Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“Phoebe…” Dexter tried to get another word in, but I had already instructed the butler to close the door.

Stella and Robin blocked Dexter’s path, “Mr. Fitzgerald, if you really kick the bucket out here, It’s going to be a nightmare for the docs.”

Face ashen, Hailey looked at Dexter with a mix of frustration and disappointment, “Dexter, you’ve truly lost it.”

Hailey was the epitome of a modern, independent woman. I could see the exhaustion in her eyes, and even disbelief. She probably never imagined her son turning out like this.

With a helpless shake of my head, I walked into the living room.

After I left, Stella texted me.

[Hailey was nearly driven mad by Dexter’s antics, wondering if her son was possessed by some evil spirit or had lost it. She even asked the assistant to find out who the best exorcist in Seal City was, wanting them to come and cleanse her home of bad juju.]

I paused for a long time, my laughter tinged with helplessness.

Everyone knew that dead didn’t come back to life, but Hailey was Dexter’s mother, after all. Even now, she wanted to blame external forces for his troubles.

I guessed Hailey probably hated me now. Regretted bringing me into the Fitzgerald family. blamed me for her son’s downfall. Because of me, her son had ended up like this.

Sure enough, I hadn’t even reached the spot Finn had arranged to meet when Stella sent another message.

[Hailey had taken an exorcist to Phoebe’s gravesite.]

She was performing some sort of ritual to exorcise spirits, and it was me she was trying to lay to rest. She wanted me to find peace, so I wouldn’t haunt her son any longer.

“Mrs. Langley, we’ve arrived.”

I didn’t dwell on since when the Langley family’s driver had started considering Colin as the eldest son of the family..

After all, Samuel Langley had become a vegetable, unlikely to ever wake up, and the old man Brendan was now an invalid, struck down by a stroke, incapable of even the most basic self–care and decision– making. The Langley family was indeed in Colin’s hands now.

Stepping out of the car, I took a look around.

Kingstone University, straddling Sea City and Kingstone City, was the nation’s top university, the only one to offer a Genius Class for exceptional students.

08.06

Thad no clue why Finn wanted to meet here, but I was getting somewhat irritated. The traffic had made me three minutes late, and I’d thought Finn would be annoyed. Yet, he was nowhere to be seen!

I’d always disliked people who couldn’t keep time. Dexter was punctual to a fault, his timings precise to the second. If I was ever late or disappointed him, he had creative ways to punish

That made me sensitive about time. If I promised to meet someone, their absence would set me on edge.

Was I being played again? Pulling out my phone, I called Finn, “Didn’t you say to be at the place written on the paper at the specified time?”

Through the phone, Finn’s voice was tight with anger, “And I also told you not to tell Caleb, that tunatic.

I was taken aback, “I didn’t tell him. I threw the note away in the hospital trash right after reading it. No one saw it, not even Caleb.” © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Ha…” Finn laughed bitterly, and then inhaled sharply as if in pain, “I knew I couldn’t fool that maniac. He must have seen it: had someone beat me up good. I’m too embarrassed to show my face now!”

On the other end, Finn cursed, “It had to be him. There’s an unspoken rule about not hitting the face, but he knows that’s what I prize most. He had them target my face on purpose!”

I was upset, “Don’t slander my husband like that. He needs assistance for the most basic tasks of living. If he could arrange for someone to beat you up, he wouldn’t be the one getting pushed around.”

If Colin had the means to have Finn beaten, he wouldn’t have allowed Brendan and Samuel to bully him so ruthlessly.

Sometimes I wonder if he really wasn’t the culprit. What kind of murderer, with such capability, would allow himself to be tormented like that?