Mimi's bright eyes abruptly opened. She remembered the warm blood on her hands, the lifeless and cold body before she woke up, still tied to the chair.
For a while, she just stared at her lap before the sound of an opening door caused her to lift her head. Her emotionless stare followed her father's every move as he walked toward her.
"My, my, is that it?" Mimi emitted a hoarse laugh; her eyes had a glint of cold as her mouth curled up slightly. Her throat felt so dry and tight it almost hurt to speak.
Henry Hirogori looked at her with arms crossed over his chest, an unreadable expression on his face. While her appearance appeared indifferent, Mimi had been studying her father's expression intensely. Very quickly, she noticed something flicker within his gaze.
Her brows raised in amusement at the sudden look he was giving her. As if she were some rare, exotic species.
Now that she revealed her true colors, he saw her as a usable tool.
Her father stared at her silently for a moment before he spoke, "Tell me, why do you want revenge? Was it because I neglected you? A lack of a father's attention that led you to hate me? Or maybe you didn't get enough toys as a child. If you'd like, I'd be willing to bring you back. I'd give you anything you want. Power, affection, wealth, all of it."
Mimi could hear the confidence in his voice as if he were persuading an easy minded child. In his eyes, he was probably. However, rather than wounding her pride, his words stirred the years of pain and torment she suffered for the last thirteen years.
"You want to repay me?" Mimi laughed painfully as she continued looking at her father. "What you took away from me...is something you could never bring back."
Her father's brows raised following with a frown. He seemed displeased with her answer. Good.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Henry Hirogori sounded intrigued to hear her response.
Rather than answering, Mimi just stared at him with raw, burning eyes – the pain and resentment in them were evident. A little amused by her stare, he suddenly laughed a sinister sound.
"Ah, so that's it." His voice turned oddly low. "As expected of you...led by the wave of your feelings toward another."
The depths of Mimi's eyes darkened.
"I have to say, I'm impressed. You made it this far on your emotions alone. But now what do you plan to do? Does it matter if you avenge her? She's still dead, isn't she?"
As if hit, Mimi flinched. Her hands bound behind her back clenched painfully to the point she could feel the rope on her wrists cut through flesh. It hurt, but not as much as the pain in her heart.
"You're right...she is gone. No matter what I do or how much I vent, she'll always be gone." Even though her face bore a stoic expression, her voice and words held an ominous tone. "But that won't take away the pleasure I'll feel when I destroy every single one of you for killing her."
Henry Hirogori was unaffected by her words, rather, he looked bored. After hearing her concluding sentence, however, his eyes narrowed.
"You think I killed her?"
Mimi's slender brows drew together. While she continued with her usual indifferent expression, a torrent of emotions was flooding her heart right now.
Sensing her confusion, her father's sneered deepened.
"The moment Emily betrayed the family to fall in love with someone street rat, she was no longer valuable to me. Why would I squander my time and power killing someone insignificant to me?"
Processing his words, Mimi's body felt cold.
"If you'd like, I'll bring in the person you should be attacking. The one who really killed her."
Time seemed to stop as she heard those words. Despite not answering, her father still spoke.
"Then I'll bring him in. It'll be an interesting sight to see."
In silence, Mimi listened to the sound of the door close. Now alone, she suppressed the turbulent emotions in her heart by shutting her eyes and letting her mind calm down.
Her father...didn't kill Emily?
No—he could be lying just to get a reaction out of her. But Mimi knew her father. Despite years of neglect and minimal interaction, she understood his thoughts. To tool with her emotions, he wouldn't use lies. He was telling the truth.
Then all these years, she was chasing and wasting away time on the wrong enemy?
The trembling in her hands had grown worse, and her arms were shaking too. Her entire body felt numb. When the door opened again, Mimi's head remained lowered, too uneasy to look at the figures entering the room.
"I brought him." Her father's voice was abnormally gentle, yet it bore a sense of cold with them, piercing into her bones and making her shake.
A lump developed in her throat as she shut her eyes. She didn't want to look. The sound of footsteps approached. Henry Hirogori took her under the chin, thick fingers twisting her head up. Yet her eyes remained closed.
She heard her father's cold voice. "Open your eyes and look at the man who killed your sister."
Mimi's eyes stayed shut. Instead, they tightened even further until her head began to hurt. The grip on her chin tightened, but he suddenly let go.
"Unless you already know who it is..."
Mimi swallowed, she bit her lips hard.
"Open your eyes now." He ordered again, this time his voice was even more intimidating.
When she responded with silence, Mimi suddenly felt a hand strike across her face. There was an explosion of pain, white before her eyes. The pain in her head was excruciating. While staring at the floor with a dazed stare, his fingers twist into her hair as he grabs a fistful and pulls her head up.
"Now. Look carefully."
Mimi's eyes trembled and finally, she shifted her gaze to the figure kneeling in the front. Her breathing grew ragged. Dark bruises painted his white and soft skin, bloodstains on his clothes. Despite the evident torture and suffering the man endured, he looked unfazed. When she met his gaze, his eyes held no emotion.
The man kneeling before her was none other than Shen Jue.