Jim sat before an 88-inch screen, his legs crossed smartly in a chair. He had lighted up a cigarette for himself, and was watching the several displays on the monster screen alertly. It showed him the live images of several different places at once.Jim"s back was stiff, his shoulders tense with nervousness.
In one particular portion of the screen, he could see his wife"s face that looked as if it had been carved out of stone. In another rectangular portion, he could see Rebecca shivering, as she told Miya as to why she had left in a hurry last night. Jim"s own face turned to a scowl when he saw the lack of reaction on Miya"s face.
It was only when the wife whispered something and embraced Rebecca, that Jim could fall back in the chair a little and relax. In fact, he hadn"t noticed, but all this while, he had been sweating.
No, it wasn"t because of Rebecca or her particular situation. It was far from that.
In this entire chain of events, the only thing Jim had not antic.i.p.ated was the scar that shone brightly on Miya"s shoulder.
In fact, the sight of it still disoriented him.
Last night, when Jimmy had ordered his man Chenric to accompany Rebecca to the Shade Street, where the man Karl lived, he had simultaneously got Rebecca"s house bugged. That way, he was able to have his men keep an eye on who entered, and who left her house.
Today, in the morning, he had also had wireless b.u.t.ton cameras put on all of the dresses that he had presented to Miya. The reason he had to dispose of her own bag of clothes: if not for a single red skirt, the woman only owned two pairs of ripped jeans and t-shirts. He wasn"t creepy enough to check out her bag himself though.
He had got the maid to do it.
Similarly, he had ordered the b.u.t.ton cameras to be put on all of Rebecca"s formal clothes too, while she had been away last night. And in the morning today, when she had chosen one outfit and left the house to meet Miya, he had got the rest of her clothes de-bugged as well. The orders were simple, and his underlings did an efficient job.
After all, if the Hunter Corporation was going to be involved, and in matters as shady as smuggling and illegal dealing, he had to know everything.
Thanks to the cameras on each of the girls" b.u.t.tons, he could clearly see both them, and hear them talk. Besides the women, the café D"lite had been wired too.
Jim watched as the two girls stood still for a minute, and then let each other go. Silence ensued between them, and then both walked out of the house. Rebecca locked the door again, and they both headed for the car in silence.
It was exactly then that Jimmy picked up his phone and texted Miya.
[Where are you?]
On the screen, he watched the wife frown, and then finally look at her phone. To his surprise, her lips spread into a faint smile and she immediately began to type back. In less than a second, he received her reply.
[Nearby. What happened?]
[Nothing. Have a man waiting at Café D"Lite. Tell me where you are, I"ll send him right away.]
[No, it"s okay. Becky brought her car.]
[Your address, Miya. Need you here. It"s Ben.]
On the screen, Jim watched amusedly as Miya frowned in doubt, then hesitantly typed in.
[Really?]
He smiled.
[No. The address, please.]
Jim"s entire body sagged in relief, as the missus broke into a huge smile. Seconds later, his phone beeped.
[There"s an old building nearby… its called Shade, I think.]
Albeit he needed to do that little formality, to a.s.sure that Miya didn"t find out that he was watching her. But he also didn"t trust Rebecca. And he had already risked sending his wife to that place with her. Of course, his men were hiding all around the Shade Street, but he wasn"t going to let Miya wander around in torn clothes and a dangerous scar.
He quickly made a call.
"Pick her up," he said, "And insist that it"s cold so she needs to wear a coat. Get her to the nearest clothing store."
With that, Jimmy closed his eyes.
So far, Rebecca had told Miya the truth. But of course, she was still hiding details. It was impossible that she did not know that Marjorie was dead.
Why had she hidden that little detail from Miya then?
And then, his mind went back to that one question that had shocked him to the core.
Even he hadn"t expected it, Becky"s strange attack on his girl, when they had entered the washroom. Why, for not even once had the question entered his mind that Rebecca suspected Miya"s ident.i.ty.
Green eyes?
The washroom had been bugged from both sides, to the extent of the corridor. Had the attack taken place inside an actual toilet, Jimmy wouldn"t have found out at all. Miya originally had green eyes!
He didn"t know how to take the fact. He had always found her eyes so different, so beautiful. Moreover, it wasn"t just that, which had surprised him. It was also when Rebecca had said "green".
In one portion of the screen, he had been able to see her shocked face, her gorgeous eyes. And instantly, he had been lost. No, not in the way he always did. It was almost as if his heart had leapt in recognition, thumping uncontrollably, as he thought he saw green instead of the black.
And once the thought fixated in his mind, an idea lurked in his head. Her face became a thousand times more familiar, and Jim knew in his heart that he had met this girl before.
He couldn"t recognize from where though, until he saw another part of the screen.
This showed a side profile of both the girls. Rebecca, pinning Miya to the wall and twisting her arm. Miya, still shocked, trying to reason out.
Albeit Park had told him of the two unique marks on Miya"s body, but when the girl suddenly just tore off the cloth at her shoulder, and looked at Rebecca with a vacant expression, Jimmy had held his breath.
He knew of the wolf"s mark.
But he hadn"t seen it before.
The scar had glistened onto the screen in a mocking disdain, a perfectly carved "U" on slender skin. Miya had then asked if she should rip off her dress from the stomach too.
Jim"s heart had leaped to his throat.
He had been unable to breathe.
And no matter what, he hadn"t been able understand why she would suddenly have different eyes. Was she using contacts?
And then finally, the strange sensation from before had lurked in him again.
He had stared at the side profile of both the girls again, and then at the portion of the screen that showed Miya"s face. A series of memories had played in his head, almost making Jim panic. That blue dress, the green eyes, that small face, those l –
Oh f***.
Oh f***. Oh f***.
And the breath almost left his body.
He knew where he had met her before.