Chapter 405 If I Could Turn Back Time
The second Kathleen stepped out of the ward, her phone chimed. She fished out the phone and glanced at the screen,only to find a virtual phone number. Tch! Trying to play games with me, huh? She instantly hit the answer key and put the phone near her ear.
“Your daughter is with me, Kathleen.Come to the old campus where you attended high school if you want to see her alive.You should know where that is.”
A machine-like voice sounded over the phone. The other party ended the call abruptly right after finishing the sentence. At this, Kathleen descended into a moment of deep thought as silence ensued. Prior to that, the old campus of her previous high school had been emptied out. That place had already been put on the waiting list to be demolished and then rebuilt. How interesting for her to set our meeting there, of all places.
Immediately, Kathleen made her way downstairs and drove off in her car. It was already the dead of night. The security guard at the front gate was seen crashing out as he sprawled on his desk. Tiptoeing toward the small door beside the front gate, Kathleen gently pushed it open and strode inside.
Without deliberation, she made a beeline for the school building. Right then, her phone rang once more. She picked up the call right away and questioned, “Where are you?” “Why don't you make a guess?”
An icy voice was heard on the other end of the line. Her eyebrows knitted to a knot of displeasure at that.
Scanning the vicinity, she marched toward the fourth floor of the building. Once she reached the fourth floor, she walked to a wasted classroom. That very classroom was the one she had been to during her final year. There Desiree was, lying on the floor right in the center of the classroom.
Her body was strapped with bombs. No one else could be found inside but her. Kathleen rushed over to her daughter's side and carried the latter in her arms.
“Desi,” called out Kathleen softly.
“Mommy's here.”
Sadly, Desiree remained unconscious and unresponsive. Touching her daughter's body, Kathleen reckoned that Desiree must’ve been drugged with sedatives. As she held Desiree in her arms,she tried to remove the bombs that had encircled her daughter's body. Alas, the bombs began to emit a series of beeping sounds. Kathleen was scared out of her wits and dared not continue her reckless act.
At that juncture, the ringtone played from her phone. Tapping the answer button, she was all ready to listen to what the other party had to say.
“Even if you've found your daughter, Kathleen, I doubt you could come up with an idea to rescue her!” That voice reeked of naught but coldness and sarcasm.
“You will both be blown into smithereens! Haha!” Kathleen took a deep breath.
“Nicolette, I didn't expect you to be so full of yourself despite everything that has happened.” The laughter from the other end of the line ceased instantly on that note.
Letting out a snort, Kathleen continued, “I've already caught sight of you when I picked Zion up at the port the other day.Why on earth did you cover yourself up from head to toe? Were you that afraid of me seeing you?”
Only silence came from the phone.
“I didn't anticipate you to keep me waiting after your arrival in Jadeborough.You nearly had me there for a moment with your inactivity,” added Kathleen with sarcastic chuckles.
“I then realized that you’re not idling at all.Rather, you're busy acting out the role of someone else—Yareli!” The rhythm of breathing could be heard over the phone.
Kathleen went on, “It has already come to this.You'd better show yourself!” A loud peal of thunder came from Nicolette’s lips.
“Haha! Not bad, Kathleen! But you're too little, too late to see daylight.You’ll never get to defuse the bombs.Besides, the detonator is in my hand.A single tap from me will send you straight six feet under.Don’t fret, though.That little bastard will join you.”
As Kathleen sensed that they were in peril of dying, her gaze turned as sharp as the razor.
“Do you think you can go on the lam after getting rid of me? Ha! You can never shake off Samuel’s pursuit!” That statement only made Nicolette sneer.
At first, Samuel only watched from the sidelines. It was when one of the arrogant silver-spooned brats tried to lay a finger on Kathleen that Samuel went over to kick his butt out the door. In that instance, Samuel wasn't even eighteen, but he already had a sinister and menacing mien. The children from those wealthy families in Jadeborough were all very much terrified of him because of that. Tugging Kathleen to his side, Samuel announced in front of those brats, “She's my sister.I'll hunt you down if any of you ever mess with her.”
Hearing his threat, all of them scurried away in fear. Kathleen, in turn, flashed Samuel a grateful grin. A thought flashed through Samuel's mind at that time. He even surprised himself when he realized that he had taken a liking to Kathleen.
That would be logical, for hardly anyone could resist inclining their hearts to an obedient and gentle little girl like her. Even so, there was also a sense of gratitude in Samuel's heart toward Nicolette because, at that moment, he thought that it was Nicolette who had saved his life.
In order to prevent the others from bullying Nicolette, he had no choice but to allow her to call him her boyfriend. In Samuel's mind, though, he, too, knew that he ought to not let Kathleen grow on him like that.
Thus, he proclaimed, “I've always seen you as my dearest sister.”
The girl blinked her eyes at that.
Feelings of grievance, insecurity, and hurt were apparent on her delicate face. It was as though Samuel was watching himself from the sidelines, reviewing every episode in the past. He was dying to tell his past self to own up to his true feelings from the depths of his heart.
I have to confess to her right now and put an end to her suffering! Yet, he couldn't seem to utter a word no matter how hard he tried. He watched himself walking away. Kathleen was huddling in a corner, crying her eyes out.
Witnessing the scene, Samuel felt a pang of misery in his chest. Not even once had Kathleen attempted to do anything to sow the seeds of discord between him and Nicolette. Nicolette was the one who had insisted on getting married and gotten herself sent away by Diana. Samuel realized that he shouldn't have put the blame on Kathleen, for she was truly innocent of tying the knot with him.
“K-Kate...” He struggled to mutter to himself.
“I’m sorry, Kate…I was wrong.I should've loved you with all my heart right from the beginning…
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