I would first like to apologize for the inconsistency in my chapter releases, as they tend to be at various times throughout the day.
Still I'm trying to be committed with one chapter daily, so, forgive me.
But I'm barely being able to make time for writing, more over my sickness which after I thought was getting better, relapsed again, even worse.
So, it's my best, hopefully you will endure with me.
And not just this, these two chapter, this one and the after had some changes, as after I wrote them, i rewrote them again, as there were some changes.
Well. Not many changes actually.
But My plans for the the coming chapters faced more changes as i rewrote them again, as I changed the direction of the story somehow, with the one I will go with now, I'm more convinced with, hopefully you will also feel that way later.
I will point the biggest change later, so you can hopefully give me your opinion.
I talk a lot, sorry, here is the chapter.
Eva waited for her maid's answer, longing for some reassurance, even if just a little.
"Well, it doesn't look right. He has a gloomy, troubled expression, and his eyes seem heavy. It's clear he's barely holding himself together after what he's been through."
But hearing her maid, who today had brought nothing but bad news, Eva felt her heart sink even further.
It was a situation born from her decision to follow through with a plan meant to ensure he could no longer untangle himself from her. Yet now, even as events unfolded exactly as she had predicted, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt and even a tinge of regret.
The thought of stepping out, comforting him, embracing him, standing by his side, seeing for herself how he was holding up, and becoming a source of solace for him had crossed her mind.
But in the end, she decided against it. She knew it wasn't her place, and in this kind of situation, she feared he might label her as an enemy if she were to appear now.
Most importantly, seeing a gaze filled with hostility directed at her by him was the last thing she wanted.
So, she just stayed put in her car, feeling the weight of her decisions as she stared at him, silently hoping he would stay strong and triumph over everything coming his way.
She watched as he placed the corpse in the package of the car, and how he finally drove away, after seemingly checking everything.
She stayed put in her seat, watching everything unfold, and even after he drove away in his car, she still didn't move or try to drive back to her house.
"Miss, seeing how things were already taken care of, should we not go back?"
Sophia's voice broke through the silence, her question filled with uncertainty as she glanced at her miss. But Eva, frowning, remained unmoved. More ever, interrupted from her thoughts, she couldn't help but wonder when her maid had become so insensitive. So, she simply didn't answer and ignored her.
She didn't plan to follow him, fearing that she would be discovered, but at the same time, she wanted to do something for him.
Staying here, monitoring his house, ensuring that no one would come again to disturb or threaten his sister, was the only Eva could do in this situation.
Even if she knew that no one should come again tonight.
When she was feeling this terrible, even if she were to go back, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep back anyway.
Christian was now driving his car.
Before he went out, he had already reviewed the previous footage from around the time the assassin intruded his house, searching for any sign of the assassin's appearance, in case it was captured on the CCTV, and fortunately, he found one quickly, as the assassin didn't seem particularly concerned about the cameras' presence.
Maybe it was because of his attire, which concealed everything about him, making him overly confident in the end?
That was the thought that crossed his mind at that time. Still, knowing he was already running late, he didn't dwell on it and said.
"Iris, for now, since there's no immediate danger, focus on the previous camera records. Do a comprehensive search, to track and find out where this assassin came from."
[Okay, I'll try to trace back his movements.]
Christian wasn't expecting much result in such a short period, but he didn't want to slow down his search. So, after seeing that things seemed to be going in the right direction, he made a final check, grabbed the corpse, and headed toward the car, still wearing the same tracksuit.
It was the worst experience for him, carrying a corpse that had already grown cold and started to stiffen. Even though it was wrapped in bed sheets and the like, just the sight of it stirred up a flood of emotions, irritation, anger, and many other negative ones. So,clenching his fists, he shook his head, trying to calm himself, and finally carried the corpse.
He had naturally contemplated carefully what to do with the corpse, but in the end, he didn't feel there was an absolute right answer. So, he simply went with the option of burying it in a remote spot, up in a nearby mountain.
So, without forgetting to bring the small shovel from their house, and with everything done, Christian was now driving the car along the route he judged to be the safest.
Of course, it wasn't based on a baseless assumption. By reviewing the CCTV cameras with Iris's help, as he searched for the least crowded road and selected it.
He even made sure to hack into any CCTV cameras along his route, ensuring his car wouldn't appear on any footage, making it replay a previous record. He tried his best to make everything seem normal and avoid raising suspicion.
There was also Iris, who was constantly monitoring everything around him, ready to alert him at any given moment if there was any need to change in the route.
Well, in the end, he still didn't care much while carrying the corpse, and he didn't expect himself to do everything perfectly or conceal every detail.
But at least, he shouldn't leave any conclusive evidence, were his thought.
Now, driving with his mind on his sister, left alone at home, Christian felt anxiety coil in his stomach, as he felt like he wasn't moving quickly enough.
But then, something caught his attention, something he had previously missed.
It was so obvious that now it made him feel stupid.
Just earlier, when he had admitted to himself that he wasn't being careful enough and should have let Iris constantly monitor his surroundings. But then right after confirming there was no accomplice to the assassin, he had lowered his guard again, and now Iris was focused on tracking where the assassin had come from instead.
He had thought he was keeping his cool, staying vigilant, but now, seeing how he had prioritized finding the culprit over his sister's safety, it was clear he hadn't been as clear-headed as he thought.
How could he have left her there all alone, vulnerable to anything? He couldn't believe it himself.
His anger had unknowingly clouded his judgment. And the anger he had once directed at the culprit now turned inward, at himself, at the foolish choice he had made.
Still, he tried to remedy the situation immediately and said,
"Iris, prioritize monitoring the surroundings of the house and my sister's safety first, then focus on the route I'm taking, and finally, with any remaining attention, search for where the assassin came from."
He knew that Iris alone, as a measure against danger, was insufficient, but there was no other choice for now. If something were to happen, he could go to her side immediately, as he had no other option.
Still, cursing his stupidity even after getting the answer from Iris, Christian continued driving until, after some time, he arrived at a mountain that seemed remote enough.
Even with everything happening, which naturally took some time, it was still midnight in the end. The sun's rise was still a while away.
So, looking at the mountain looming before him, a dark silhouette against the night sky with its jagged peak, and feeling the chilling wind whisper through the scattered trees, carrying the rustle of their branches, Christian felt an unsettling intimidation settle over him.
The rocky terrain, uneven and treacherous, offered no welcome, a grim reminder of the fucked-up thing he was about to do, here in this eerie place, all alone. In this haunting wilderness, he felt a heavy weight, his resolve seemingly being put to the test by the experience he was about to face.
To be burying a corpse at night in wilderness, when just a little more that two months ago he was an ordinary person, who would have thought he'd end up in this situation?