From the window of the next building at a distant, Yuan Bo watches the girl getting into the car with Umezaki Rie. His lips purse together uneasily. According to Maddox"s last orders, he should be raising his daughter and preparing her for the future. However, things have changed recently. It"s not a secret who killed Maddox Kang. Daniel Nagasawa was found dead. Mira Ash hasn"t been found. Whether she"s dead or alive, it"s a mystery. Where could a seven-year-old child hide?
"It"s for her good." Yuan Bo flinches when he hears the eerie voice. The dark-haired man walks toward Yuan Bo and pats his back. Yuan Bo tenses his shoulders, not wanting to turn around and look at him.
"I don"t see how," Yuan Bo replies with a cool voice, hiding the fear in his heart. "Her father wanted me to raise her."
"She will get the throne." Or not. The man runs his fingers through Yuan Bo"s hair. "It would be boring if only one of the candidates remembers the past. When the time is right, I will give her past-life memories. It"s useless for her to remember before the other one appears."
This man came to him around a year ago. He told him things that Yuan Bo still can"t bring himself to believe. But the Consortium is obedient to him. It"s still a mystery who this person is. But something about him isn"t right. It feels like death is looking at his soul all the time. Yuan Bo takes a step away instinctively.
The man takes the binoculars from Yuan Bo and looks in the direction where Kamiyama Kiyohira is talking to the head of the orphanage with a smile. Next to Kamiyama Kiyohira, a little boy is standing with a straight back. However, the boy is looking in his direction calmly. "You are sure that this boy was close to her before she left."
"It was in the list." Yuan Bo tells him quietly, "Maddox didn"t want Rie and her son to be on Mira"s side."
"They couldn"t interact for long before she disappeared." The man narrows his dark eyes. "Well, Maddox is going to get his wish. If this girl can get closer to Yuta and Rie, there"s no doubt that they will be on her side. This must be the first time when both candidates have the same people in the list of potential sacrifices. I wonder if this would be the last time or…" Beginning of something else.
Who did Mira Ash sacrifice in her past life? It"s impossible to find out the sacrifice before he finds that woman.
The car turns around the corner and disappears from his view. He puts down the binoculars on the window"s edge. The skin of his arm is scaly and peeling off on its own. In a year, he had to change several bodies. He has to change again. He senses Yuan Bo"s fear. Well, this one is no longer necessary in this game since Valerie Kang"s future is already changing.
The man looks at Yuan Bo"s face with a smile. "What was your name again?"
Sweaty forehead. Tensed shoulders. Rapid breaths.
"Get down, you crazy woman." The man with copper brown hair and light eyes scowls at the woman climbing on the ladder. "This is not a place for a woman."
"Engineer-sama, the truth must be revealed to the world." Iori ignores her heart beating hard against her chest. "Only you can answer the truth about the accident."
"Miss Kinos.h.i.+ta," Adachi Hase growls at her. "Do you realize where you are?"
Of course, she knows where she is. She"s following a stubborn man to hear about the accident that killed 30 workers two months ago. The world might have forgotten about it, but she hasn"t forgotten it. This accident just doesn"t feel right. Her intuition is messy sometimes, but she"s also right sometimes. "On a cell tower."
"Sixty-feet above the ground," Adachi Hase yells at her. "How did you manage to get past the security?"
"Engineer-sama, don"t try to distract me with questions." She keeps her eyes fixed on him. "I am not tied to a safety rope. If I die here, it would be another accident."
"Who told you to follow me here?" Adachi Hase squeezes his eyes in frustration. He wants to push this woman to death. She"s been ha.s.sling him for days. "Reporter Kinos.h.i.+ta, if I say anything on the matter, I might lose my job."
"If you don"t, those families will never get the compensation that they should get." Iori replies calmly, "I will keep it anonymous. n.o.body will know that you said something."
"After the stunt that you have pulled today, do you think that n.o.body would know?" Adachi grabs her hand. "Climb up before I change my mind and push you to death."
Iori gives him a toothy smile and climbs the ladder. He wraps his arms around her waist and looks down. It"s better to send her through the cell tower. The door is only ten-feet above them.
"Engineer-sama, aren"t we too close?" He hears her ask.
Adachi Kase"s mind has been occupied to find how to get her to the door. But now, he is unable to not notice her softness. Irritated, he looks at her darkly. "How could you think about proximity at this moment? Should I let you go and watch you fall now?"
"No, please don"t do that." Iori smiles at him. "I don"t want to die in an ugly way."
Don"t want to die in an ugly way… He creases his forehead. Why is he so unlucky? Higher-ups will definitely question him for this situation. "If you speak more, I am afraid that I won"t be able to hold myself back."
"Engineer-sama, are you trying to hold yourself back from falling in love with me?" Iori grips his shoulder. "We are sixty feet above the ground. With one step, we can fall to our death. Isn"t it like in movies? I read somewhere that people can easily fall in love when they are facing life and death situation."
Adachi Kase gapes at her. Did she lose her head while climbing up? Then, no sane woman would climb up like this. It"s useless to argue with her. Shaking his head, he raises his head. "Kinos.h.i.+ta, do you see a door there?"
She follows his eyes. "I see one."
"Climb up slowly." He grasps the belt of her trousers. "I will support you from behind."
"Don"t pull my pants down." She narrows her eyes on him. "That"s not a romantic way to ask a woman out, Engineer-sama."
"Just go." Adachi Kase spits out the word, exasperated by this teasing reporter. She chuckles and climbs up. Only after she reaches the door, he releases his breath. He"s not going to lose his job today.
"Engineer-sama, I am still waiting to hear the truth," Iori yells from above. "If you climb down, I will follow you."
Now, he has the urge to jump from this spot. With a deep frown, Adachi climbs toward the door. She outstretches her hand, but he doesn"t take it. G.o.d knows that this woman doesn"t have any good intention. He enters the tower through the door. He sits against the wall and eyes her with indifference. "Do you know what happens when a cat is curious about things she shouldn"t be curious about?"
"I am not sure." Iori sits down opposite him, keeping some distance. "Engineer-sama, but I know that somethings should be revealed to the world. The families deserve to know the truth and get the compensation that they deserve."
By then, the security arrives at the floor. She sighs and stands up. "I will return again, Engineer-sama."
"I don"t think so." Adachi Kase turns to the guards. "Make sure that people like her never enter the site. It"s dangerous for us too. If someone like her come next time, I won"t try to save that person."
"I will find you again," She shouts as they drag her away. "Engineer-sama, it"s not a matter of how many people died, but it"s a matter of how many families are suffering after their deaths."
Adachi Kase closes his eyes and exhales. The woman is so noisy. There"s no way that he would ever speak about it.