Callie had a faint smile in her eyes. “I’m not angry.” She glanced at the clothes. “You’re the angry one, aren’t you?”
Nelson was unexpectedly calm. “You used to be quite similar to her.”
Callie immediately became anxious. “Don’t compare me to her, it’s bad luck.”
He chuckled and lifted her chin. “I once said she didn’t have as much on her mind as you do, and that’s still true.”
Callie pushed his hand away and sat down to have breakfast. “Malachi asked me to go to the police station for a new statement.”
“He didn’t inform me.”
“I’m the primary witness, why would he inform you?”
“I’ll have Kieran go with you.”
Callie didn’t respond, nor did she see Nelson’s gaze fixed on her as she left.
Upon arriving at Oconnor Group, Anthony approached. “Tobias booked the earliest flight to Japan.”
Nelson raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve sent someone to follow him,” Anthony continued. “Also, someone is watching Miss Ellison. After you left last night, she had a fight with Sienna.”
“What was it about?”
“Apparently about a dog,” Anthony recalled. “Miss Ellison is afraid of dogs, and the Ellison family has one. She wanted it taken away, but Sienna stopped her.”
That was the trigger.
The servant didn’t dare make a decision and informed Sienna. She rushed over to find Charlotte holding an iron rod. Charlotte cried, “Mother, I’m really scared of the dog. Please take it away. It barks all the time, I’m on the verge of a breakdown.”
The servant taking care of Pepper was at a loss. The Ellison family estate was huge, and Charlotte lived far from where the dog was kept. It was impossible for her to hear it barking.
Sienna’s usually gentle face turned somber. “Maeve, have you been through some kind of trauma?”
“No, it’s not that… I just hate it, Mother. I really hate it!”
Sienna patted her back and after a moment said, “Tomorrow, I’ll handle it tomorrow.”
“Mother! Do you love me?” Charlotte became more frantic and angry. “I want it gone now, I want it dead!”
Sienna was shocked by this outburst. As a devout Buddhist who never harmed living beings, she grabbed Charlotte’s wrist tightly. “Calm down!”
Charlotte cried until she was exhausted.
“Is that dog named Pepper?” Nelson’s brow furrowed as he remembered something.
“Yes.”
A growing suspicion began to take hold. He ordered, “Have someone keep an eye on Sienna and make sure that dog is saved.”
“Yes, but Sienna is a Buddhist; she won’t kill…”
“No matter how she handles it, that dog must stay in Ylosea!” Nelson interrupted.
Anthony immediately went to carry out the orders.
As he was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows in autumn light, Nelson’s expression was complex. After a while, he suddenly asked, “Anthony, do you believe in fate?”
“… Fate…” Anthony hesitated before answering. “I only believe that people make it work.”
“People make it work.” Nelson mulled over the words and then decisively asked, “Has Callie left yet?”
…
“Kieran, your driving skills have really improved,” Callie said from the passenger seat, holding a drink. “When I first met you, you weren’t as steady as you are now.”
Kieran was uneasy. “Callie… just say what you want to say.”
Callie smiled, suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt, and threw the drink in Kieran’s face. It contained pepper powder, causing him intense pain and blinding him.
“Damn it!”
“Sorry,” Callie said as she took advantage of his disorientation. She quickly grabbed the steering wheel, hit the brakes, and jumped out of the car into another vehicle waiting by the roadside. It sped away immediately.