Chapter 631
The next day, Charles had just arrived at the office when several cleaners stopped him.
“Mr. Lane!”
“What’s wrong?” Charles asked, halting in his footsteps.
Noticing the tools in her hands, he couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Aren’t you guys done with the
cleaning? It’s late.”
“The boss is in there. We don’t have the guts to head in.”
“He’s in there?” Charles asked in disbelief.
A situation like this had been all too common when they had been back in Sarcozia.
But it had been a rare occurrence after Kirk had married Caroline. The only exception was when
everybody had to work overtime.
“Yeah. I heard from the guards that he returned here alone last night and stayed the night,”
explained the cleaner.
“What’s more, it seems like he injured his face.”
Charles‘ heart leaped into his throat. Did Kirk and Caroline get into a fight again?
Charles gingerly opened the door and saw Kirk lying on the couch with his eyes closed.
He squinted to see more clearly and noticed several cuts and bruises on Kirk’s face. It surely didn’t
seem like those were from a woman.
“Get out!” Kirk snapped. His sudden outburst gave Charles quite a fright.
Still, Charles uttered, “Sir… Are you okay?”
Kirk stood up and stared coolly at Charles, which made the latter shudder.
Charles had no idea why Kirk was so mad at him all of a sudden, but then he recalled what had
happened to Caroline lately.
After pondering for a moment, he asked,” Is it because of the madam? Don’t worry, she’s an optimistic person, so she’ll definitely be able to-”
The look Kirk gave him was so piercing that he didn’t finish his sentence.
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Hastily, he hurried out of the office to call Sean. At a crucial moment like this, it was best to turn
to Sean for help.
Sean, too, found it strange that Kirk was injured. He grabbed his medical kit and made his way to
SY Group’s branch office.
When Sean arrived, Kirk glanced sideways at Charles, who pretended not to notice his gaze. Sean
also acted as if he didn’t see the look of resistance in Kirk’s eyes.
After asking Charles to leave, he took out a bottle of iodine and some gauze and got to work with a
frown on his face.
“How did you get hurt?” Sean asked, yet Kirk pursed his lips in silence.
Since Kirk wouldn’t talk, Sean was left with no choice but to bring Caroline into the picture. “I
heard that you slept here last night. It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me about it, but what about
Caroline then?
“You didn’t tell her that you stayed the night here, right?”
He continued, “She must be worried sick. I’m sure you’re more aware of this than I am.”
Eventually, Kirk raised his eyes to stare at Sean. A moment later, he said, “I beat Eddy up last
night.”
His answer was so ludicrous that Sean let out a bark of laughter. “You’ve finally taken it out on
him, huh? What happened afterward? Is he hospitalized?”
Kirk’s gaze remained as cool as ever. It was obvious that he was in no mood to share the joke, so Sean put on a serious face and asked, “Why did you two fight?”
Closing his eyes, Kirk said, “Before Uncle Jude died, he said that his biggest regret was not being
able to see Eddy and Caroline together.”
“He’s making your life difficult!” exclaimed Sean. His expression changed instantly after hearing
what Kirk said.
“Caroline thought that she was the reason for his death! Don’t tell me that …”
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“Don’t tell me that she promised Eddy to divorce you so that she can marry him! Sean snapped his eyes up to look at Kirk, who still had his eyes closed.
“No. She told me that she would stay with me no matter what I don’t think she’s thinking of leaving me.”
“What are you worrying about then?” asked Sean.
Everything was fine as long as Caroline didn’t make a reckless decision regarding this.
Sitting up from the couch, Kirk stared directly into Sean’s eyes.
“Do you think she’ll feel okay after what has happened?” Kirk’s voice was so icy that it rendered Sean speechless.
Indeed, as long as Caroline wasn’t rid of that thorn in her side, she could never feel at ease, even if
she stayed by Kirk’s side.
“I’ve contacted some psychologists in Macldo. They’ll arrive soon.” Sean couldn’t utter any words.
of comfort. All he could do was ask the team of psychologists to come here as soon as possible.
“Thanks,” said Kirk.
“No worries. We’re bros, after all,” said Sean as he helped Kirk bandage the wound.
“Have you decided what you’re going to tell Caroline when you go back?” asked Sean.
“You can’t just show up injured like this without an explanation.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll head outside then.” Sean took one last glance at Kirk before leaving the room.
Before leaving the office, he warned Charles not to piss Kirk off for the time being.
Charles couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Did he get into a fight with the madam?”
“No. It’s worse than getting into a fight with her,” Sean told him.
“Just be extra careful this time.”
Sean left right after that, leaving Charles standing puzzled and clueless.
After calming down, Kirk composed himself and dialed Caroline’s number.
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She answered the call almost immediately. “Kirk, why didn’t you answer my calls?”
She had called him several times after she had woken up and found that he wasn’t at home with her. He hadn’t answered any of her calls, so she had sent him a text as well.
However, he hadn’t called her or texted her back, even in the afternoon. She had then decided to
go to the Morrisons‘ house to see for herself.
Coincidentally, Kirk had called her just as she had started the car engine.
“Sorry, darling,” he said. He lowered his voice when he spoke, but she could sense the exhaustion
in it.
“I just got off the plane.”
Caroline’s heart leaped into her throat. “Are you out on a business trip? Didn’t you say that it was
nothing serious?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s not a big deal,” he said.
“But I need two to three days to settle things here, so I can’t stay with you at home for some time.”
“No worries.” Caroline comforted him.
“You must be tired. Why don’t you resign?”
“If you think that you’ll get bored later, you can come to Evans Group,” she suggested.
“I don’t feel like working these days, anyway.”
“Darling…” Kirk’s voice trailed off.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re so sweet that you make me want to kiss you.”
Caroline’s face flushed red. “You bastard! I was being serious!”
“Me too. Gimme a kiss, and I’ll recover all my strength right away,” said Kirk.
“Come on, gimme a kiss, darling.”
Caroline sighed. He really left her with no choice. Eventually, she gave him a smooch. “Happy
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“I feel as if I had just had a good, long nap.” Kirk hummed.
“Darling, you’re my savior, my superwoman.”
“Nonsense.” Caroline wanted to roll her eyes at him. Just as she was about to nag him for something, a notification popped up, telling her that Gwen had just sent her a voice message.
“I’m going to hang up. Gwen has something to tell me,” she told Kirk.
“Remember to tell me right away if something’s up, alright? I called you, but you didn’t answer.
Don’t let this happen again.”
“Okay,” replied Kirk. His grip on his phone tightened as if he were holding Caroline’s hand instead
of his phone.
Chapter 633
After hanging up, Caroline played Gwen’s super long voice message.
It started with Gwen guffawing. “Carol, do you know who I bumped into when I went to visit my mom at the hospital just now? I met Eddy!”
“He’s wrapped in bandages like a mummy!” she exclaimed
“The doctors and nurses said that one of the elders in the Morrison family beat him up!”
“This is karma at its best!”
Gwen laughed and added, “Just who was the person who did this to him?”
Caroline didn’t respond. She just listened quietly to Gwen.
Perhaps it was because Jude had taken a bullet for her that she didn’t find any of this funny. Although she disliked Eddy and his family, he was Jude’s grandson.
Gwen abruptly noticed that Caroline’s status remained “typing for quite some time.
Gingerly, she messaged Caroline again. “Carol, I shouldn’t have said that, right?”
When Caroline saw the message, she froze momentarily before smiling wryly at the screen to
reply. “Nope. It’s my problem.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I was the reason Grandpa died. Logically speaking, I should hate Eddy to the bone for all the
awful things he had done in the past.
“After Grandpa saved me, I’m grateful for what he did for me, but I still hate Eddy somehow.
“I don’t know how to face Eddy or the Morrisons because of these mixed feelings.”
Gwen tried to put herself in Caroline’s shoes but found it very difficult to deal with. So she replied, “Let’s not think about it for now. We’ll leave it for tomorrow.”
Her message made Caroline smile. Gwen was right. Some things were better left for tomorrow.
Jude said his greatest regret was not being able to see Caroline and Eddy together, but she didn’t have to put much thought into it for now, at least until after Jude’s funeral.
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“Wanna go shopping?” Gwen was afraid that Caroline would overthink things if she were alone at
home
“Don’t you have to go to work today?”
“Nope. How about we ask Kirk to come along with us? That way, we won’t have to carry the bags
later.” Gwen started preparing a letter of leave soon after sending the message.
Caroline smiled again. “Alas, he just went on a business trip today.”
“For real? Fine, I’ll be the slave to cany your bags then.” Gwen protruded her lower lip in a pout as
she sent the message.
“Why don’t we take Sean along?” Caroline suggested.
“Nah. How could I let him suffer?”
“Are you sure? Maybe he would be happy to do it.”
“I won’t call him no matter what,” Gwen was adamant.
Caroline got the hint right away and replied, “I’ll call him then ”
Then, she called Sean, who was on his way back to his apartment. A chill ran down his spine
when he saw that Caroline was calling him. His finger subconsciously hovered over the “reject”
button.
After a moment, though, he answered the call. “Hey, Caroline,” he said.
He held his breath, ready to recite the script that he had prepared beforehand in case she called.
“Gwen and I are going shopping,” Caroline told him.
“Do you want to come along with us?”
Startled, Sean fell silent. He had assumed that she was calling to ask him about Kirk.
As the smartest guy in his social circle, Sean immediately assumed that Kirk had succeeded in
settling the issue and explaining himself to Caroline.
“Sure.” Sean heartily accepted her invitation. He would agree to go shopping with them as long as
she didn’t ask him about Kirk.
Besides, Caroline said that Gwen was going shopping with her. So he had no reason to refuse.
Chapter 634
“Okay. Let’s meet at Mayflower Square then?” asked Caroline.
“Alright,” Sean replied. “I’ll head there right away.”
Now that Sean had agreed to it, Caroline got ready to head out.
Edith noticed this and asked, “Madam, where are you going?”
“Shopping.”
“Where?”
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The question made Caroline frown a little. “Mayflower Square. What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing,” said Edith.
“I just wanted to know if I could tag along.”
The suspicion in Caroline’s eyes vanished upon hearing that. “Where do you want to go? I can take
you along with me.”
“Never mind. We’re not headed in the same direction,” Edith said.
“I’ll take the bus there.”
“Okay then. Take care. I’m leaving.”
“You too, madam.” After seeing Caroline off, Edith hurried to message Kirk and inform him of
Caroline’s whereabouts.
After Caroline picked up Gwen, they both headed straight to Mayflower Square. On the way,
though, they got stuck in a traffic jam.
“You must be kidding me!” Gwen exclaimed as she poked her head out of the window.
“It’s not even the peak hour yet. Why is there a jam?”
The owner of the car next to theirs also poked his head out of the window. He heard what Gwen
had said and said, “Apparently there’s an accident up ahead. I’m not sure if it’s true, though.”
After getting an answer, Gwen sat back down in her seat and told Caroline, “The line is too long.
We can’t get to the mall anytime soon. Should we take another path?”
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Caroline then launched a navigation platform on her phone to change routes. “We’ll have to take a
detour then ”
“Will do Otherwise, all we can do is wait”
“Okay”
Caroline accepted the idea and said, “You should call Sean and tell him that we’re going to be late.
He’s probably already there.”
Gwen wanted to protest but noticed that Caroline was already putting the car in reverse. In the
end, she relented and dialed Sean’s number.
It didn’t take long for her call to be answered. Sean couldn’t hide the exuberance in his voice when
he spoke “Where are you two?”
“We’re still on our way.” Gwen tried her best to calm down her racing heart as she spoke.
“There’s a terrible jam here, so we’re taking another route there. It’ll take us about an hour or so to
reach Mayflower Square.
“No worries,” Sean said.
“I’ll wait.” His tone was gentle, and there wasn’t the slightest hint of annoyance in it.
“I never asked you to “Gwen murmured to herself and hung up to see a smiling Caroline.
“Gwen, I had never realized that you’re this stubborn.”
“I-” Gwen started. She wanted to explain herself, but to no avail. In the end, she chose to change
the topic.
“Where’s Kirk?” she asked, Kirk knew fairly well that Caroline’s mood wasn’t the best these days,
yet he had gone on a business trip and left her alone.
Gwen thought what he did was nothing but mean. Before this, she had even thought that he was a
thoughtful person.
“Didn’t I tell you that he went on a business trip?” said Caroline.
“What’s so important that he has to leave at such a time?” Gwen seethed.
Amused, Caroline laughed. She thought that the business trip came just in time, though. Kirk had
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A
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He had stayed with her at home for those two days. She wasn’t so bold as to claim that she had
fully recovered from that incident.
But it would have started to weigh on her heart if Kirk had continued accompanying her. She
would have started thinking of herself as trash.
A couple of minutes later, Caroline turned a fork in the road, and they chatted away.
All of a sudden, Gwen’s eyes turned as wide as saucers as she saw Kirk walking out of a building.
Chapter 635
Gwen tried to stop herself from giving it away, but Caroline still noticed that something was wrong with her.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking?” Caroline asked and turned to follow Gwen’s gaze.
Gwen thought of raising her hands to block Caroline’s view, but it was all too late. The latter’s foot hit the brakes, causing the car to come to an abrupt halt.
“Carol,” said Gwen as she looked at Caroline’s startled expression.
“Don’t get mad yet. Maybe he has his reasons for doing this.” She turned to look in Kirk’s direction.
once again, but he had gotten into a car.
“Let’s tail him and see where he’s headed. We shouldn’t let history repeat itself and
misunderstand him again,” Gwen pouted all while tugging at Caroline’s sleeve.
For a moment, Caroline pursed her lips in silence. “No matter what he does later on, I’ll beat him
up when we catch him red–handed, and you can’t stop me by then!”
“I won’t! I won’t!” Gwen said in haste, worried about Caroline’s condition.
“Let me drive.”
Without a second to waste, Caroline tossed Gwen the car keys and climbed into the backseat.
Gwen stole a glance at Caroline while climbing into the driver’s seat, unsure of what to say. She
revved the engine, and the two of them started their mission of tailing Kirk.
Kirk’s car headed south all the time. It became apparent that he was heading for the suburbs.
As the women followed his car from behind, Gwen tried to reassure Caroline. “I’m sure he won’t
mess around, so just relax.”
Caroline remained silent all the while, so Gwen said, “It’s too quiet in here. Let me play a song.
Yet Caroline stayed quiet. Then, Gwen scrolled through her song list and randomly played one of
the songs. She didn’t expect the song she clicked to be titled “Happy Breakup.”
Silently, Gwen cursed at her phone. She didn’t forget to curse at Kirk, too. Did he have such an
awful memory that he couldn’t learn from the past?
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Chapter 635
Gwen tried to stop herself from giving it away, but Caroline still noticed that something was wrong with her.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking?” Caroline asked and turned to follow Gwen’s gaze.
Gwen thought of raising her hands to block Caroline’s view, but it was all too late. The latter’s foot hit the brakes, causing the car to come to an abrupt halt.
“Carol,” said Gwen as she looked at Caroline’s startled expression.
“Don’t get mad yet. Maybe he has his reasons for doing this.” She turned to look in Kirk’s direction once again, but he had gotten into a car.
“Let’s tail him and see where he’s headed. We shouldn’t let history repeat itself and
misunderstand him again,” Gwen pouted all while tugging at Caroline’s sleeve.
For a moment, Caroline pursed her lips in silence. “No matter what he does later on, I’ll beat him
up when we catch him red–handed, and you can’t stop me by then!”
“I won’t! I won’t!” Gwen said in haste, worried about Caroline’s condition.
“Let me drive.”
Without a second to waste, Caroline tossed Gwen the car keys and climbed into the backseat.
Gwen stole a glance at Caroline while climbing into the driver’s seat, unsure of what to say. She
revved the engine, and the two of them started their mission of tailing Kirk.
Kirk’s car headed south all the time. It became apparent that he was heading for the suburbs.
As the women followed his car from behind, Gwen tried to reassure Caroline. “I’m sure he won’t
mess around, so just relax.”
Caroline remained silent all the while, so Gwen said, “It’s too quiet in here. Let me play a song.
Yet Caroline stayed quiet. Then, Gwen scrolled through her song list and randomly played one of
the songs. She didn’t expect the song she clicked to be titled “Happy Breakup.”
Silently, Gwen cursed at her phone. She didn’t forget to curse at Kirk, too. Did he have such an
awful memory that he couldn’t learn from the past?
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Caroline had just forgiven him a couple of days ago. Yet now he was lying to her again. How
atrocious!
Just then, Gwen’s phone started ringing. She glanced at the screen and realized Sean was calling
her.
The car stopped at the red light just in time for her to answer the phone. “What is it?” Gwen’s tone was foul when she spoke.
Poor Sean was clueless as to what he did to make her angry, but he still adopted a gentle tone when he spoke. “Where are you? It’s been an hour and a half already.”
Gwen gritted her teeth and barked a laugh. “Just wait, will you?”
She hung up right after that, leaving a puzzled Sean wondering what had gone wrong. He tried to
call Caroline, but she didn’t answer.
It wasn’t Caroline’s intention to miss his call, but rather, she was so deep in thought that she
didn’t notice him calling.
Her attention was focused solely on the car in front of her. It had never crossed her mind that Kirk
would lie to her yet again!
So this was the reason he had acted so strangely on the other end of the line. He had never gone
on a business trip!
Caroline took several deep breaths to keep her tears at bay.
“Carol-” Gwen turned to glance at her.
“Kirk’s car entered the residential area ahead. Should we go in or just wait right here?”
Caroline snapped back into reality and said, “Let’s head in.” All she wanted to do right now was
find out why he had lied to her.
Hearing that, Gwen stared at Caroline with eyes full of worry, but the latter had already gotten out
of the car. Left with no other choice, Gwen rushed after Caroline.
All this time, Sean had a sinking feeling that something had gone wrong. He couldn’t contact
Caroline even though he had called her many times.
After giving it some thought, he decided it was best to call Kirk.
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Chapter 636
“Kirk, where are you now?” Sean asked
Stopping in his tracks, Kirk glanced up at the building before him and said in a lowered voice,
The old villa.”
The word “villa” was all it took for Sean to know exactly where Kirk was.
It was the place Kirk had purchased right after coming back to Easton to settle the urgent matter
regarding Caroline.
After being captured, Howard had also been sent to the old villa. Hence, Kirk had probably gone
back there to see Howard.
Figuring this out, Sean quickly told him, “Don’t go and see Howard. Caroline, Gwen, and I were
supposed to meet at Mayflower Square, but she changed routes on her way here.”
Sean continued, “She isn’t here yet. I’m afraid that something happened to her.”
“What?” Kirk already had a hand on the doorknob, but he turned around right after hearing Sean’s
words.
He was about to tell Sean something when he heard the guard’s voice.
“Missus, I’ve told you that this is an old residential area,” said the guard.
“No one comes here.”
“No way! I just saw my friend’s husband walk in there.” The voice belonged to a woman, and Kirk
recognized it right away. It was Gwen.
His heart leaped into his mouth when he heard her voice. Hastily, he opened the door and slipped
into the villa.
The voices became louder, as if Gwen and the guard were getting closer to the door.
“Try to remember. He was just in front of us.” Gwen was relentless.
“We saw him going in there just now.” She pulled at the old guard’s sleeve. Caroline was standing
beside her.
Kirk’s eyes widened at the sight of Caroline, and his heart started thumping erratically.
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Just then, Caroline turned around and looked in his direction. He jumped back from the window,
holding his breath.
He must not let her discover this place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain why he had locked Howard up here.
The voice became softer and softer. However, just when Kirk thought that he could finally heave a sigh of relief, he heard Gwen’s voice once again.
“Huh? This car right here … Do you know which person this car belongs to?”
Slowly and carefully, Kirk peeked out the window, only to realize that the car Gwen was talking
about was the one he had taken here. To make things worse, the chauffeur was still in the car.
When Gwen noticed that the chauffeur was in the vehicle, she darted over to the car at lightning
speed. “Carol-”
Caroline raised her head when she heard Gwen calling out her name, only to see that Gwen had
already dragged the chauffeur out of the car. He was stunned to see Caroline here.
“Answer me, where’s the man who was in your car just now?” Gwen asked in Caroline’s stead.
The chauffeur hesitated. He didn’t speak, but his gaze swept over the landscape behind Caroline.
Although it was a brief and furtive glance, she noticed it. It was as if she was particularly vigilant
and sensitive when it came to anything that was related to Kirk.
She turned to look at the rows of villas. “He’s in one of the villas, right?” She asked, her voice
steely, as she took a few steps forward.
She was on the brink of losing her sanity now. She had played countless scenarios in her mind on
the way here.
Despite the hundreds of possibilities that flashed through her mind just now, one thing was for
sure–she wouldn’t forgive him anymore. It didn’t matter anymore what reason he gave her.
There was no future to look forward to if there were nothing but lies and deception between
husband and wife.
Startled by her outburst, the chauffeur didn’t dare to utter a single word.
Wiping away the tears on her face, Caroline turned and pointed at one of the villas. “Is it this one?”
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Helpless, the chauffeur stared at her in silence. She then pointed at another villa. “Is it this one
then?”
However, he continued to stare at her. Holding her breath, Caroline walked and stopped at the door of the third villa. She put her hand on the doorknob and asked, “This?”
The chauffeur’s eyes darted to look elsewhere, and she opened the door without a second thought.
Chapter 637
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Looking as pale as a sheet, Caroline pushed through the door. That villa right there was…
Ignoring the chauffeur, Caroline swept her eyes around the house. It was an old and unfurnished
villa. There was dust everywhere. She could even see footsteps on the ground.
The footsteps were clear, so the person they belonged to probably came in here not long ago.
She glanced at the footsteps and thought that the person’s shoe size was similar to Kirk’s
“Carol, is Kirk here?” Gwen asked after entering the villa and seeing the footsteps.
“He probably is.” Caroline took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She then followed
the footsteps forward.
Soon, they saw a basement. Its door was open.
Panic washed over Gwen, and she gripped Caroline’s hand. “Carol, this place gives me the creeps.
It could be dangerous here. We shouldn’t head in.”
Caroline considered the suggestion and said, “You can stay outside. I’ll go in there alone. If I don’t
come back up after half an hour-”
“No way!” Gwen cut her off.
“I’m going in there with you.‘
Caroline was about to say something when they both heard something that sounded like a sob
coming from the basement. It seemed to belong to a human.
Caroline turned around and quickly ran down the steps leading to the basement, with Gwen
following her from behind.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the basement, which was full of dust and as derelict as the
interior of the villa upstairs.
They couldn’t stop coughing when they stepped foot in the basement.
Just then, someone’s astounded voice came from somewhere in the darkness. “Darling? Why are
you here?”
There was the sound of a switch being turned on, and the lights buzzed to life, illuminating the
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Only then could Caroline get a clear view of what was happening before her. Kirk stood by the
switch. Also present was Howard, who sat in a chair with his arms tied up behind him, not far
from Kirk.
“Why is he here?” Caroline was so stunned by the scene that greeted her eyes that she
momentarily forgot that Kirk had lied to her.
Gwen stood and stared at Howard in surprise. Nobody had expected Howard to be here, especially
since the entire world was busy searching for him.
“I don’t have a clue.”
Kirk took out his phone and showed it to Caroline. “Someone messaged me.”
However, Caroline’s focus wasn’t on the message on the screen. Her gaze fell on Kirk’s face, and
she asked, “What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight with someone?”
As she spoke, she approached him to inspect the bruises and cuts on Kirk’s face. He
subconsciously raised his hands to cover them, but she forcefully grabbed his hands to stop him.
“These are just scabs. I’ll be as good as new in no time,” he said.
Still, she continued to inspect his wounds. There were scabs, indeed, and she could see that he
had made an effort to patch himself up.
Regardless, her heart broke for him. “What happened? Did you lie to me again? You told me that
you were out on a business trip last night. If so, how did this happen?”
Gently, Kirk pressed a finger against her lips and shushed her. “Darling, we’ll talk about my face
after we’ve settled the issue here.”
“You’d better give me an explanation later on,” Caroline told him rather helplessly.
“Of course, I will,” said Kirk, and he swore to her that he would do exactly what she had just told
him.
“What happened to him?” She turned her attention to Howard, whose mouth was covered with
duct tape.
He couldn’t say a word and could only sob and whimper. In the state he was in, that was probably
all he could do to get people’s attention.
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“I’m not sure.”
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Kirk passed her his phone. “Someone sent me a message this morning telling me that Howard was here and that I could do whatever I wanted to him.”
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Chapter 638
“I thought it was just a prank. I had nothing to lose anyway, so I came here to see for myself,” said
Kirk
“I didn’t expect to meet you two here. How did you know about this place?”
“Says the perpetrator, Gwen complained.
“Why didn’t you tell Carol that you came here for Howard? Why did you lie by telling her that you were on a business trip?
“You made us think that you’re up to no good again.” Gwen wasn’t pleased.
Hearing this, Kirk turned to Caroline to apologize to her. “Sorry, darling. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you about it. I was just afraid that you would…”
It dawned on Gwen that she had misunderstood Kirk all this time. Howard was the person who had caused Jude’s death, while Caroline had witnessed the entire thing.
She hadn’t even recovered from the trauma that Howard had caused her. So seeing Howard was akin to sending her on a trip down memory lane to the day of Jude’s death.
Gwen regretted her decision terribly. She shouldn’t have brought Caroline here. They shouldn’t
have met Kirk here either.
Noticing the look of guilt on Gwen’s face, Caroline tried to comfort her. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, you
two.”
The harm Howard had done to her was horrible, but Jude’s death was the last straw that deepened
the hatred she had toward him.
She approached him, her eyes boring into his. She wanted to skin him alive so badly.
“I never expected you to live to this day, Howard,” Caroline spat. Her hands balled into fists, but
they did nothing to stop her from trembling with rage.
“If it hadn’t been for the law, you would be dead hundreds of times over.”
She hated him to the bone. Sometimes, she hated him as a person, while sometimes she wished
that she was the one who had taken the bullet.
Howard whimpered incomprehensibly with his eyes locked on Kirk.
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“Your husband is Eddy’s second uncle!” He tried to tell her this, but to no avail. The tape on his
mouth prevented him from making a single coherent sound. He couldn’t tell her the truth.
Gwen didn’t want to stay in the basement any longer. Although Caroline claimed that she was
alright, as her bestie after all these years, Gwen was sure that the former had only said that to
comfort her.
“Carol, let’s get out of here. Kirk will handle the rest.”
Caroline turned to look at Kirk, who said, “Yes, darling. You two should leave for now.”
Still, she couldn’t help but worry for him. “What do you plan to do with him?”
“I’ll hand him over to the people in charge.” Kirk smiled to reassure her.
“You should leave. There’s no ventilation in here. It’s not good for your health.”
Eventually, Caroline nodded. “You should head upstairs as quickly as possible too.”
“Okay,” Kirk said.
Only then did Caroline leave the basement with Gwen.
The chauffeur, who was waiting outside, sighed in relief when he saw the two women leaving the
villa in a calm manner. Apparently, things were fine.
After getting into the car, Gwen fell silent for a moment before glancing at Caroline. “Carol, stop
looking out the window. Are you afraid that Kirk will beat Howard up?” Gwen laughed.
Caroline kept glancing out the window from time to time. She nodded after hearing what Gwen
had said. Indeed, she was worried about this. After all …
Noticing this, Gwen instantly came up with an idea to divert Caroline’s attention. “Who do you
think sent Kirk the message? Was it Eddy’s second uncle?”
“I don’t think so,” Caroline answered absentmindedly. “If it really had been Eddy’s second uncle, he
wouldn’t have had any reason to keep it a secret. He could just be straightforward with Kirk.”
Gwen pursed her lips in thought. “Who knows? Maybe he has eyes for you.”
Now that got Caroline’s attention. She met Gwen’s eyes and said, “Gwen, that’s nonsense. We’ve
Chapter 639
“You might not have met him,” said Gwen.
“But he might’ve seen you lots of times before. Think about it.”
She counted her fingers and added, “Besides the incident related to Howard last time, he even
helped you with the PR problem during Mr. Morrison Senior’s banquet back then.
“Why would he keep an eye on you if he had no feelings for you?”
Caroline knitted her brows. Gwen’s words made sense. After all, nothing came for free, and no one
would be so kind for no reason at all.
j
“But you shouldn’t worry about it too much.”
Gwen continued, “You’re attending Mr. Morrison Senior’s funeral soon, right? You’ll get to see
Eddy’s second uncle there.
“By then, you can poke around and be discreet when you ask him about it,” said Gwen.
“If we overthink things, you’ll just have to avoid him in the future. If he has eyes for you, though,
you would have to hurry and ask Kirk to resign.”
“I know.” Caroline nodded to show her understanding.
Gwen patted her on the shoulder to reassure her. After that, they didn’t talk about it anymore.
In the basement, Kirk showed no mercy as he harshly pulled the tape off Howard’s face. The older
man screamed in agony.
“Carry on screaming,” Kirk told him. The lights were already switched off.
In the darkness of the room, Kirk plucked out a lighter and flicked the spark wheel over and over. The sound of the sparks was especially clear and crisp.
The ruthlessness in Kirk’s voice made Howard realize that there was nothing he could do to
improve his situation. “Just kill me already!” He yelled.
He had suffered enough after being tortured by Kirk for such a long time. As much as Howard feared death, it would be better just to die and put an end to this suffering once and for all.
With a flick, the flame reappeared at the top of the lighter and vaguely illuminated Kirk’s
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As good–looking as Kirk was, Howard thought his face was no different than a demon’s. Back then, he had heard the foreigners say that no one should ever offend Kirk.
It was said that Kirk had countless ways to torment others. The victims would never know when their suffering would end.
“You seek death, huh? Do you think I’ll grant it to you just because you wished for it? You think too kindly of me.”
Kirk turned to look at Howard with derision in his eyes. “Weren’t you trying to tell Caroline something just now?”
Howard froze, horrified at Kirk’s demeanor. “If you don’t kill me, I’ll tell her that you’re Eddy’s second uncle sooner or later.”
“Sure.” Kirk snickered.
“Now then, let me cut off your tongue.
As he spoke, he produced a knife from God knows where. The steel blade glinted coolly in the flickering light of the lighter’s flame.
Howard was on the verge of wetting his pants when he saw the knife. Still, he tried to be adamant by saying, “I can write with my hand even if you cut my tongue off. I’ll find a way to tell Caroline the truth as long as I live.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Kirk as he flicked the knife in a swift motion in his hand.
“I’ll chop off both your hands before you can even try. I’ll do what I have to, regardless of the means you use to tell her about it.”
Howard was about to lose his sanity. “Since you’re so afraid of letting her discover your identity, you should just kill me. Finish me off to end things once and for all.”
“Death isn’t that simple.”
Kirk straightened his back and approached Howard. Leaning down, he looked into the latter’s eyes and spat, “I want you to live.”
“I want you to see with your own eyes how the business you’ve painstakingly built falls into
Caroline’s hands,” Kirk said.
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At this point. Howard thought all hope was lost
Years ago, the Collins family had managed to become one of the big four families only because they had taken what had been left of the Evans family
Besides, they had played a part in the Evans family’s downfall
Now, though, the tables had turned. The Collins family would face a fate similar to what Howard had done to the Evans family back then
The irony of it all made it extremely hard for him to swallow. To him, it was worse than death itself
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Chapter 640
“Just kill me, will you? Please, Kirk! Just kill me!”
Kirk watched as Howard begged for mercy. He felt as though he were watching a lowlife squirm and wail in agony, and he sneered at Howard.
Just then, they heard the sounds of police sirens coming from outside. Howard’s eyes shone with hope.
“Caroline must’ve called the police,” he said.
“You deserved it! It’s all because you didn’t tell her the truth about your identity. She didn’t know that you were the one who abducted me. So now, the police are here.”
Despite Howard’s taunts, Kirk merely stared down at him as if he were a pathetic person. Slowly, he said, “Those are my men.”
His words shattered Howard’s illusion of hope. Howard’s eyes turned wide in disbelief as he stared at Kirk. How could Kirk do something like this just so Caroline would believe in him?
“Aren’t you… afraid of retri-” Howard coughed up blood.
“No,” came Kirk’s reply.
“You’d better think it through. Will you be good so you can go to a better place after death, or will you wait for 20 more years until you can reunite with your daughter and wife?”
“You-” Howard started, but Kirk had already turned away and left the basement.
Kirk met several men at the door of the villa. They looked at him with reverence.
Glancing straight ahead at the car parked just outside, Kirk lowered his voice and spoke to them.
Caroline sat in the car, watching the men who were gathered at the door.
“Hurry. She’s just outside,” Kirk told them.
The men all wore stern expressions and immediately strode into the villa. Meanwhile, Kirk
approached Caroline.
He hadn’t even gotten near the car when she got out of it. She heaved a sigh of relief to see that he
hadn’t sustained any new wounds.
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“What’s going on in there?” she asked.
Kirk glanced back at the villa and said, “Let the cops settle it.”
“He caused Grandpa’s death. They won’t let him get off the hook.”
“Yes.” Kirk pulled her into his arms, his cool hands finally regaining their warmth.
“Hey, can you two stop being all lovey–dovey here?” Gwen wasn’t pleased.
“Go back home to show off if you want to.”
Caroline and Kirk stared at each other, laughed, and got into the car.
Later, Gwen suddenly remembered that Sean was still waiting for them. “Oh shoot! I forgot to tell Sean that we aren’t going to Mayflower Square anymore.”
“Hurry and give him a call then.” Caroline laughed and turned to look at Kirk. She held his hand in hers and rested her head against his chest.
“Okay.” Gwen heartily agreed to it. After all, she was at fault here.
As she called Sean to explain their situation to him, Caroline looked up at Kirk and said, “I have to head over to Morrison Manor to help them with the funeral soon. You take care, alright?”
“Can you refuse to go?” said Kirk, and he planted a kiss on her cheek.
Caroline shook her head. “My conscience won’t be clear if I don’t go.”
Kirk gripped her hand in his upon hearing her answer. After a moment of silence, he said, “Okay
then.”
Sean breathed a sigh of relief when he found out that Gwen and Caroline didn’t suspect Kirk’s
identity. The whole incident was just a false alarm.
“Okay. I got it now,” he told Gwen.
“We’ll meet up some other day then.”
To be honest, it was quite a pity that he couldn’t see Gwen today, but there was nothing he could
do to change it.
After all, this was a critical period. Both Sean and Kirk hoped that nothing would go wrong again.
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There was no doubt that Caroline would be mad at Kirk if she discovered his identity.
Now there was the possibility that she would run away and marry Eddy because of Jude’s last
words too. That would be the worst.
Betrayed by her fiancé, Caroline Evans decides on a whim to marry someone else. Everyone mocks her for the decision of giving up on the heir to the Morrison family and choosing some poor punk instead. However, that poor punk is actually secretly the top wealthiest person around, newly back in the country to invest in its development. He’s also her ex’s uncle! Lamenting about being tricked, Caroline Evans insists on a divorce. But her husband corners her and says unblinkingly, “That billionaire is not me. That guy had cosmetic surgery to look like me.” Looking at his handsome face, Caroline believes it. “What a curse to have the same face as someone of the Morrison family!” The next day, the world is surprised to find that the heir of the Morrison family has been kicked out and now has nothing. As for the newly crowned top billionaire, he starts wearing a mask to hide his attractive features.
