I hurried to Rizo's desk and began searching frantically. I needed to find the folder he had handed to me last time. I was acutely aware of the irony of my actions; I had already sent him into the lion's den, and only now was I seeking out the information that I had previously dismissed. No matter how thoroughly I searched, I couldn't find it. By the time Rizo returned, having seen someone off, I was still empty-handed.Desperately, I showed Rizo the photo and asked him to confirm if the person in it was the one I had sent to the Black family. His nod was like a dagger to my heart, nearly suffocating me with regret. It turned out that he had been around me for the past three months, and yet I had completely overlooked him.When Rizo realized I was searching for that folder, he took it out from his briefcase. He said that, despite everything, he couldn't let it go, so he had been investigating in secret. However, he could only find out what was happening outside the Black family reside
Neil finally sat down, and it seemed my conditions had given him enough reassurance to momentarily let his guard down and engage in conversation with me—or so I thought. As he settled next to me, barely a meter away, I couldn't help but notice how much thinner he looked, even more so than the previous two Neils. I couldn't help but wonder if he had endured considerable hardship to become this thin. Should I start feeding him every meal like I did with Neil Caster? But before that, I needed to address the matter at hand. Just as I was about to reveal the secret, an unexpected twist unfolded."I want to tell you my secret...""Mr. Lucas Junior, you don't have to tell me your secret. Let's just talk.""Don't you want to know my secret? If you knew, you could hold it over me, even threaten me if necessary.""No need. I can do without knowing the secret.""Can I ask why?""I don't want Mr. Lucas Junior to lose your Lucas Group, and even if Mr. Lucas Junior yourself wouldn't harm me, others
"Neil, who gave you this list?""It was Jerry.""Jerry Lee?""Yes."The investigation resulted from Rizo had also been released, confirming Neil's condition. Indeed, he had suffered a head injury, which left him in a coma for six months. Moreover, apart from fractures in his left hand and right leg, he had multiple superficial wounds that took over three months to heal. When he woke up, he couldn't remember anything from before. The doctors diagnosed him with possible temporary amnesia but couldn't determine how long this "temporary" would last. Other than this, his injuries were not severe, although the fractures still impacted his daily activities to some extent. Richard Lee arranged for numerous tests to ensure Neil was fine before finally allowing him to be discharged from the hospital.The medical condition remained consistent, but the medical expenses told a different story. Rizo found that the amount on the actual medical bill was significantly less than the one Neil had—almost
"I want to know, is it possible?""When I was at the Black's house..." He hesitated for a moment, then began, but stopped again."Were you beaten?" I couldn't bear to let him struggle to say it himself, so I started prompting him."Yeah, I was beaten.""Did many people beat you?""No, just one person.""Who? The Black CEO? Peter Black?""Yeah..."When the name was mentioned, Neil’s expression reverted to how it was when we first met, distant and guarded. It seemed that the CEO was someone he preferred not to be associated with, just as he had appeared before we had spoken. But Neil had indeed been to the Black's house, reportedly more than once. There must have been substantial interaction between them. Could there have been issues between them? Was Neil subjected to severe mistreatment?"Did he physically assault you?""No, not really.""No? Then what did he do to you? Was it something more severe?""Yeah, it was something more severe."As I spoke, I noticed his eyes welling up with
"Never mind, let's tend to your wound first." I was still very worried about his injury."No, no need," Neil insisted, clutching his clothes tightly."Mr. Lucas Junior, perhaps you should take Neil to his room and help him with the medication. He might be feeling shy," whispered Rizo softly in my ear, just loud enough for me to hear but not Neil.I thought he had a point, so I gently led Neil to his room. As soon as I closed the door and turned around, I was taken aback by his reaction. He assumed I was going to force him and had backed into the corner of the bed, unable to retreat any further because of the wall behind him. Despite having no more room to move, he continued to press his feet against the mattress, gripping the sheets tightly with both hands.I wasn't angry at his misunderstanding. Instead, his behavior made me realize the deep trauma inflicted by the previous assault. Even a simple act of pulling him into a room and closing the door was enough to cause him great anxiet
I held Neil's hand, gently stroking the back of it."Neil, honestly, I'm very worried about leaving you alone here.""Mr. Lucas Junior, are you worried about my eyes? It's okay, I usually just sit until I feel sleepy and then go to bed. I wake up and see things again.""But your home isn't in a livable condition right now.""I'll be more careful. I heard a noise in the kitchen just now, so I ran over and ended up falling.""I can't let you take risks, and you can't guarantee those bad guys won't come back, can you?""I'll lock the door.""But what if they decide to break it down?""They haven't tried... yet.""They might next time, and that next time might be very soon.""Will they... do you think?" He hesitated, seeming to think my points made sense."They might. Come back with me to my place. Stay there while I check things out and make sure it's safe here. Then I'll bring you back, okay?""Uh... okay.""If you are worrying that I might do anything to you, I promise...""Mr. Lucas J
"Master, this is the third time we are going to resurrect him. Are you sure we should continue?""Please continue.""Master, this is our final chance.""Continue, please, I beg of you, continue." I knelt before the elderly man, pleading.It was the first time in my life that I had to beg someone, beseeching our family's magician butler to once again revive a human man.The first time, my dominance and brutality had led to his demise; the second time, my deceit and selfishness had caused his death; and now, the third time, my delusions and recklessness had resulted in his demise once more.His gradually cooling body lay before me once again.The magician butler had warned me beforehand that if we were to resurrect him, his life would become even more arduous, his personality would become simpler. Despite knowing this, I had agreed without hesitation, confident in my ability to protect him. I had assured the magician butler that there wouldn't be a next time, that I would cherish him, l
It was yet another tiresome day, hiding between the walls of the football club's locker room, pretending to be engrossed in the assigned task. Ever since the coach banned outdoor training, my presence on the actual field had become a distant memory. Despite this constraint, I was still obliged to attend roll call and wait until the designated time to leave. This necessity arose from dual considerations: firstly, due to my conspicuous appearance, the risk of being discovered was immense, and if I dared to be absent, I might face lazy accusations; secondly, I found myself directly in the coach's crosshairs, owing to inadvertently attracting the attention of his lover. Sigh, I was relentlessly pursued by this woman, entangling me in an inescapable web of conspiracy.“Count me as unlucky”. I supposed. What else could the unfortunate do, except hid away in the confines of the locker room, scrolling through the smartphone, engaging in a bout of mobile gaming?"Hi, sorry for the inconvenienc