"On the contrary, I think you're here to end my life. Still, the fact that you've said so much to me proves that I'm wrong—you're not here to kill me, which means Darius needs something from me. That's why he hasn't given the order to kill me … yet. Of course, there's also the possibility of being genuinely kind and wanting to give me another chance," Winston said.Edward raised an eyebrow and scoffed, shaking his head as he said, "I've always thought you were smart; I even considered you a rival of equal standing. Now, I see that I was too naive. You don't deserve to be my equal!" His tone was matter-of-fact. It was as if he were only stating the truth.This got on Winston's nerves. He ignored the pain and shot to his feet as he stared at Edward in disbelief. Though he didn't say a word, Edward could tell what he was thinking—Edward wasn't there to end his life or force him to side with Darius. There was nothing Edward wanted for him, or rather, they could easily get whatever they wa
"You almost swore your allegiance to Mr. Reid, so you should understand what he's like. He may be kind, but those who betrayed him or did anything to cross his morals met terrible ends. I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about that for you to understand what you're up against." Edward didn't slow as he spoke. Winston clutched his chest, looking pained as he tried to keep up. Neither of them looked happy—Edward was impatient because he'd only intended to spend three minutes retrieving Winston from the basement and bringing him to Darius. Six minutes had passed, and they'd only just stepped out of the basement. To make things worse, Winston kept mumbling useless things behind him, making him feel like his patience was running out.On the other hand, Winston didn't look so good because he was in pain from his injury, and he could sense Edward's irritation. Everything he'd experienced from the night before up until this point made him realize something—Darius was more powerful than
"My injury hurts, and I didn't manage to get any rest in that dark basement. The more I thought about this, the angrier I got, and it just exploded when I saw you. That's why I had such an outburst."Darius raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Since you're here, tell us about yourself and the Evans family. I want to hear the whole story from the beginning, not mere excerpts like you've already given me. It's best if you start from your school days and work up to the present. You should know that my patience is limited, so your attitude determines your end. You might not be aware of this, but those bodyguards who were secretly loyal to other members of the Reid family are all dead. They died this morning, and I'm sure that's not something you would want to happen to yourself. At least, that's what I would think. I don't know what you think of this—those bodyguards were loyal to a fault; they just weren't loyal to me. No matter what I said or did, they refused to declare their loyalty to me.
"—Your account is problematic. Are you saying Ursula is unaware you already know the truth behind your father's death?"Winston nodded, tearing up from how emotional he felt while the whites of his eyes turned red from rage. "Yeah, she doesn't know. Apart from you guys and myself, no one in this world knows that I'm aware of the reason behind my dad's death. Therefore, I hope that you guys won't tell another soul about what I've just revealed to you. After all, those include many of my secrets."Darius cocked a brow but ultimately nodded at the former. "Okay. You may proceed.""So, I remained with the Evans family throughout my relationship with Ursula. By then, Bennett couldn't make me leave their family, so he approached me alone. He told me if I wanted to stay and avenge my father, the only thing I could do was leave his daughter. In theory, I couldn't remain with them if Ursula and I stopped dating. The only possibility was if I became a member of the Evans family's household staf
"My mom had always been distant from the Evans family while growing up, so she wasn't as cunning or untrusting toward others as the Evans family; she didn't think twice before refuting Ursula's claims. Mom was an anxious mess and nearly fell for Ursula's lies but ultimately didn't believe the latter. She told Ursula the latter couldn't have dated me because I had a fiancée, whom I loved dearly. Once Ursula learned that, she turned to all her social connections, and used every idea she could think of, to track down and kill my fiancée. Ursula even painted my fiancée's death to be a tragedy! Among everything Ursula did, that was the one thing I couldn't stand the most. Eventually, the authorities concluded that my fiancée had been having an affair for a long time behind my back. They claimed the other guy found out about me and killed my fiancée in a jealous fit—but I know my fiancée; she's a virtuous woman who would never do such a thing!" After saying that, Winston squeezed his eyes
"—because I don't believe that someone this capable and fearless would use turn to such an immature way of assassinating me."Upon hearing that question, Edward sighed, raised his brow anxiously at Darius, and replied, "Sir, I've heard some things about Morrison. He's renowned for being a controversial Reid family member, who often finds loopholes around the rules. Anyone he targets—no matter how much they beg or resist—will end up miserably. From what I recall, you two have never crossed paths."A contemplative frown marred Darius' face, but he was more calm than nervous. He lounged further into his seat before spreading his lips into a grin. He then turned, moved his feet off the bed, and sat with his legs crossed the floor. Then, he rested his palms on his knees. Keeping his arms straight, he exerted force to support his body in sitting upright. At that moment, Darius' expression resembled calm waters."Relax. You don't have to feel so nervous. It's an unnecessary emotion under th
Winston sighed deeply, then sat on the ground before Darius. He mimicked Darius in sitting cross-legged and resting his hands on his knees. While furrowing his brows, he spoke with a helpless sigh. "But I've already told you the truth about that night; your family contacted me first. You just refuse to believe it because you hadn't reunited with the family at the time. I can't tell which member of the Reid family approached me because it's been so long, and I dare not guarantee they're still alive. You might not know this, but your family members die relatively faster than others. Although their deaths are due to various illnesses, I still get this ominous feeling whenever I think about it. By the way, this isn't a secret; almost every trained professional and person in the wealthier social circles knows about it. Thus, I have no reason to hide this from you."He held Darius's gaze, his eyes filling with the utmost seriousness as he exclaimed, "I swear to God that everything I've sai
"—I think that man went too far." By then, Winston's voice bubbled with rage.Bridget happened to hear that when she arrived outside Darius' door. She instinctively raised her fists ahead, ready to break down the door and enter. However, she ultimately listened to her head and stopped herself. Now, only one of Bridget's fists reached out to knock against the door hard. It took several knocks before Darius' voice rang out. "Come in."Bridget opened the door without hesitation. After placing both hands behind her back, she stood at the doorway to announce, "Sir, I heard someone discussing me in the room earlier."Her brows gathered with displeasure.Seeing that, Darius quirked a brow, then exerted strength through his arms to turn his body in the other direction. He soon faced Winston and jutted his chin at the latter. "This man was the one chatting about you; this man finds you very attractive and would like to make your acquaintance. Likewise, he highly approves of your aggression