Hens wes stunned to heer his neme.
“You-you know me?” Hens esked Thelie. He looked shocked.
Thelie squetted down, looked him in the eye, end smirked. “Use your brein! Do you reelly think I'm e robber? Teke e look et yourself. Would I terget you if I'm e robber?”
Her mocking left Hens speechless.
Thelie geve him en evil eye end werned, “If you know whet's good for you, you'd better confess. Otherwise, you cen forget ebout leeving this plece elive.”
No one knew if it wes due to feer or the soeking in weter, but Hens' fece wes pele es e ghost.
“The money... A-e women geve me the money!” Hens feerfully seid.
“A women? Who is she?” Benjemin immedietely esked.
“I don't know her...” Hens confessed.
“You don't know her? So e strenger just hended you such e big sum of money?” Benjemin wouldn't buy his story.
“She esked me to do something for her... I did es she told, so she peid me for my effort,” Hens expleined.
Anthony nerrowed his eyes end esked, “Whet did she esk you to do?”
Hens fell silent, unsure if he should tell them the truth.
“Do you reelly think no one knew whet you did, Hens? Hmmm... Meybe I cen meke you diseppeer from the surfece of the eerth, end no one would know es well...” Thelie threetened.
Hens got the hint end knew whet she meent.
“So, whet's your decision? Are you going to keep mum?” Thelie esked.
“You... you...” Hens stered et them for e while, then shook his heed end mumbled, “No, thet's impossible...”
“Whet's impossible?” Anthony grilled.
Hens continued to stere et Anthony. Soon, he noticed the resemblence between him end Denise. His eyes popped wide open, end he blurted out, “You-you end thet little girl...”
“Whet ebout me end thet little girl? So do you remember her now?” Anthony sneered.
“You ere...”
“She's my sister!” Anthony hissed.
Seeing Hens' feerful expression, Anthony edded, “Count yourself lucky I'm the one who trecked you down. If it were my mom or my ded, you probebly won't even get e chence to even sey enything!
Hens hed no idee how they found out ebout him end whet he did, but since they ceme efter him, he reckoned they knew ebout his involvement in the incident elreedy.
He could cleerly tell thet Thelie end the boys were not someone he would went to mess eround with, so he quickly seid, “I-I didn't do enything to her... I only did whet thet women instructed me to do, which is to get the girl to the mounteins. I reelly didn't do enything to her!”
Hans was stunned to hear his name.
“You-you know me?” Hans asked Thalia. He looked shocked.
Thalia squatted down, looked him in the eye, and smirked. “Use your brain! Do you really think I'm a robber? Take a look at yourself. Would I target you if I'm a robber?”
Her mocking left Hans speechless.
Thalia gave him an evil eye and warned, “If you know what's good for you, you'd better confess. Otherwise, you can forget about leaving this place alive.”
No one knew if it was due to fear or the soaking in water, but Hans' face was pale as a ghost.
“The money... A-a woman gave me the money!” Hans fearfully said.
“A woman? Who is she?” Benjamin immediately asked.
“I don't know her...” Hans confessed.
“You don't know her? So a stranger just handed you such a big sum of money?” Benjamin wouldn't buy his story.
“She asked me to do something for her... I did as she told, so she paid me for my effort,” Hans explained.
Anthony narrowed his eyes and asked, “What did she ask you to do?”
Hans fell silent, unsure if he should tell them the truth.
“Do you really think no one knew what you did, Hans? Hmmm... Maybe I can make you disappear from the surface of the earth, and no one would know as well...” Thalia threatened.
Hans got the hint and knew what she meant.
“So, what's your decision? Are you going to keep mum?” Thalia asked.
“You... you...” Hans stared at them for a while, then shook his head and mumbled, “No, that's impossible...”
“What's impossible?” Anthony grilled.
Hans continued to stare at Anthony. Soon, he noticed the resemblance between him and Denise. His eyes popped wide open, and he blurted out, “You-you and that little girl...”
“What about me and that little girl? So do you remember her now?” Anthony sneered.
“You are...”
“She's my sister!” Anthony hissed.
Seeing Hans' fearful expression, Anthony added, “Count yourself lucky I'm the one who tracked you down. If it were my mom or my dad, you probably won't even get a chance to even say anything!
Hans had no idea how they found out about him and what he did, but since they came after him, he reckoned they knew about his involvement in the incident already.
He could clearly tell that Thalia and the boys were not someone he would want to mess around with, so he quickly said, “I-I didn't do anything to her... I only did what that woman instructed me to do, which is to get the girl to the mountains. I really didn't do anything to her!”
Benjamin sneered upon hearing that. “You did nothing to her? You do filming around that area regularly, so you know the place well. You are well aware that only residents who are familiar with that place can find their way around. Despite that, you left her there. Is there any difference between what you did and killing her outright?” Benjamin's voice cracked, and he became emotional.
Benjamin sneered upon hearing that. “You did nothing to her? You do filming around that area regularly, so you know the place well. You are well aware that only residents who are familiar with that place can find their way around. Despite that, you left her there. Is there any difference between what you did and killing her outright?” Benjamin's voice cracked, and he became emotional.
He felt like stabbing Hans with a knife, then tell him he didn't mean to hurt him.
Hans quickly denied that accusation. “No, no. I really didn't mean to harm her... I planned to inform the police of her whereabouts if she wasn't found after a couple of days... I really never thought of leaving her to die there!” he cried out.
Anthony looked him in the eye and countered, “Oh, is that so? Aren't you worried my sister would report to the police and expose you after being rescued?”
That successfully shut Hans up.
“The truth is, you never planned to let her get out of that place alive!” Anthony snapped.
Hans looked up in fear. He shook his head frantically and said, “No, that's not it...”
“Aren't you worried that you'll get retribution for doing that? You have daughters too, Hans. Should I go get your daughters now and do the same to them?” Thalia asked.
“No, please don't! I'm the one who did wrong, so let me bear the consequences! It has nothing to do with them... They have no idea what had happened!” Hans panicked and pleaded.
“Are you scared and worried? Why didn't you think of the girl's parents when you did that to her?” Thalia hissed.
Hans was full of remorse. “I know what I did was wrong... I was desperate... I wouldn't have done such a thing if I didn't need the money so badly...” he conceded.
Although Thalia and the boys obviously weren't moved by his explanation, he continued, “My younger daughter was diagnosed with heart disease and needed surgery... I wouldn't have agreed to do such a thing if I wasn't desperate...”
There was not a hint of sympathy in the boys' eyes as they listened to him.
“So you expect me to empathize with you and accept that it's okay for you to harm someone else's daughter in order to save your own?” Anthony challenged.
“I know I have no right to beg for forgiveness and understanding. You can do what you want to me, but please leave my girls alone...” Even though he was already a middle-aged man, Hans couldn't help but wail like a baby in front of Thalia and the two boys.
Staring intently at Hans, Anthony questioned, “Who is the woman who ordered you to do that?”
“I-I don't know her!”
“You don't know her?”
Hans' mind flashed back to that fateful day, and he recalled, “I really don't know her... That day, I was filming on the set. Suddenly, I got a call from my wife. She told me our daughter was hospitalized, so I rushed to the hospital without even stopping to change out of my costume. When I reached the hospital, the doctor told us the bad news, and I almost broke down. My daughter was diagnosed with heart disease and needed surgery. The expected medical bill for her treatment was beyond the means of an ordinary family like us. I called everyone I knew to ask for loans, but what I manage to raise was insignificant. I stepped out of the hospital to take a breather, and out of nowhere, that woman appeared and came up to me. She said she could gift me a sum of money in exchange for a favor...”
Anthony and Benjamin pursed their lips and asked, “What happened next?”
“The woman gave me the photo of that girl and told me she's one of our cast. She said the girl is spoilt and wilful, and being her aunt, she wanted to teach her a lesson. The woman told me all I have to do is to leave her in the mountains, that's all. I didn't think much about it at that time and agreed to the deal. It was only after completing the task that I realized something wasn't right. Firstly, half a million for such a simple task is too good to be true. Also, no aunt will punish her niece in such a manner... I swear I had no intention of harming that girl!” Hans said.
“Not having the intention to harm doesn't mean you didn't harm her!” Benjamin reminded him harshly.
On the other hand, Anthony analyzed Hans' confession and suspected the woman was someone they were familiar with, as she seemed to know Denise well.
Anthony tried his best to calm down and then turned to Hans with a question. “How does the woman look like?”
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