Chapter 48 Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
Josephine held Avery’s hand and shook her head as if to tell her not to turn herself in.
Avery seemed to understand what Josephine meant, and she chuckled as she said, ” It wasn’t easy for me to get out of my house, Josie. If I miss this opportunity, I fear that things will only get more complicated in the future.”
Josephine wrapped her arms tightly around Avery to stop her from leaving. Seeing how stubborn Josephine was, Avery wanted to say something to soothe her. But she didn’t know what she should say. The rain had stopped, and the sun was beginning to emerge from behind the cloak of the clouds.
After a while, Avery’s smile dropped from her face and she looked at Josephine seriously. “Josephine. If it weren’t for the fact that people have died, I really have to thank Lewis for giving me the opportunity to see the true colors of the people around me. But…” Avery smiled and continued, “You don’t make me regret my decision, Josie. Whatever I’ve done and whatever I’m going to do, just know that it’s going to be worth it.’
Josephine still didn’t let go of Avery, but Avery was stronger than she was. If Avery moved to push her away, there was nothing Josephine could do. But Avery didn’t push her away. “Let me go, Josie.”
Josephine shook her head adamantly. Avery was amused by Josephine’s antics, but a car drove by at that very moment. The person in the car threw a soda can aimed at Avery, and it hit her square on the forehead. It didn’t hurt, but the clatter of the can as it hit the ground was deafening.
The atmosphere around them instantly turned tense due to the hostile and
aggressive attack on Avery. Josephine turned to look at the car, but it was already a tiny speck in the distance. It was a taxi.
After a while, Avery looked at Josephine and said, “Well, you’ve seen it then. That’s my life now-just like a rat crossing the street that gets attacked by passersby.”
Josephine finally released Avery and signed, “It’s not your fault.”
“I’ve tried telling myself that, Josie, but it doesn’t work like that. Maybe you don’t really understand how I feel. It’s… not exactly the same as killing a live fish or a hen.”
This particular sense of guilt and panic would definitely linger until the end of time. After all, the dead could never be brought back to life. Avery’s family had been going through a hard time, and what more was there to say about the victims’ families?
Josephine stared at Avery, but Avery couldn’t understand why Josephine was the one who looked so helpless, much like a headless chicken. “Josie, dear. You should really divorce Lewis soon. He isn’t a good man. Lewis loves acting dumb, especially when it comes to relationship problems. That’s because playing dumb can get him out of such trouble 90% of the time.”
She spoke as though it would be the last time they would ever meet each other, like she was saying her last words. Josephine really didn’t want to let Avery turn herself in.
Suddenly, a few taxis drove up and stopped in front of them. A group of men and women got down and surrounded them.
“I’ve finally found you, heartless murderer! My sister died, and all that you gave was just two million? You really thought two million would solve things?” The man looked to be 30-something years old, and he was dressed sloppily. His hair was dyed red, and he looked like a delinquent or a gangster.
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Avery looked at the group of people that surrounded them. Most of them were their forties and fifties-most likely the family members of the victims. They burst into tears as soon as they stepped out of the cars.
“You guys are horrible, wretched, and shoddy rich murderers! Is there no law in this land anymore? You’ve killed people in broad daylight! Bring my son back to life right now! Give back my son!”
“Dear God! Please, look at these wretched people roaming the land!”
Seeing the group of hostile people, Josephine turned to look at Avery. There was no emotion on Avery’s face. She simply watched numbly as they insulted her.
When Avery didn’t respond in any way, some of the men began to shout, “Tie her up! We’ll bring her to the police station ourselves! With the murderer right in front of them, the police should give us an answer!”
As he said that, everybody charged over and tried to grab Avery. Avery got down from her motorcycle and was just about to say something when Josephine suddenly stood in front of her, shielding her. Avery was surprised and stared at Josephine blankly.
Anyone could see that Josephine was afraid of the crowd, but she remained rooted in front of Avery with her arms spread wide to protect her friend. Her shoulders were trembling, but she stood firm.
As a result, the group of people thought she was Avery’s accomplice. They grew even more enraged and moved to push Josephine out of the way. Who would’ve
thought that Josephine would make the first move and shove one of the approaching men away?
She had shoved him with all her might, and he staggered back into the person.
behind him. “Why, you little! You’re murderers, and yet you have the gall to act like
this?”
The man raised his hand to slap Josephine, and she cowered away. But Avery was quick to act, grabbing his hand and giving him a powerful slap of her own.
It happened in the exact same way that Avery had slapped Sierra back then. However, it only served to make the group of people even more angry.
“Unbelievable! You actually had the audacity to-! Kill them! We need to avenge our dead loved ones!” Everybody rushed at them without hesitation. Josephine quickly turned to hug Avery, leaving her back defenseless.
She had already wounded Avery once, she would not allow it to happen again!
That was the only thing running through Josephine’s head at the moment. Avery finally recollected herself, and she quickly turned to grab a stick from her motorcycle, pushing Josephine behind her as she did. She waved the stick in a wide semicircle, and effectively keeping the group of people back.
Avery’s words were cold and thin like a knife. “I’m a murderer, you say? Well, I suppose it makes no difference for me to kill another person, or two, or even a hundred, really. Come at me! I’ll send you down so you can be reunited with your
dead beloveds!”
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