Revenge After Death



"Are the lives of those you don't care about insignificant to you?" Dayton asked Steven in a soft voice. Unfortunately, I overheard it.

Steven was glum. He did not answer Dayton but cast a sideways glance over to Xandra, who was still unconscious. "She's going to die."

Dayton's eyes were rimmed red as he tightly clutched at Steven's wrists. He lowered his head once he calmed himself down and picked up his phone. "I'll make the call."

I looked at Steven. At that moment, I felt a terrifying sensation that was hard to put into words.

When Dayton was asking Steven if he thought the lives of those he didn't care about were insignificant, I could almost be certain of what Steven's thoughts were besides the ones he cared about, he really was indifferent to everything else.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dayton was almost gritting his teeth as he questioned the abductor with a deep voice.

"Didn't you guys place a tracking chip in the emerald vase as well?" The abductor chuckled.

Dayton's fists bunched up tight as he knocked himself on the head mutedly. "Turn off the chip bomb!"

Xandra was going to die.

The abductor replied, "That thing is only beneath her skin. It won't take her life. She can live a normal life as long as we don't activate it. But don't try to take it out. As soon as the chip-"

"You guys are mad!" Dayton cursed angrily.

"We just want to cooperate with you, Mr. Sacco. We'll contact you with the specifics later," the abductor sneered before ending the call.

The tracking stopped moving as soon as the call ended.

"We've lost them, Officer Landon. Both the emerald vase and the money were retrieved by us. They tossed the emerald vase into the trash heap, so we had to look around for quite some time-" Zion's colleague had called to explain.

Clearly, while Steven was toying with the abductors, they were also toying with us. However, it was hard to tell who was the winner between both sides at this point. They were rather evenly matched.

"We're caught. Does this count as blowing our covers?" Zion asked. Would it be harder to investigate Genome Society in the future?

Steven replied indifferently with a cold chuckle, "We've already won. The reason why they had to go to such lengths was because we've already won."

The people from Genome Society believed that Dayton was the president of Crowdstar Group. To Steven, that itself was already considered a win.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Zion was stunned, seemingly confused upon hearing Steven's words. "So from now on..."

"From now on, the police should stay out of this. You have your way of investigating while we have our own ways of handling things." Steven refused to disclose his next steps. His back seemed strangely determined yet melancholic.

I often felt afraid. I was afraid that the scene before me would turn into a mirage sometime in the future.

If Steven was the president of Crowdstar Group, then using Dayton to infiltrate the enemy's ranks was

akin to fighting a lone battle in close combat.

Zion did not comment further and nodded. He only left with the others after ensuring that Xandra was fine.

Dayton sat trembling on the ground as he watched Xandra, who was still getting examined by the doctor." But she's innocent."

"I'll head out for a bit. You guys can continue." I could tell that Dayton wanted to talk to Steven in private. Steven looked down and nodded. I then walked out of the living room and leaned against the door to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"You're the one who got her involved in this!" Steven glared angrily at Dayton. "I've told you more than once feelings would turn into one's Achilles' heel, and they would also become a weapon against others.

"You were the one who was constantly urging others to protect her on the cruise, making her a target. You were the one who turned her into your Achilles' heel and someone else's weapon against you!" Anger and indifference seeped through his voice.

"What should I have done, then? Tell me, what should I have done? You only care about those you care about!" Dayton's emotions were getting out of control.

Steven said, "Of course, I only care about what I care about! You were the one who chose this path. It's inevitable that you would have to sacrifice something in order for you to escape your parents' control, to achieve your goals, and to gain what you want.

"I made this clear to you before we started working together-you can't have your cake and eat it too!" he rebuked Dayton in a deep voice.

Dayton looked at Steven. "You said that I can't have my cake and eat it too, but why have you always been trying to do so? We're only your shield. That's why you can continue to live peacefully with her, right?"

"Call me heartless if you like, but if your stupidity obstructs my path, I won't hesitate to kill you and everything around you that might obstruct my plan. Do you understand?" Steven grabbed Dayton's collars, his tone tinged with displeasure.

The Steven now was terrifying to no end. I rarely saw this side of him because he had never shown it in front of me.

How grand were his plans? What kind of an intricate ploy had he woven?

"No one can have their cake and eat them too-not even myself." I heard Steven's last words before I left. Not even himself, he said.