Inside their inconspicuous luxury car.
The old butler was driving, while Ysabelle and Yezoo were seated at the back. The two of them were silent on the ride over.
“Ysabelle, for all these years, I’ve felt terrible for not being there for her. She is our only child. I thought that we would have to live with this pain for the rest of our lives! I never imagined that our daughter would return. Now she’s 29 years old and healthy.”
Yezoo watched the scenery outside the car window. His mouth was agape and his fists were clenched. His breathing was short and quick, he was clearly very anxious and couldn’t keep calm.
Just a month ago, he noticed a very recognizable birthmark on Dorothy in a video. Back then, he had his suspicions and secretly ordered his subordinates to find out more about Dorothy’s background.
As he searched for more information, Yezoo’s heart grew more and more turbulent. He had a feeling that Dorothy really was his daughter, and that feeling grew stronger and stronger by the day.
However, Leilani recognized Dorothy as her daughter before he did, and had a paternity test done under Credence’s arrangement. She even held a grand family reunion in front of all sorts of media.
With Credence’s impressive skill set, it was impossible for him to make such a stupid mistake.
Hence, even though he was conflicted about it, Yezoo forcefully suppressed the thought. He calmed himself and reasoned that the dead could not come back to life. He destroyed everything he found and treated it as an unnecessary delusion. Wishful thinking.
But, on this morning, Juelz’s phone call brought back that hope which he had locked away in his heart.
In his entire life, the only thing he ever regretted was neglecting his child while he was busy fighting for power amongst his brothers.
Because of this, she was all alone in that luxurious nursing room. In the end, his daughter contracted a fatal flu virus sixteen days after she was born, and shortly passed away.
“Ysabelle, I am sorry. I want to make it up to our daughter!” Yezoo got more and more anxious as he spoke. His eyes were red as he muttered, “I thought that I would never be able to atone for my sins in this life.”
“Yezoo, don’t be so anxious. Who knows if Juelz is even right about this?”
Ysabelle frowned. She couldn’t understand why Yezoo was so agitated.
Dorothy was a proud woman. In defense of Germaine’s pride, she scolded her and became her enemy. Moreover, she didn’t look anything like her. Instead, she looked a lot more like Leilani. How was she suddenly her biological daughter?
That damned Leilani, just what did she do to get her into this mess?
“No, Juelz would never lie. I believe in him.”
Yezoo took a deep breath and made up his mind. He looked up and stared at Ysabelle’s face with his bloodshot eyes. “It’s getting late. We should call Jeremy.”
“Alright, I’ll call him now, but you know Jeremy has a temper. I may not be able to convince him to come along.”
“Jeremy’s temper is out of control, and his methods are too vicious. You went too far to hurt him as a child.” Yezoo frowned and sighed.
“I hurt him for the sake of his own well being!”
Yezoo only snorted, and chose not to express his opinions.
Ysabelle didn’t know how well he knew about her secrets. Her right hand trembled as she clutched her phone, and a gloomy aura gradually condensed in her eyes. She looked away and began dialing Jeremy’s number.
…
In a spacious bathroom, the sound of splashing water echoed from it.
Jeremy was lazing about with his thin lips in a smile. He raised his head and closed his eyes, allowing the cold water to pour down onto his head. The cold water helped to quell his burning desire to torture women.
Change was difficult, more so when it’s his own personality.
Back then, he endured his so-called mother Ysabelle’s abuse time and time again. The pain he felt had long been engraved in his heart and bones, he would never forget it.
The trauma of his violent childhood gave him a bloodthirsty personality, and he got addicted to killing people. He could never become an ordinary person ever again.
After injuring Germaine by mistake that night, he felt so guilty about it he almost went insane. He gritted his teeth and held himself back this entire time. For two and a half months, he had not felt a single drop of blood in his hands. He hadn’t felt the blood of a woman for so long.
Whichever it was, it didn’t matter. He was at his limit.
Perhaps he should do something tonight or tomorrow. He could ask Wilson to bring a woman to his secret chamber so that he could have his way with her.
His long leather whips, as he himself were very eager for some blood. He craved to enjoy the futile struggles of a woman in despair.
That wasn’t just an illness, this was his life!
No one could cure him of that, not even Germaine!
He felt sad for a brief moment. Jeremy’s eyes twitched and his malicious eyes darted towards the closed door. “Who’s there?”
“Boss, it’s me! Uh… Well, your mother’s calling. Do you want to answer?” Wilson held his mobile phone as though it were a hot potato. He was trembling at the door. He wished he could just toss the phone and run away.
Every time he answered Ysabelle’s call, Jeremy would get into an especially terrible mood.
Whenever his boss was in a bad mood, Wilson, the unlucky assistant who accompanied him all day, every day, would be miserable.
“Why don’t you answer it?”
Jeremy pursed his lips, grabbed a black bath towel, and wrapped it around his lean body. He lazily walked out of the bathroom, picked up his phone from Wilson’s hand, and answered it reluctantly. “Mrs. Sherman, what do you want?”
He could feel Ysabelle choking up at the other end of the line. She was silent for a very long time. He had a mocking grin on his face.
So, she couldn’t even tolerate him calling her Mrs. Sherman?
She had been so cruel to him all those years ago. Back then, she was never so soft-hearted.
He bore all that heart-wrenching pain in his heart, so that one day, he could give it all back to her. He would get even.
After waiting for a while, before Ysabelle could say anything, Jeremy squinted his eyes and impatiently spat out. “If you don’t have anything to say, then I’m hanging up.”
His impatience worked. Ysabelle finally came back to her senses. She swallowed her anger and told him to hurry to the hospital to see Dorothy. She explained that Dorothy wasn’t Leilani’s daughter, but hers and Yezoo’s. Also, that she was his sister.
“What? Dorothy is my sister? Ha, Mrs. Sherman, isn’t it too early in the morning for jokes?”
“Just tell Uncle Yezoo that I’m busy!”
Jeremy’s face was blank as he impatiently hung up the phone. He threw his mobile phone to Wilson, who was standing beside him. He took out a snow-white cigarette, lit it, took a few puffs, and frowned. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it already!”
His sister died in the hospital 29 years ago. It didn’t matter if Dorothy really was his sister or not, it didn’t concern him.
He only had money on his mind, what good was kindness for?
Wilson held the mobile phone with both hands and placed it back into the briefcase he carried with him. He zipped it up and ran back to Jeremy. He scratched his scalp and spoke cautiously. “Boss, I heard that Dorothy got into a coma because of Belle.”
“Let’s not act simply out of deference. Dorothy may be a nobody, but that little girl did call you Daddy. She looks like you too. Back then, I thought that she was your illegitimate daughter whom you’ve been secretly raising, cough… Boss, don’t you feel sad for that cute little girl?”
Jeremy didn’t care about that. He raised his head and blew out a few thick white plumes of smoke. “I’m not her father, why should I care?!”
He stammered, “But …”
Wilson wasn’t willing to give up. He thought about the lively little Belle and felt extremely uncomfortable. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Jeremy’s bathrobe. “Boss, what if Dorothy really is your sister? If so, doesn’t that make Belle your niece? Do you really have the heart to ignore her? She’s only six years old, barely even seven!”
All at once, Jeremy seemed to be struck by lightning. His pupils were frozen. “She’s that young?”
“That’s right, she’s still in kindergarten. A child only starts first grade when they turn seven.” Wilson answered.
“That’s none of my business!” Jeremy exhaled another puff of smoke. He then muttered. “There are so many things that I need to worry about. I don’t have time for that!”
Wilson had no choice but to stand aside and wait for Jeremy to change into his suit and leather shoes. He followed him, keeping his head down, and mumbled. “Boss, are you really not going to do anything?”
Jeremy stepped into the car and started the engine, Wilson simply stood in front of the car and yelled out. “Boss, you will never get to marry Miss Germaine. Don’t you want to give yourself another way out? What if Belle really is your niece? If she can’t be saved this time, then it’s all your fault!”
Jeremy rolled down the windows and stared at Wilson. After looking at him for a while, he said with a straight face. “Get in the car, we’re going to the hospital! If I find out that she isn’t my niece, then I will chop you up and feed you to the sharks!”