“Why?” Anna asked.
He mockingly laughed and said, “Because we are looking for spiritual support. That way, we can die without feeling guilty. Do you understand what I mean?”
“You’re saying Joanna is just a spiritual support for you?” Anna asked.
“You could put it that way,” Bill said, spreading one hand on the sofa chair.
“Joanna would be disappointed to hear that, wouldn’t she? You know, right now you’re the only thing she has to fall back on.” Anna appeared upset, knowing Joanna considered herself more than Bill’s spiritual support.
“So, I never told her that. You also wouldn’t tell her, would you?”
“You should call it quits now and become a tainted witness. I can pay for Joanna’s surgery and her living expenses after she leaves the hospital.”
Bill’s expression remained unchanged, yet, he thought it was a good idea for a brief moment. Shaking his head, he snorted and said coldly, “A tainted witness? I tricked Micheal onto the highway and ran him over. I killed Owen and took Peter Wright’s oxygen tube. How am I going to be a tainted witness? Do you still believe Ada is the same stupid little starlet she was five years ago? She committed major crimes in Ireland and got away with every one of them! Do you believe you can catch her so easily?”
Anna was thinking about a lot of things as he spoke. She became enraged when she remembered Peter lying in bed with his eyes closed. With gritted teeth, she slammed the table, stood up, and yelled angrily at Bill, “Did you come here today just to brag about your ‘achievements’ to me? I don’t mind if you want to be Ada’s helper, but don’t brag about those dirty deeds to me. I’ll sure you’ll get what you deserve!”
Bill had anticipated Anna’s reaction. He stood up and walked over to Anna, his cigarette half-burned in his mouth. They locked their gazes across a desk. Because the smell of cigarette smoke made Anna frown, Bill crushed it in his hand.
He looked around but couldn’t find an ashtray. He then threw the cigarette butt into the coffee cup on his desk. The orange-red flame instantly disappeared from the brown coffee.
Then Bill leaned forward, his hands resting on the desk. He mockingly observed Anna’s aggressive expression and asked, “Do you want to find evidence and sue me for murder? I’m afraid I’ll be gone somewhere you can’t find me by the time you do that. If you really want to make me pay, let me tell you a more effective way.”
Anna was taken aback when Bill suddenly approached her. She leaned back, looking at him with a wary and puzzled expression, and asked, “What do you mean?”
Bill smiled contemptuously and rummaged through his pants pocket with one hand. He then quickly slammed a dagger on the table.
“Kill me,” he said calmly.
Anna’s face turned pale as she shuddered. “Are you crazy?” she asked as she reclined in her chair.
Bill knew Anna would react that way. So, he turned back and sat on the desk. He drew the dagger from its sheath and examined the cold light on the sharp blade.
“Think about your grandfather! I heard he was a big help to you before he got sick. He would have recovered and been released from the hospital by now if it weren’t for me. He would have been at home, living a happy life. You now have a fantastic opportunity to revenge on him.”
As Bill provoked her like that, Anna felt like she was going insane. His crazy words were getting on her nerves and making her almost cry.
“And think about everyone else in your family and your friends. I’ll do whatever I want to them at any time. You now have the opportunity to put an end to it all,” He said this while turning the dagger in his palm. Waiting to see how she reacted, he gripped the blade between his fingers and pointed the hilt at Anna.
As she took the dagger, Anna’s hand trembled. She wanted to do so for a brief moment but calmed down soon. Having struggled to pull her mind back to sanity, she slid the dagger back into its sheath and smacked it on the desk.
Then she screamed angrily, “I used to believe you’d turn out to be a kind person. Well, it seems that Joanna has fallen for the wrong person. You should leave now!”
Bill raised his brows and gave a thoughtful nod. He took the dagger from the desk and his leather jacket from the couch. Much to Anna’s surprise, he came to a halt before reaching the door. “By the way, there’s something else I forgot to tell you,” he turned to her and said. “You know this kid, don’t you?” he asked, taking a photo from his jacket pocket and handing it to Anna.
Anna frowned as she looked at the photo of the little redheaded boy.
“His name is Gary. Ada gave birth to him a year after moving to Ireland.”
“What?!” Anna yelled. She was too shocked to believe this fact and had never imagined Gary to be Ada’s son.
Bill moved closer to Anna and said, “He’s the only person Ada cares about in this world. But he escaped from the orphanage some time ago, and she still hasn’t found him. What will she do if she discovers that her son is now being raised by Isabella, a college student? And if she knows Isabella was your adopted daughter, what do you think she will do to her?”
“Damn you!” Anna could no longer control her anger. She quickly stood up and wanted to leave the office. Because she was so anxious, she couldn’t even walk normally. At that moment, she felt blood rush to her brain from all over her body and she almost lost her ability to think. Frustrated and enraged, Anna reached out to open the door but was surprised to find that she couldn’t open the door, no matter how hard she tried. She yanked on the handle with both hands and shook it frantically.
“Stop trying; I’ve locked the door,” Bill said coldly. He then took a key from his pocket and tossed it out of the window behind him.
Anna looked around, her eyes bloodshot. Her hair was tangled and disheveled, making it difficult for her to see what was in front of her.
“Open the door!” After calming down, Anna turned around and slapped the office door hard, attempting to attract the attention of people outside. However, Bill stopped her right away. He dashed to her side, grabbed her neck with one hand, and yanked her body back.
Anna stumbled and clashed with the desk behind her, and she could not stand up for a long time. Seconds later, she knelt on the floor and reached for the desk. With a shudder, Anna took the phone and turned it on. But Bill snatched the phone away from her before she could make a call. The phone then landed on the floor with a thud, and pieces flew in all directions.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Anna cupped her hands around her head, fingers in her hair. Her eyes had turned bright red. She shouted hysterically, “Don’t hurt Isabella! I’ll give Gary back to you. Don’t hurt Isabella!”
She knew that her words were meaningless, but she clung to the last glimmer of hope. On the other hand, Bill told her the truth without mercy: “How do you think Ada will torture Isabella?”
Anna’s eyes widened as if he were looking at a demon from hell. She rose slowly and moved the computer away from the table. The computer crashed to the floor and made a loud sound. Seemingly wanting to continue venting her anger, she took her coffee cup, raised it high, and slammed it hard.
Finally, someone outside the office noticed something wrong was going on in Anna’s office. An employee knocked on the door, then asked hesitantly, “Are you okay, Ms. Wright?”
Bill covered Anna’s mouth just as she was about to yell and held the dagger to her throat with his other hand. “Do you want to die now?” He threatened her in a low voice.
Anna appeared desperate and began to consider other options. She closed her eyes for a moment, then gathered all her strength to lift her right foot and stomp hard behind her. Then, her shoe’s thin, sharp heel smacked Bill’s foot hard. Bill bowed down in pain, and the dagger slipped from his grasp.
At that critical moment, Anna grabbed his other hand and yelled, “Help!” as she picked up the dagger from the ground. As soon as she clutched the dagger by the hilt with both hands, Anna waved it against the office door like a lunatic. In a fluster, she yelled at the door, “Help! Please open the door!”
The employees outside the office immediately gathered there. and began banging on the door after realizing they couldn’t turn the door handle.
Hearing the loud bang, Anna stepped back. At that moment, Bill had already risen from the floor and was staring at her with venom. At the thought that the vicious man might kill her, Anna was prepared to die with hi. So she held the dagger tightly in her hand in self-defense.
To her surprise, Bill smiled as if he was satisfied with her reaction and rushed towards her. In fact, he was rushing towards the dagger in her hand.
When Bill got nearer and nearer to her, Anna cried out in surprise, and her face turned pale. She subconsciously let go of the dagger in her hand. Before she could react, Bill picked up the dagger that was about to fall to the ground. He grabbed her arm and pushed the dagger back into her grip with his other hand. He then grabbed her hand and thrust the dagger forward before running toward her.
Everything happened so quickly. Bill had already collapsed on the ground before Anna could react to what had happened. While she was still in shock, Anna smelled blood. She felt a puddle of liquid in her hands, and found her yellow trench coat quickly became bloodstained.
“Why? Why?!!!” Anna trembled and began to cry in fear.
“You have your revenge, and now I am finally free,” Bill said with a weak smile. He was out of breath, and his voice was soft and light. However, each of his words hit Anna’s heart like a hammer.
At that precise moment, the door beside her opened. The next second, the crowd rushed in, bringing in the fresh air.
Anna sat numbly on the floor, unable to process what had just occurred. People standing outside the door were also taken aback and shocked. They had just witnessed the crime scene in their boss’s office.
The room appeared in disarray, with debris scattered all over the floor. Holding a blood-soaked dagger in her right hand, Anna sat by the door, and a man lay beside her. Blood was dripping from his body and seeping into the beige floor cracks.
“Someone call the police and ambulance!” Suddenly, someone shouted. It wasn’t until then that some people of the crowd who regained their composure acted quickly. However, most of them were still in shock and stood very still.
Wayne had just stepped out of the elevator when he noticed a young man frantically explaining the situation over his cell phone, “Someone has been injured here. I’m not sure if the man is still alive, but there’s a lot of blood here. Yes, we do need an ambulance.”
Hearing the word “blood”, Wayne became terrified and could feel his heart pounding. He immediately ran toward Anna’s office and pushed aside the people in his way. By the time he reached the office door, he exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight that Anna was safe and sound. Then he walked up to her on the bloodstained floor and said softly, “Anna.”
His voice was gentle as if it held the most powerful force in the world and was pulling Anna back from the abyss. A while later, Anna looked less pale, and she gradually shifted her gaze to Wayne’s face. When she looked up and saw Wayne in front of her, she dropped the dagger in her hand and shuddered, “Wayne, he… he’s dead.” She sobbed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. And the blood on her hands splattered on his suit, shirt, and tie.
“It’s okay. I’m here to take you home,” Wayne said firmly as he stroked her back with one hand. His voice was as gentle as moonlight. As he spoke, he helped her up and walked to the door. And then, Wayne led Anna out of Lemon’s office, ignoring the mess on the floor.
On the way home, Anna stared blankly out of the window and felt sick as she smelled the blood in the car. As a group of students crossed the crosswalk, their car stopped at an intersection. Seeing their youthful faces, Anna realized something, sat straight, and exclaimed, “Isabella! Bill said Isabella is in danger!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.