CHAPTER 74: TEARS BEHIND ROSE

The woman who had bumped into him earlier stepped out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped loosely around her body.

Kane stood up and rubbed the back of his head, heat spreading from his neck all the way to his ears.

"Um... I hate to ask, but could you put on some clothes? I can’t think when you’re... like that."

"Sure..." she said as she let the towel fall, reached for her robe, and slipped into it.

Kane’s eyes widened, but he immediately turned away. When he dared to glance back, Red was already seated leisurely on the bed.

He cleared his throat, ready to speak, but Red interrupted him.

"I guessed you came for Rose."

"Who?" Kane asked, confused.

"I saw you all circling her house," she said, lowering herself onto her stomach in a deliberately alluring pose.

She smiled faintly. "I do have the information you want, but everything has a price."

"No problem," he agreed at once, well aware that women like her only cared about quick side money.

"So... you know this woman?" Kane raised the photos between his fingers.

Red jumped up from the bed and snatched it.

Two photos showed Rose’s real appearance and Avelina with only one eye.

She traced the photo of the fake Avelina with one finger, her gaze caught on the side of her face where the other eye was gone.

"What happened to her?"

"I should be asking you that." Kane leaned in, his hands settling on his hips as his eyes narrowed.

She sighed deeply. "Here, we called her Rose..." she said quietly. "She used to be an escort like me."

"About her face..." Kane asked seriously. "Did she choose it, or was she forced?"

"She did it for money," Red said. "That was years ago. A client like you approached her and said a new face would bring in more cash."

"What do you mean—like me?" Kane snapped, his displeasure clear at being likened to a morally low man.

"I mean he was one of her clients," she explained. "He encouraged her to change her appearance. But judging from the photos, it seems she was deceived."

She tucked the photos into his pocket and climbed onto the bed.

"After that, I had no clue what happened to her. She never came back."

Kane frowned at Red’s words. If Rose had never come back... then the house.

He rubbed his jaw and asked, "Who’s been using her house recently?"

"No one since she left," Red replied.

"Are you sure?" Kane pressed. "Because her house doesn’t look like it’s been abandoned for long."

Red straightened at once. "I’m sure no one’s been using it."

...

After thirty minutes, Kane came out of the nightclub.

He jumped into the car, slammed the door shut, and spoke at once.

"Boss, she wants something in return."

"What?"

Kane hesitated, then said, "She said—help me get out of here and give me enough money to start over where no one knows me."

He mimicked Red’s voice as he repeated her words.

"What can she offer in return?" Damian asked.

"She’ll help dig up clues around the neighborhood," Kane explained. "She said they don’t deal with outsiders like us."

Only then did it make sense. No wonder no one in the neighborhood had been willing to cooperate when Kane questioned them earlier.

"Alright. We’ll go with that," Rowan agreed.

His resolve was clear, he would hunt down the one behind this mess. They had crossed the line by dragging his wife into it.

Then Kane lifted a photo, waving it in his hand.

"Let’s go hunting," he said excitedly, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

He had obtained a clue about the last client Rose saw before she changed her appearance.

The one who had pushed her into becoming the fake Avelina.

Red only gave them his name and photo. Tracking down his whereabouts was now up to them.

Within minutes, they traced his latest address to a luxury apartment secured by an access system.

This time, Rowan took the lead. He moved smoothly into the building and made his way to the door.

He heard a woman’s voice drifting from inside, nagging the children about something.

Then he rang the bell.

At once, the children’s excited voices rang out, convinced their father had returned.

"Daddy..." the children cried when the door opened. But the moment they realized it wasn’t their father, they shrieked and ran.

"Mommy, there’s a scary man at the door!" one of them shouted.

The mother came to the door, her brows knitted together.

She exhaled heavily and pressed a hand to her forehead when she saw Rowan in his dark trench coat, his face as the children had described.

Now, Rowan looked like the kind of debt collector who haunted her doorstep, always searching for her husband.

"If you’re looking for Andy, he’s not home yet. You can find him at private gambling club."

"Bam!" The door slammed shut. Rowan was left standing there, completely speechless.

But at least she had told him where to find Andy.

They wasted no time. Tracking him down right away, they stormed into the gambling den, grabbed Andy, and dragged him out.

...

"Splash!"

A bucket of water was dumped over his head. He gasped for air as the cold shock jolted him awake.

His eyes fluttered open, and he realized a man was standing in front of him.

Kane grabbed his hair and shoved a photo of Rose in his face.

"Tell me the truth," Kane said coldly. "Were you the one who sent her?"

He shook his head in denial.

"Very well," Kane said calmly.

"I only wanted to make my job easier. It’s not like I can’t dig up the proof on my own. There’s plenty of footage around town that I can obtain. Once I have it, I’ll put it online and make it go viral. I’ll make sure every citizen sees your crime, and—"

"No... don’t," Andy begged. "Don’t ruin my life. It’s true—I sent her."

Andy nodded several times, trembling.

He had thought that if the scheme failed, no one would come looking for him. He could lose his job... everything he worked for, including his senior position.

"For what?" Kane demanded.

"I–I needed the money... I sent Rose to lure Hale’s grandson so I could ask for ransom. I swear—I never meant to hurt the boy. I only wanted the money..."

His shoulders shook, his trembling hands raised in surrender as he begged for sympathy.