Vincent's words had shocked both Terrence and Yannis as well.Yannis raised her head and looked at Vincent with nothing but gratitude.She couldn't believe that he was helping her now even though she had hated him for being a murderer who committed patricide."Sincerity, you say?" Austin snorted as he pointed at his gauze-wrapped body. "I'm only still alive right now because I got lucky. I would've been six feet under otherwise!"Both Terrence and Yannis were frightened by Austin's words.Vincent's face turned red as he replied, "You—"Austin immediately interrupted him. "Or are you implying that my life is only worth a billion dollars?"Terrence's expression sank as he knew that a billion dollars was truly not enough to buy Austin's forgiveness.It wasn't a joke when people said that the Campbells held all the wealth in the world.The chances for any heir of the Campbell family to inherit the position of head could be low, but it was still a very formidable title on its own.
Vincent's speech had made Yannis' heart flutter, and it had also rendered Terrence utterly speechless.Austin narrowed his eyes as his gaze pierced through Vincent. "Vincent, do you still think of me as your friend?"The room felt as if it had frozen over."Of course I do, Austin. But I'm starting to think that you're the one who's no longer regarding me as your friend!" Vincent's expression turned fierce as he continued, "The Clarks have shown you more than enough sincerity right here. If you're so coldhearted that you wouldn't forgive them after all of this, at least forgive Yannis for my sake!"He then pointed at the fruit knife placed on the table before Austin could even reply.It was the knife Cecily had just used to peel the apples."If you want more… Why don't you stab me with that knife? Would that finally make it even?""Vincent!" shouted Yannis through tears. She was utterly frightened.The room fell deathly quiet as everyone was too shocked to respond.Compared t
Vincent put away his phone and headed inside the house.Dahlia was still oblivious about what happened as everyone helped Austin cover up the truth.She looked extremely worried as she immediately ran up to Austin. "You must be tired after staying at your office for work for so long… I get that work is important, but your health should be even more of a priority!"Austin smiled and pretended that nothing unusual had happened. "I'm fine, Mom. It's nothing, really."Dahlia wholeheartedly believed that Austin had not been coming home because he was simply too busy with work. "Go and take a rest, dear. Raquel and I will call for you when dinner's ready."Now that Austin had finally come home, she wanted him to rest up as soon as possible.Austin smiled as he watched his mother head toward the kitchen before he went upstairs.As he took a step on the stairs, Dahlia's voice could be heard once more. "Cecily? You must be tired too. You should head upstairs to stay with Austin as well."
Mutual respect was key to forming and maintaining a great relationship.Cecily soon felt sleepy under Austin's gentle caressing.She nestled into his arms like a cat as she gradually fell asleep.The sky had already turned dark by the time they woke up.Cecily opened her eyes and was shocked to find Austin staring at her. "You've been awake?""Yeah," replied Austin.Cecily frowned and replied, "Why didn't you wake me up? It must've been uncomfortable for your arm, right?""What are you talking about? Watching their wife sleep peacefully in their arms is every man's dream."Austin paused for a moment before continuing. "You must've been tired. You've been keeping me company in the hospital, and you barely got any sleep yourself. I didn't want to wake you up."During their time at the hospital, Raquel had been looking after Dahlia while trying to hide the truth from her.While Cecily and Ezra took turns to look after Austin in the hospital.Vincent was busy with his… antics an
Another loud bang came through the phone, and the call was interrupted.Austin's expression sank.He realized that Vincent must be referring to someone they both knew if he was calling his pursuers "them"."What happened, sir?" asked Ezra."Vincent is in danger." Austin then turned to Dahlia, Cecily, and Raquel. "I'm sorry, but I need Mr. Lockwood to head outside with me for a bit."Their expressions similarly sank while Ezra stood up from the dinner table.Cecily wanted to say something, but Dahlia quickly held her back by pressing on her shoulders.Dahlia then turned to Austin and Ezra and warned him. "Be careful."Austin gave a reassuring look at Cecily and then nodded at Dahlia.Dahlia waited until both Austin and Ezra had left before she turned to Cecily to explain her actions."I know that you're worried about Austin, but you need to understand that to become the head of the Campbells was a matter of survival of the fittest. Only one may reign as the winner, and someone
"Where is he now?" asked Austin.Yannis crumpled into a ball at the back of the car as she continued to cry. "I—I don't know! All I heard was about how they wanted to bury Vincent!" Austin frowned and his mind went into overdrive upon the mention of burying.He suddenly thought of a certain place. "Mr. Lockwood, we need to go to Nirvana Cemetery.""Are you sure that's the place, sir?""The cemetery's gotta be the only place they could bury someone. Besides, Vincent was one of the Redmonts themselves. I believe that they would at the very least not be burying their own flesh and blood in some random dishonorable hole."Ezra hesitated for a while before turning the steering wheel to head toward Nirvana Cemetery.He also contacted some informants to acquire surveillance footage around the area of the cemetery just in case.The car was dead silent throughout the ride.Yannis was visibly traumatized as she continued to curl herself into a ball at the back of the car.She tried he
Flocks of crows circled around the night sky. Their screams sounded as if the bells of death had been rung.Flashes of light could be seen in the forest near the cemetery where Vincent was tied to a big tree.His clothes were already in tatters, and his entire body was covered in blood.Two pairs of iron wires were nailed to the tree trunk above his head.It had passed through Vincent's shoulder blades, and the sharp hooks mottled with bits of flesh and splashes of blood were shining under the light.Vincent's body was twitching uncontrollably under the severe pain.His face had turned pale over his gradual loss of blood.The only sound he could make now were whimpers from the pain.His eyes, however, were still very much alive and burning with hatred.The sound of shovels digging into the ground could be heard nearby.Vincent could see silhouettes swinging the shovels somewhere in the forest.Suddenly, the man in front of him swung his blade onto his shoulders.Flesh and m
Sean stood up and pulled out his sword from the tree.Another swing placed a wound onto Vincent's left shoulder, and blood began to spray out.Vincent was determined to only let out a small, quiet whimper.The air was filled with the stench of blood.Even the dirt underneath Vincent had already turned muddy from his blood.The severe pain causing him to tremble uncontrollably was driving him crazy.And yet, the intense hatred gleaming in his eyes was still as bright as the stars."The head himself ordered 20 cuts before burying you… We have six more to go!"Sean sounded as cold as ever even though his right hand holding onto the sword was slightly trembling.He had gone through plenty of arduous experiences in life as a member of the Redmonts.But when Sean looked straight into Vincent's eyes, he still somehow felt fear and uneasiness. "I've already done you a favor and left the girl alone… Why do you still seem to hate me so much?"Vincent replied, "That's just… Because you