Chapter 7

Jason was Adrian's childhood friend. He was also almost like a half-brother to me.

He'd lived abroad with his parents for most of his life, but his grandparents lived next door to us. So, during the summer and winter breaks, I would tag along behind Adrian and Jason, running around aimlessly.

Later, after his grandparents' passing, Jason rarely had the chance to return anymore. Still, we always stayed in touch.

If he hadn't been there when my family hit rock bottom, I would probably have been rotting in jail with Adrian.

Back then, Price Corporation had been caught in the eye of the storm. The company's deputy CFO, Oran, accused Dad of embezzling investment funds for personal use. He even directed the staff members from the finance department to falsify invoices to cover up his whole scheme.

Then, after Dad jumped to his death, Oran provided ledgers and bank statements that successfully landed Adrian in jail.

Nobody had seen Oran since Sean acquired Price Corporation at a dirt-cheap price.

Eventually, I managed to stealthily obtain the bank account number from Sean—the one that was used four years ago to transfer an enormous sum under a private name.

I'd sent that to Jason, knowing he would definitely be able to track it down for me. I just hadn't expected it to happen so fast.

I couldn't quite put what this moment felt like into words. I'd always known that this day would come sooner or later.

I let out a long sigh, feeling slightly lightheaded.

"Getting him to talk won't be hard," Jason continued. "The rest will fall into place easily enough."

I remained silent.

I felt a bit sluggish after taking the medication, so I simply listened quietly as Jason spoke. When he was done talking, the room fell so silent that I could hear my own faint breathing.

"Are you in a bad mood?" he asked.

Jason had always been intensely perceptive. He never failed to notice the negative emotions I wasn't even aware of myself.

"Of course not! I'm so happy I'm practically floating," I said, choosing to play dumb.

Jason chuckled softly. I couldn't tell whether he believed me or not. I changed the subject and chatted with him casually for a moment. Then, just as I was prepared to hang up, he suddenly spoke again.

"Cassie."

Only he called me that now.

I stared at the TV, suddenly recalling the time Jason had first heard Adrian call me "Cassie". We were kids then.

The first time Jason himself called me "Cassie", his smile was strikingly beautiful. He then turned to Adrian and asked, "What's your nickname, then? Addie?"

I burst out laughing back then, unable to help myself.

Now, I managed to snap back to my senses and replied with a simple, "Hm?"

Jason's voice was hoarse, his tone drawn out. He enunciated his words softly when he spoke. In that instant, all I could picture was him when he was a teenager, the way he used to look at me with those warm yet focused eyes.

"Wait for me. I'm coming back."

Lately, I'd been sleeping a lot more. I was always groggy and listless. Jason didn't tell me what time he would arrive, only the day when he was returning. All he said was to wait for him at home, so that was exactly what I did.

Except, I overslept, and by the time I woke up, night had long fallen. I gave him a call. Only when I heard that his phone was still off did I finally relax.

I got up and headed out to grab some dinner.

I wasn't watching my step, so I almost tripped over someone curled up on the sidewalk when I walked past the corner shop.

A curse made its way to the tip of my tongue, but I forced myself to swallow it when I met the person's tear-filled eyes.

Coincidentally, I happened to know her. It was Jessica Bird, the assistant who was interning at Sean's office.

We stood there as the wind howled, staring at each other in the dark.

Jessica looked as though she'd just been crying. She looked at me with wide eyes and sniffled.

To be entirely honest, I didn't want to get involved in whatever this was. However, as she blinked, tears rolled down her cheeks.

I sighed. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

Just like that, she burst into tears again, looking utterly miserable. "No, I'm not! Something terrible has happened!" she wailed.