"And when you see something that perfect, almost unnatural, you''d want to break it, right?"

    .

    "Right?"

    Seemingly pondering whether he needed to answer, the assistant remained silent for a moment. He took his time until Damian Slate repeated the question, that he finally replied with an uneasy, tense tone.

    "Exactly, Director!"

    And Damian Slate, seemingly oblivious to the unease in his assistant''s voice, continued speaking as if nothing was amiss—or so it appeared from the voice recording.

    "Yes, and that''s what I did, I stepped on the gas with all my might and trampled on them."

    "And you know what''s hilarious?"

    "The man, noticing at the last moment, tried to shield the woman and seemed to die instantly. But the woman, who didn''t die right away, though barely conscious and in a terrible state, started crawling toward him, holding his hand and touching his face."

    "You know? I was even moved myself and thought I should drive over her again, she shouldn''t be left alone like this."

    "It''s really not right!"

    After shouting theatrically, his voice lowered again as he continued.

    "In the end, before I could make my decision, she lost consciousness. Talk about disappointment!"

    "Right? Hic—Right?"

    "Y-yes, Director."

    The voice recording continued, with Damian Slate reminiscing about his satisfaction and the overwhelming euphoria he felt at that moment, before casually returning to bragging about his other cars.

    But Christian couldn''t hear the rest. He couldn''t register anything in his mind. His bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the screen, his chest heaving with barely contained fury as his hand clenched into a trembling fist.

    A first, so tightly held, that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood that dripped slowly onto the desk.

    Everything fades with time.

    Even if they don''t disappear completely, they eventually leave behind only faint traces.

    "Nothing, just getting some air."

    And Annabelle, observing her brother''s expression, his forced smile, and the slightly angry tone in his voice, immediately knew something was wrong. Her expression darkened as she spoke.

    "Chris, we''ve already talked a lot, both yesterday and today. Do you really plan to start hiding things from me again, just like this?"

    Annabelle did her best not to force her younger brother with her tone, but she also didn''t want there to be any distance between them again. So, seeing him close his eyes and remain silent, she waited.

    "I found evidence related to the incident with our parents."

    "And it turns out it''s a murder case, not an accident."

    "So, I was shaken a little."

    Christian tried to present the facts to his sister without bias, not trying to make things bigger or smaller than they were.

    He felt like she was right after all, there was no need to hide things from her. It was just that he didn''t want her to hear the voice recording.

    As he''d thought, Annabelle seemed a little taken aback at first, but after a moment, she simply nodded and said in a calm tone.

    "Well, I thought as much."

    "Huh?"

    "What do you mean?" Continue reading at empire

    And Christian couldn''t help but question this time.

    "It''s simple. It was a possibility since the accident happened, and I had thought the same with that policeman."

    "Most importantly, I actually went to the place where the incident happened, once."

    "And for it to be an accident, it felt a little unnatural."

    "But since there was no evidence to prove that, it remained just a possibility, until you confirmed it now."

    It was Christian''s turn to be taken aback by his sister''s logical conclusion, and he couldn''t say anything in return.

    So, seeing him like this, Annabelle was unable to watch him any longer, and came to his side, hugging him tightly. The embrace helped him more than anything else, as it seemed her presence was the only thing soothing enough for him in that moment.