitary confinement may sound better, but the reality was darker. It was where the police interrogated suspects, a place that would make a person’s mind extremely vulnerable. Spending too long there would make them crack and confess everything. Even an adult couldn’t withstand being locked up for 48 hours; let alone Leland, who was to be confined for 72 hours.
Since Winifred had decided to bring Leland out, why make him suffer needlessly?
Winifred put on her innocent smile and said, “Mr. Hamilton, don’t you know that for someone in darkness, a light that suddenly appears becomes their redemption?”
So, letting Leland out now wasn’t enough; she wanted him to feel more lonely and desperate. Only then, when she appeared, would he willingly follow her.