CHAPTER 124
"I brought you some fruit."
Nicholas placed the bouquet of fresh fruit from the nearby shop on the table, next to the few items Brittany had stored there. The heated atmosphere made the people in the room reluctant to comment. Especially Alicia and Brittany. They seemed to be trapped in a confused silence ever since Kevin had left the room.
There was nothing Nicholas could do but mediate between the two women who both kept their mouths shut. He cleared his throat softly. "Uhm, anyway... you guys should stop keeping your mouths shut and start talking to each other." The smile on Nicholas' gray lips rose to warm the atmosphere. He did not want the two women before him to get into a cold war. "Alright, I'll start first. So... Kevin came to see Brittany, he brought her a huge bouquet of red roses and well, it was nice for the view, but why do you three suddenly seem to be caught in a complicated love triangle?"
Silence was still the answer to Nicholas' question. They both kept their mouths shut. Until finally, Alicia walked from the front door and sat on the chair closest to Brittany's bed.
"Speak up, Britt. I won't be angry."
"You... promise?" Brittany's words were hesitant. She folded her arms across her chest and stole a glance at Nicholas standing by the bedside table. "You really won't take offense at what I say?"
Alicia rolled her eyes lazily. "Come on, Britt. How long have we been friends?" Alicia's thin hand lightly pinched Brittany's arm in front of her. "You know I always know everything, right?"
Brittany looked around. She switched her gaze from Alicia, to Nicholas. Then she began to explain, "Kevin and I had a good relationship at first. Kevin was a perfect gentleman who was much better than Luke. He was disciplined, smart, well spoken and romantic. But that day... Kevin changed. That was the day Kevin met you, Alicia."
"So, you think that... Kevin and I had a relationship?"
"No, no, no!" Brittany cut in quickly. She quickly clarified and said, "It was Kevin. He made it seem like I was jealous of you, when I wasn't. I was influenced, and I guess... this was part of his plan. You saw it for yourself, didn't you? He tried to manipulate you into hating me, he thought you'd waver just because you thought I was jealous of you, Alicia. She must have thought of something to avoid the police."
Nicholas pointed at Brittany while squinting probingly. "So you're saying... Kevin suddenly changed after meeting Alicia?" He looked at Alicia who was also casting a look in his direction. "Does this have anything to do with the car accident that night?"
"He was driving the car, Nic. But you were too bad, I was dying and she put me in the driver's seat!"
Nicholas listened intently, his mind racing to piece together the puzzle that Brittany's revelations presented. The room was filled with an unexpected tension that seemed to thicken with each confession.
Alicia's eyes widened in disbelief, her breath catching as she leaned forward, demanding further explanation. "He framed you for the accident?"
Brittany's voice wavered, her eyes glazed over. "Yes! She planned the whole thing. She secretly wanted to see Alicia again, she said she wanted to know something and that night, she made sure that I was the one who looked guilty. She organized everything, even my injuries."
Nicholas' eyebrows furrowed in concern. "But why?" Nicholas paced the room, absorbing the weight of the revelation. "This is serious. We have to do something."
Alicia nodded, her resolve growing stronger. "We have to expose him."
Brittany snorted, wiping away her tears. "But how? He even dared to challenge me with his lawyer!"
Nicholas paused for a moment, his mind whirling with a plan. "We gather evidence. We find witnesses, anything that can prove your innocence and Kevin's guilt."
"What if he's still found innocent and I'm guilty, Nic?" Brittany's tone rose. "Aren't I going to jail for drunk driving?"
Nicholas sighed. "Yes, we did find alcohol in your system. But we must have other ways to fight Kevin."
Before Ace and Amanda could finish their business, Nicholas had to deal with the manipulative Brittany and Kevin. Nicholas has asked Noel to check Kevin's background and he will wait for the results today.
Alicia then broke the silence, she looked at Nicholas who looked confused and Brittany who began to tearfully hold back the tears in her eyes. She patted Brittany's hand lightly and said, "You don't have to worry, Britt. Evil always leaves a trail."
"I'm really confused right now, Alicia," Brittany sighed in frustration.
Nicholas, with a determined look in his eyes, gathered everyone around the table. "We need to be strategic. Kevin may think he has the upper hand, but we will use his arrogance against him." He glanced at Alicia. "You said he challenged you with his lawyer?"
Brittany nodded. "Yes, he's trying to intimidate us. He acted as if he was completely innocent of the accident."
Nicholas leaned in, his voice low. "We're going to turn the tables. We play smart, not aggressive." He glanced at Noel, who entered the room with a file in hand. "What did you find?"
Noel greeted everyone in the room, before pulling out a brown folder from his jacket pocket. "You're going to be surprised by the results of this discovery."
"Alright, let's get to the point," Nicholas said hurriedly.
Noel placed the file on top of Nicholas' hand. "Kevin's past is a maze, but I found a pattern. He's been involved in similar cases before, and they all have a common thread - coercion and manipulation."
Alicia's eyes widened. "So, this isn't the first time he's twisted the truth to his advantage?"
"Exactly," Noel confirmed. "And that's where we're going to get him. His history will paint a clear picture of deception."
Nicholas tapped his fingers on the table, thinking hard. "We have to break this pattern. Collect testimonies, previous cases, anything that shows this pattern of manipulation." He looked at Brittany. "Your case is not isolated. It's part of a larger scheme he's running. It's planned."
Brittany's tearful expression gave way to one of determination. "Then we'll fight back."
"We'll make her defense a liability," Nicholas said. "I'll check the crime scene and find out if there were any witnesses to the accident."
"I'll accompany you, Nic," Alicia replied. "But let me shower and change first."
"Okay."
CHAPTER 125"I'm going to go check on Ace's case, but you don't have to worry because I brought a policeman to look after Brittany here," Noel explained.And Brittany nodded in agreement. She looked at everyone and explained, "My parents will also be here later tonight. I think I'll be fine. You guys just focus on finding evidence or anything that can help me get out of this accident."Nicholas nodded. He waved and said goodbye, before taking Alicia away with him. The two of them then drove home in a car driven by Nicholas."This is for you," Nicholas said, handing Alicia a plastic bag of sandwiches. Playing with his eyebrows up and down, Nicholas smiled happily. "I told you that I would buy these sandwiches again, didn't I?""Tsk, gosh, Nic." Alicia accepted the sandwich and they had breakfast together in the car.After finishing the sandwich in less than ten minutes, Nicholas started the engine and drove away from the hospital. Alicia fastened her seatbelt and looked through the car
CHAPTER 126"Ace, we've been over for a long time. What more do you want?""Us. You and me.""That. Is. Impossible!"At the emphasis from Alicia, Ace grew furious. He lunged at Alicia, causing her to stumble away from Nicholas, who was still unconscious on the floor. Alicia tried to crawl away from Ace, but he persisted. He grabbed Alicia's arm and dragged her out of the flat. Despite Alicia's efforts, she managed to free herself and stood up.Their eyes locked, but Alicia no longer saw the Ace she once knew. She caught her breath and hastily ran to the kitchen, searching for a way to protect herself from Ace.Ace rolled his eyes lazily and walked after Alicia casually, as if his prey wouldn't escape. Alicia found herself cornered, and as a last resort, she pulled a knife from the rack and pointed it at Ace."Stop right there, or I'll kill you, Ace."The taller man tilted his head, observing Alicia's trembling grip on the knife as if she were a cold-blooded killer. With a condescendin
CHAPTER 127Nicholas tightened his grip on the shard, sweat dripping down his face as he assessed Ace's every move. With quick movements, Ace charged, aiming to strip Nicholas of his weapon, but Nicholas spun around, out of Ace's reach."You're not as smart as you think you are," Nicholas retorted, his voice remaining calm despite the rush of adrenaline.Ace was about to attack again when suddenly the sound of a car roaring outside made him stop. Everyone looked to the source of the sound. And this made Ace change his plans. He ran away and made Nicholas turn around. When Nicholas wanted to chase, Ace kicked the wound on Nicholas' leg accidentally and made the man fall to the floor."Asshole!"A smirk appeared on Ace's lips, he snorted and said, "Our business is not done yet." and he looked at Alicia who was still standing frightened back there. "I'll pick you up soon, Alicia. Don't worry.""Asshole! Where are you going?"But Ace ignored Nicholas' words and ran away from the side door
CHAPTER 128Ace cleaned his bloodied hands at the sink. It had been ten minutes since Ace had scrubbed his palms with the laundry soap available there. His face had a cold expression, while he let out a long sigh and quickly turned around.Ace's brown eyes that glinted through the sunlight from the cracks in the window were now looking at the corpse in front of him. The young man had just killed someone and left the body lying there."What should I do with that corpse?"****Nicholas turned off the engine of his car after arriving at the scene of Brittany's accident a few days ago. The police line was still in place. The large tree that was the target of the collision was still standing there, leaving remnants of damage on a few parts of its large trunk.Alicia came down after Nicholas. Their eyes immediately swept around to see if there was anyone or anything they could use as evidence to corroborate Brittany's testimony. Brittany said that she didn't drive, but Kevin disagreed. Ther
CHAPTER 129The woman turned her head, squinting in the sunlight. "Yes, that's me. How can I help you?""We're investigating an accident that happened a few days ago," Alicia explained. "We heard you may have seen something unusual."The frown on Mrs. Jenkins' face deepened as she furrowed her brow, thinking hard. "Oh, that dreadful night! I did see something strange, I saw something strange." She paused for a moment, her eyes darting between Nicholas and Alicia, as if debating whether to divulge the information."What did you see, ma'am?" Nicholas urged gently."I saw it," Mrs. Jenkins said in a quiet tone, looking around as if afraid that someone might overhear. "The driver, he was panicking, dragging someone from the passenger seat. Looked injured, poor thing.""Did you recognize any of them?" Alicia pressed, hoping to get an important clue.Mrs. Jenkins shook her head. "No, dear, I don't. But I also saw something else. After he dragged the man out, he seemed... hesitant. It was as
CHAPTER 130The sound of the door being pushed made Brittany turn her head slowly. She was playing with her cell phone when Alicia and Nicholas came to see her. Brittany's face turned enthusiastic. She put the cell phone she was holding down on the table, then greeted her two guests with a smile."Hey... you guys coming?"Alicia approached first, while Nicholas went back to talk to a policeman standing guard in front of Brittany's room. The girl smiled and sat on the chair provided, right beside the patient's bed."How are you feeling today?" Alicia asked."It's been better. I was bored, so I checked social media." Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "I blocked Kevin's number so he couldn't provoke me. That was a good idea, wasn't it?""Sure, you did a good thing." Alicia bent her forehead deeply. "But... are you feeling okay?"Before Brittany could answer, Nicholas interrupted her and said. "Brittany is like my sister! She's good at finding men, men like Kevin are better left in the tra
CHAPTER 131Ace opened the cabinet in the room of a man named Jason. He looked at the man's entire collection of clothes and mumbled for a long time. His eyes narrowed, and he thought for a long time to choose one out of the many clothes there.His choice then fell on a long brown coat hanging inside the cabinet. He pulled it out and put it on. After feeling good about his new clothes, Ace walked over to the large mirror in the corner of the room."This is a nice outfit. Too bad this style just makes me look like Nicholas," Ace said, he gave a small grin while tugging the coat on his body. Patting the sleeves of the coat, Ace continued. "I'm going to be taking Nicholas' place soon, so... there's no harm in looking like that asshole detective."He turned around and looked at the valuables belonging to Jason, the man he had just killed, and dumped Jason's body into a riverbed in the suburbs of New York City. While tapping the surface of the table filled with money and weapons, Ace tilte
CHAPTER 132Alicia came down from her room and met Nicholas in the living room. The aroma of meat grilled medium rare with mushroom marinade greeted Alicia's sense of smell as she approached everyone. She smiled when she saw Emma setting the steaks on the table."Wow, that smells delicious!"Alicia's compliment made Emma turn her head. The woman in her knee-length purple leisure suit smiled. She put her arm around Alicia and said, "You're ready for dinner, aren't you?"Alicia nodded in agreement. "Did you make all this?""Of course. You can see the men busy grilling the meat outside, Alicia." Emma moved her face forward, she spoke in a whisper. "They should be kept busy so that they don't bother us women."At this, Alicia laughed. They laughed together until Nicholas and Alan came into the living room. At the family table they sat like family, eating and laughing together. Small talk warmed the atmosphere. Simple conversations that made Alicia forget for a moment the sadness of her pa