When The Man Acts

6. What Actually Happened

"A few months after that, things got messy, their relationship wasn't good, they weren't harmonious, they fought a lot. Then one summer night, my mother died. That old man killed her."

"You can't just accuse him."

"He did it, I'm so alone. He killed my mother just to seize her property. All the assets, treasures, and wealth went straight into his hands. He had planned everything, he knew how to prepare the plan carefully. He knew when to act. And that's what he did."

Pausing for a moment, Jane caught her ragged breath. "I wish he'd gone to jail, but there wasn't enough evidence to put him away. The police couldn't do much and ruled my mother's death an accident."

"If I may know, how did your mother die?"

"She fell rolling down from the top step, her head hit the floor very hard. She died right there." Jane's voice turned hoarse, and Harry knew that it wasn't easy for Jane to talk about the wounds of her past. Especially to a stranger like him. Harry swallowed harshly. He sympathized, he really did.

"There was a lot of blood, too much blood. I was still in the room. When I came out, he—that old bastard—was just standing on the top step. I'm sure that he pushed my mom."

Harry saw that Jane's hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. The more Jane told the story, the more focused and interested Harry became.

"My days were so bleak and painful after that. My mother died, I had no one, and I hated my stepfather."

Jane was now crying, she covered her face. Harry didn't know what to do, so he kept quiet, but his heart felt uneasy.

Seeing Jane cry made Harry feel guilty, even though it was misguided. Harry spoke softly, "You don't have to tell me that again if it's too hard for you."

"No." Jane immediately looked up. She wiped her cheeks full of puddles of tears. Harry looked deeper into her pale face.

"You need to know the rest so you know that your boss isn't a nice old man, he's a cruel, evil, scheming, heartless bastard. I'm sick of him. I also want you to know that you're making a mistake by continuing to work with him."

Harry just pressed his lips together.

"He runs the electronics company that my mother worked so hard to build, he has an official letter saying that he's the rightful and only owner of the company. I don't believe that." Jane continued her story. "I expected him to go bankrupt and not be able to run the business, but I was wrong, he actually became more successful. This is crazy."

"What did you do after that?" asked Harry.

"I tried living with him for a while. But I couldn't stand it, so I dropped out. Until finally, I came to him, a few months ago. "It was our first meeting after several years of not seeing each other."

Harry adjusted his sitting position to make it more comfortable. "Why did you meet him again?"

"I just wanted to say hello, to be honest. But I threatened him a bit, saying that I was still looking for evidence that he was the culprit in my mother's disappearance. And I told him that I already had that."

"You lied about that."

"I didn't want to tell you, it's a secret that only I know. Besides, you're still in that old man's power."

Steve sighed softly. "Alright, I understand, so what's next?"

"The old man feels threatened, I realize that. It's not the first time he's ordered people to bring me to him. You're not the first." Jane looked at Harry seriously.

Harry parted his lips. What kind of surprise was this? Is it true what Jane said? Harry gulped his saliva very roughly.

"Before you, he sent someone else. But it ended in failure. I managed to escape. I've even moved house. But, he has found me again, and now he is ordering you around. I can't believe you finally managed to take me. Now, he wants to kill me, I know it. He's afraid that I'll put his position at a disadvantage, he really feels threatened. That's why he wants me dead. Don't you know about this?"

"I want to believe your story, but unfortunately you have no supporting evidence that it is true. So, I don't fully believe you yet. You could be lying."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask your captain boss yourself!" Jane roared. "He's a cruel old man. Do me a favor and don't take me to him. You're a good man. You don't want to live the rest of your life with regrets, do you? So please, let me go."

"Your story is over, right? Okay, let's go again. Steve is waiting for you at home."

Jane was stunned, while Harry didn't want to look weak just because of such cheap persuasion.

The car finally accelerated again.

"I say again, I'm just doing my job, it's none of my business. I raise my hand."

"You're just as cruel as he is."

Harry locked his ears tightly. Furthermore, he focused more and more on driving. Meanwhile, Jane's content continued to rant in the back. Harry was given a very confusing choice.

He suddenly regretted having heard all of Jane's words. He should have kept quiet, kept going. The job was done.

Harry let out an exasperated breath.

By now, the clock had struck 21:00.

The time was passing very quickly. And actually, Harry still had a few hours to go before the deadline to hand Jane over. He can change his mind at any time, but what will happen after that?

Harry would disappoint Steve again, even though he had promised the old man that he wouldn't fail.

Harry was very indecisive at the moment.

"If I could, I'd like to kill him first. But I'm too scared to do that." Jane wailed.

Harry continued to stare ahead. He knew that it was time. "We're almost there."

"f**k!" Jane cursed from behind. "Damn it, you bastard, you brought me to the wolves."

"Let's face it, Jane, if this isn't the end of your life history, God definitely won't take your life. Think positive."

"I walked into the wolf's den, and you thought I'd be slow. He wants to kill me, asshole! I'm sure you know that too. He gave the order, you're just like him!"

"We're not the same."

"Just the same, the only difference is you're young, and he's old. Your nature is the same. You're cruel!" Jane continued to rant.

"Stop talking, we're here."

"Before he took my life, I knew he would torture me again, I was sure of it."

Earlier, Steve had said that he would teach Jane a lesson and the meaning of betrayal. What kind of betrayal was this? Well, Harry doesn't know yet.

"Torture you how?"

When Jane explained, Harry was immediately made to glare in disbelief. With his mouth half open, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.