"So why did you bother him in the first place? I just can't believe that he was just acting on impulse or that he hadn't been informed of what we might have done before." Paul was gripped by a fit of anger. He could have lived a comfortable and carefree life abroad. Now he was forced to come back to China to face a boatload of troubles.
"I'm not a fool. It wasn't me. I was in no mood to provoke him face to face. It was just that Mary wanted to be his wife and made a real mess."
How could their family have broken up if Mary hadn't clung to her silly and hopeless infatuation for Edward? She even ignored all the other guys who wanted her. So, extravagant and fruitless hope was a real bitch in life.
What's wrong with her, always making so much trouble? Twenty years ago she prevented you from marrying Leo. Now, she's the main problem. Everything crushing us now is her fault." Paul hadn't seen Mary since her childhood and he had lots of memories of her as a mischievous kid. Mary never made a good impression on him. Apparently he was a good judge of character.
"Forget about it. What's done is done. There's nothing to be done about it. Our next move should be the main concern. If you hadn't been such a fool as to blurt out everything while you were being recorded, we wouldn't be in such dire straits. We should be playing offense, not defense,"
Yakira sighed. Without evidence, they couldn't be accused or charged even if their enemies had known the facts. Paul had told them everything in detail, which was bad, because cops were more likely to investigate further, and the results might lead to them. When that happened, they would be doomed and there would be no way out.
Nonsense. What would you do if you were hung over a pond with ferocious crocodiles swimming in it? Could you stay calm? Come on, I like living." He had always been smart and bold. Nothing could scare him, except dozens of those beasts opening their wide mouths and waiting for him to fall. The prospect of him being torn apart and his body parts being chewed and swallowed by those nasty animals sent chill to his balls. Otherwise, he would never have given in and told them everything.
"What? Crocodiles?" Hearing his words, Yakira couldn't help taking a deep breath. The images in her mind's eye made her hair stand on end.
"Yeah. Now we understand each other, right?" Paul sneered. He had thought his cousin was afraid of nothing. Apparently, he was wrong. Someday she would be trembling in fear.
"Then how did you get away?" Paul's easy escape intrigued Yakira. She had a vague idea that Edward would never let Paul go so easily, and that Edward must be plotting something. Otherwise, Edward must have gone mad by letting Paul go unpunished.
Never underestimate him. He's playing cat and mouse with us. Trust me on this." Paul looked out of the window and wondered where those bastards were, were they stalking and monitoring him. He knew something was wrong, but he hadn't found out what it was yet. He had thought that he was just being paranoid, but the eerie atmosphere and unusual feelings had to mean something. He must stay vigilant.
Are you telling me that he let you go on purpose so that you'd come find me, and get me exposed? You bastard! Why would you do that? Why walk straight into his trap, get me involved and put me in danger?" With these words, Yakira raised her Chanel bag and hit Paul with it, hard.
Stop. Don't lose your fucking mind and listen to me carefully. He won't get us, do you hear me? We've left no evidence to incriminate us. So, don't worry, we'll be fine." Paul blocked her attack with one of his arms, while he tried to talk some sense into her.
"Are you sure that there's no evidence? Could somebody have witnessed Grace's death?" Yakira had a good understanding of Edward's character, and knew that he would do nothing in vain. So, he must have gotten some evidence. 'What's on your mind? Edward,' thought Yakira to herself.
"If I recall correctly, a young couple passed by and might have seen something. But I don't know for sure. At that time I was too scared to figure out who they were. I had to get out of there as fast as possible. I vaguely remember that they weren't just ordinary man and woman. Both of them were beautiful and special." Paul's only and vague memory of those two potential witnesses couldn't lead him to anything, not their locations nor their identities, although Paul was impressed by what they looked like.
"Could this couple happen to be Jonathan and his fucking wife?" Some truths began to surface, when she recalled the strange behaviors of the Mu couple and their resolution to accept Daisy as their daughter-in-law. It couldn't be a simple story.
Jonathan, who's he? Why can't I remember him? Have I ever met him?" Paul was nobody before he went abroad, so there was no way that he could meet Jonathan. They didn't run in the same circles. He got confused and wondered how come he had never heard this name before.
"He's the former president of FX International Group, Edward's dad. Don't be ridiculous, you are too poor and uncultured to have ever met him. Yakira's mouth twitched slightly. She was being jealous of Cynthia and thought that woman must be a witch, knowing spells to keep her young forever. Yakira looked at herself through the car's rearview mirror and saw her face was a mess of wrinkles, with dark skin.
"Are they a problem for us?" asked Paul anxiously. If it was true that Edward's father witnessed the accident, it would actually mean a huge trouble to them.
Anyway, they are difficult to deal with. So, watch out and don't make any more mistakes. Now, get out of my car, I'm going home." Thinking of the ultimatum given by Leo, Yakira got increasingly worried and she frowned. She still didn't believe that Brian would be so cruel to his mother.
"Give it to me," said Paul, stretching out his right hand, while he massaged his nose with the other hand. He looked at Yakira seriously. "What?" asked Yakira, confused. She shot a disgusting glance at Paul, but she didn't overdo it.
"Don't play me. I need money. What else do you think I'm asking for?" Paul wielded his fist arrogantly, for which other people would have guessed that Yakira owed him.
"I'm short on money now. So, please don't spend all your money gambling, and save unnecessary expenses. Gambling is doing you no good. You know that?" Yakira took out a bank card from her purse angrily and threw it to him. She felt disgusted by her cousin's greed.
"Please, don't lie to my face. I'm not a kid. Did you just say that the wife of Ouyang Foreign Trade's president is out of money? I don't buy it. By the way, how much do you have on this card? I hope that you're not as mean as Brian," said Paul, smiling and wielding the card aggressively. He blurted out his recent meeting with Brian before he knew it.
"What? Did you talk to Brian and ask for money?" asked Yakira in a fury. She grabbed him by the collar and looked at him, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Don't make a scene. A half mil means nothing to your family or Brian. You can spare the cash for me. Am I right? Cousin?" Paul giggled. Paul removed her hand from his collar, and arranged it calmly, which further angered Yakira. She clenched her teeth, and tried hard to refrain herself from hitting him in the face.
"All right. You can have the money. But what did you tell him?" said Yakira hysterically. She glowered at him and finally knew why Brian became meaner to her after she was discharged from the police station. Paul was a bastard who dared to make troubles for her.
"I told him nothing but the very truth. By the way, he doesn't look like your son, haha. He's so nice and kind." Paul was bold enough to get Yakira so riled up and shoot contemptuous glances at her. As far as he was concerned, Yakira was as evil as himself, being no better.
"Fuck off," said Yakira indignantly, pointing to the car door and asking him to get out of the car. A woman, no natter how evil she had become, would never show her dark sides to her kids.