As morning came, Brandon felt refreshed. His injuries slowly healed, and he didn’t feel any pain like yesterday, but he couldn’t forget that man who made him experience all that hell. A sharp knock on the door broke the silence. He knew who it was, expecting to see his cousin.
Brandon stood up and opened the door. His cousin was standing in front of him along with his guards, who were wearing black eyeglasses and professional suits. They were carrying three cases, which looked heavy.
“Mon cousin!” Denisse walked towards Brandon and gave him a tap on his shoulder. “I’m glad to see you’re okay. So, what is it that you want to talk about?”
“I’m glad you come, Denisse. Before I tell you about it, let’s get inside first,” Brandon said.
Denisse and his men cautiously followed Brandon inside the mansion. Brandon told them to take a seat, and they sat on the couch, putting the cases on the floor. Brandon asked Lisa to prepare them something to drink.
“Cousin,” Brandon started, sitting on the couch, his voice serious as he looked in Denisse’s eyes. “I forgot to tell you about this, but the man you’ve sent here to kill Rebecca San Jose is now an enemy. He accompanied them against me.”
“What?” Denisse was shocked. “How could that man betrayed you when he was already paid?”
“The truth is, he fell in love with his own target, and now he’s protecting her and her family. That’s the reason why I couldn’t achieve my goal,” Brandon replied.
“That’s really a hassle,” Denisse said. “I thought this case was already solved since you weren’t contacting me for so long. If you want, I can hire another assassin to hunt them down.”
“Sorry for not telling you earlier, and thanks for your help, but I want to kill them with my own hands. I’m done with unreliable people,” Brandon replied. “Just lend me some equipment and men.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I can lend you money and guns, but not my men. I don’t treat them like they are equipment,” Denisse said.
Brandon had no other choice but to just follow Denisse’s plan because he knew better. Denisse told him that he’d hire someone to spy on them. He assured him that he could rely on this person this time.
“Just make sure that what happened won’t happen again. I can’t wait to see them all suffer in my own hands,” Brandon said.
“Leave it to me. You can rest assured that you’ll succeed this time, just wait and see. You’ll be able to kill them with your own hands,” Denisse replied.
Brandon wasn’t sure if he could believe his cousin because in the first place he failed. He didn’t have to taste the same medicine twice to know that it was bitter.
On the other hand, Patrick Salvatore was watching television news when he heard someone knocking on the door of his apartment. He wondered who it was because he wasn’t really expecting any visitor today, not his family nor Wen.
“That woman, I didn’t know where she went. Perhaps she go back to that guy who dumped her again,” Patrick said to himself as he stood up. He opened the door and found a tall guy standing in front of him.
“Do I know you?” Patrick asked curiously.
“Are you Mr. Patrick Salvatore? A professional spy?” He replied in a French accent, removing his eyeglasses. He had brown eyes.
“Yes? You’re talking to that person,” Patrick said, opening the door widely. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve got a job for you, Mr. Salvatore. Would you let me inside your house so that we can talk about it?” He asked.
Patrick remained silent for a while, wondering if he could trust this man whom he didn’t even know, perhaps he have some bad intentions towards him, perhaps he was a thief or something more dangerous, a mafia boss.
But remembering that he was a professional spy, it wasn’t the first time that he had this kind of client. Most of them were absolutely strange, but it didn’t really matter because all he wanted was money.
“So, this is what you have to do. You’ll spy on the San Jose’s family and tell me every detail of what’s happening there. You’ll send us pictures of every move they make, every conversation they have, especially the strangest ones, and also don’t forget to know when and where the burial will be held,” the man explained.
“And what’s the reward for doing all of this?” Patrick asked.
“Ten million if you do it clean. I’ll give you the first half now if you’ll start your work right away,” the man replied as if he was in a hurry.
Patrick couldn’t resist the wonderful offer, so he didn’t hesitate to start his job right away. He prepared all his equipment and started venturing to San Jose’s territory.
Far away in the east, where the sun always rises, the mood was quiet different. People were still grieving over Elfedio’s death. Kwan was standing on the hallway, looking at how down Elfedio’s men were.
“Someone is looking for you, Kwan,” Rebecca informed after talking with the man standing in the front gate.
“Who?” Kwan asked, wondering who it was looking for him again even though he wasn’t expecting anyone.
“I don’t know, but he said he’s Wen’s relative. He didn’t look that odd, honestly, so I let him in,” Rebecca replied.
“You can’t just do that, Rebecca, especially that there are many people hunting us. We can’t just let strangers get near us if they don’t have good intentions,” Kwan reprimanded.
“I know, but he’s insisting, so I let him in,” Rebecca said. “By that way, that’s him.” She pointed at the man in his casual clothes walking towards them. He was carrying a case, so Kwan thought it was a bomb.
“You, stop there!” Kwan shouted, pointing his finger at the man. “Say what you want!”
“Don’t be so defensive, Kwan Moldrick. I’m Wen’s friend. My name is Patrick.” He raised his arms, putting the case on the ground, featuring that he didn’t want to have a fight.
“What’s inside that case?” Kwan asked, pointing his finger to the case.
Their heartbeats could be heard as Patrick slowly opened the case, but there was nothing odd inside except for a Polaroid camera. “I’m sorry, I have to bring this.”
“Show us your ID,” Kwan demanded, still doubtful.
Patrick walked towards him and showed him his ID. “Look, I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I just want to know what happened to my relative because she didn’t come back,” he said.
Knowing that Patrick didn’t have any bad intentions, Kwan and Rebecca told him the truth. “I’m sorry, Patrick, but Wen is gone. He was killed by Brein Loi,” Kwan said.
Patrick was surprised to hear that Wen was already dead. “So, that’s the reason why she didn’t come back to my house? I received a message from her, telling me that she had important matters to do.”
“Yes, you heard it right. Wen and I went to save Rebecca, and she sacrificed her life to save us. If not because of her, Rebecca’s dead now, so I don’t know what I should feel to lose a best friend who saved my girlfriend,” Kwan replied.
Patrick realized how complicated and dangerous the situation he had entered. He was between the two most powerful people in their country, and both of them have their own stories to tell, and he didn’t know who to believe anymore.
There was a heavy burden on his shoulder, as he knew his decision could create havoc. Patrick thought of how naive he was to just accept that offer without knowing the situation first. He was fooled by money.
Hearing their story, Patrick knew that Kwan and Rebecca were both innocent, but he already accepted the offer, and he couldn’t back out like that because he would get even more involved, especially his family.
They would hunt him down, and he’d put his life at risk as well. If he only didn’t open the door when someone was knocking on it, perhaps he was still enjoying his peaceful life, where he could watch his favorite TV shows.
“Would you let me stay here for a while? I just didn’t expect to hear that bad news. Wen was so young to die like that, and I even didn’t attend her burial,” Patrick said.
“Don’t worry. You can use the guest room,” Rebecca said, although Kwan wanted to disagree, but he could do nothing since she already said it.
“Thank you so much, ma’am!” Patrick said.