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2024-10-29 19:42:56That night, Gio was summoned by Anthony to the study. The young man's heart was pounding wildly. Nevertheless, he tried to stay calm by taking deep breaths.
In the room, there was already the dashing figure of his father sitting in a swivel chair.
"Dad," Gio called after standing right in front of his father's desk.
"Is this how you should behave?" Cold, deep, and intimidating.
"Dad—"
"Stop messing around, Gio. I'm sick of your attitude!" This time with a slightly higher intonation.
His head was lowered, his hands clasped in front of his body. "Sorry," he said quietly, a little choked up.
"Watch your attitude while I'm still campaigning—can't you follow your brother's example, huh?!" The man exhaled roughly. "Don't just hide behind your mother's back! Make me a little proud, and don't regret having a son like you, Gio."
His molars collided, and his gaze, which was initially afraid, now turned dark and hateful. Gio hates being compared like this, but he can't hate the figure that is his father's benchmark.
"Once again, you make trouble, don't ever appear in front of me with this family's last name."
***
The following day, Karin was in class as usual. A lot was troubling his mind after attending the trial yesterday.
On the girl's table is an envelope containing the money Gio gave her. The young man said the money was just a token of gratitude for being a witness in Molly's murder case, but somehow he felt something was up.
She was about to head to the cafeteria for lunch when class was over. It takes more effort to get to that place because journalists are still in an uproar looking for news materials on campus.
Karin's face was now well known by the media due to her presence at the trial yesterday. Luckily he could avoid the reporters and quietly get to the cafeteria.
In the middle of her lunch, Karin was visited by someone.
"May I sit?"
A tall figure in a plaid shirt with the buttons left unbuttoned was standing in front of his desk. As soon as Karin opened her mouth, the man landed right in front of her.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I think you're still thinking about San. Why?"
Karin didn't answer immediately, and they seemed to be holding something. They rarely interact, only occasionally if they accidentally cross paths on campus. The current one-table chat was their first time.
"I'm still thinking about San." Karin finally spoke. "It just feels weird."
"Weren't you the most confident and passionate at the trial? Why bother him so much?"
"Are you already sure that San is the real culprit?"
Devan glanced at the entrance just as Gio and the gang's group appeared in the cafeteria. His eyes were full of judgment, and before long, he answered, "I feel bad when I want to eat with the money that Gio gave me. Like my stomach suddenly has a problem."
Karin was confused by the attitude of the man in front of her. He rolled his eyes lazily. "So?"
"Until now, there is no evidence that Gio and his friends ever bothered Molly. He just found out that the girl was his cousin just yesterday." Devan took a leisurely sip of Karin's iced tea.
Ignoring the man who drank his ice without permission, Karin pondered over the sentence. "Come to think of it, and Molly has never spilled anything about her relationship with Gio."
***
After returning from campus, Gio and his family had dinner together at home. Because they rarely get together for a dinner table, 'eating together' is only supposed to be an important event that is held at certain moments.
"Have you met Uncle and Aunt?" asked Anthony opening the conversation in the middle of dinner.
"Enough, Dad. Earlier after the airport, I went straight there to greet them." The man in his early 30s replied calmly.
"That's great. By the way, how long have you lived in Indonesia?"
"Probably waiting for my final thesis to finish here."
During the conversation between his father and brother, Gio secretly glanced at the eldest son of the Wibisono family, Gavin. After two years, her sister had just returned from Singapore, and this meal was the first time since two years ago.
"The plan is tomorrow I'm going to drop by Molly's dinner—"
"No!" The call came from Amber. He put down his fork and knife with a slight bang. "It's only right that you came when Molly was buried. You don't need to go to the graves all the time!"
"Ma-" Gavin's words were interrupted by his father.
"Papa knows your good intentions, but this time just listen to what your mother says." Anthony tried to calm down.
Gavin didn't react to anything. The look on his face was too come for the person he had just scolded.
"You know what they have done to our family? Because of his unnatural death, your father's position is threatened. The media thinks there is a conspiracy that the Blangsak Orphan boy is threatening your father, so he doesn't become Governor!" Ambar's gaze was so fiery when he said that.
One corner of the handsome man's lips pulled up, forming a thin grin. "Isn't that an advantage for Papa, Ma?" replied Gavin.
"What did you say?"
"Papa's name is getting better and better. Many people are concerned and amazed by Papa's struggles. Whether it's a conspiracy or not, Papa's percentage to become Governor is getting bigger." Gavin explained without caring about his father's gaze at the moment.
"You-"
"No one is concerned, and some suspect Daddy's opponent. Shouldn't you be grateful? Molly's death is a blessing to this family."
"Gavin, shut up!" shouted Ambar with a fierce look. "Watch your words. If outsiders hear about it, it will be a big problem!"
Gavin didn't care about his mother's words and preferred to continue eating.
Seeing the indifferent attitude of his eldest son, Ambar was even more annoyed. He was about to reprimand Gavin, but Anthony stopped him first.
"Enough!" interrupted Anthony. "He just came home after a long time, don't make a scene."
Gio secretly sighed. Only with Gavin could his father be this gentle, and only because of his older brother could his mother be angry at the dinner table. What a charming family.
***
After dinner, Gavin went to his room to rest. He sat on the balcony terrace, looking at the cellphone screen that displayed a photo of him with a beautiful, pale-skinned girl.
There was no significant expression, but his lips muttered a sad sentence.
"I did not know that this photo was our last photo."
The picture was taken the same day before Molly was found dead. A few hours after, he said goodbye to leave for Singapore.
"I should have stayed. Sorry, dear."
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"Miss Vera!"The woman stopped in her tracks as she was about to leave the prison corridor. She and Santiago both witnessed their hurried arrival."Miss Vera," he called again."What?""Explain everything to me."Vera glanced at the Guard who had accompanied her during the visit. She signaled for him to leave them alone. Initially, the man seemed reluctant, but after Vera convinced him, now it was just the two of them.After the gate was closed, Vera began to speak, "What do you want to hear?""Is it true that Uncle Agus did it? That's impossible, isn't it?"Vera sighed deeply. "I can't discuss this with you.""Why? I've told you everything I know. Now it's your turn, Miss Attorney!""Hey, troublemaker. That's not how it works—oh my! I'm tired of all this case, why are you adding to the fuss?" Vera started to get annoyed with Santiago's temper."I have the right to know.""No. From the beginning, this case has nothing to do with you. You only involve yourself because of useless empath
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"So?" Vera still waited for her client to speak. It turned out that the woman's family issues were not as simple as she had thought. After a long silence, Vera finally prodded gently, "Remaining silent won't bring any changes, Mrs. Andeen. You—forget about yourself, have you ever thought about your daughter's fate?""What? How do you—""Your own daughter is speaking to me. She's asking for help to save you, Mrs. Andeen."Instantly, tears flowed down Mrs. Andeen's cheeks, and sobs filled the air. It seemed that the woman didn't know that her daughter had been observing her and her husband all along."How can she say such things?" she cried in anguish. "I have tried to appear fine in front of my daughter. I have always told her to stay in her room with earphones or play outside with her friends. But—""It's possible that your daughter has seen and heard your arguments and your injuries." Vera glanced at the bruises on Mrs. Andeen's wrists and neck."Oh, my poor daughter! Oh, dear God..
