‘You must feel relieved that Finnick has no idea about what you did,” Evelyn taunted Noah after composing herself.
“I’m warning you—don’t even think about keeping yourself clean. If you want to hide it from Finnick, your only option is to help me. If not, I’ll go to Finnick right now and spill all of your dirty secrets. I can’t wait to see how he would treat his most trusted right-hand man.”
Panic shot through Noah when he heard her threats. “W-What do you want?” he stammered. He knew that this woman was not above getting blood on her hands now that she had been sent over the edge.
Evelyn gave Noah a side-eye and sneered at his cowardice. “The game is not over yet. They still have a long way to go before winning me!”
After leaving the company building, Finnick rang up a private investigator he knew personally and asked him to investigate if anything unusual had happened to Mark recently.
“I also need your help with sourcing something. It concerns…”
Finnick’s eyes glinted with menace after ending the call. He would not let Mark off easy this time round. It was about time Mark bore the consequences of his foolish decisions.
Finnick pulled out of the parking lot and roamed around with no destination in mind.
He slowly drove past numerous shops. Whenever he passed a familiar shop, a flashback related to Vivian would pop up involuntarily.
Vivian used to love the pork ribs from this restaurant. She once mentioned that she liked the aesthetic of this studio because it gives of the retro vibes of the eighties. I remember that there’s a market somewhere here; we bought our groceries there before. None of us are good cooks, but we enjoyed the meal nonetheless…
Finnick pulled to a stop in front of a shop—Cindy’s Baby Store.
He remembered distinctly that they had shopped at this baby store when they mistakenly thought Vivian to be pregnant. They had been happy then.
Both of them had their eyes on a pair of shoes. At that time, they did not know the gender of the unborn child and bickered over whether blue or pink would be the better choice.
How did I settle the argument? Finnick’s lips curved into a gentle smile at the fond memory—he had bought both pairs.
In fact, he bought two of everything they fancied. Vivian reprimanded him, albeit good-naturedly, for wasting money. He then jokingly replied that he was making preparations in case she was carrying fraternal twins.
After learning that Vivian was not pregnant, Finnick was worried that seeing the tiny clothes and shoes would upset Vivian, so he stowed them away in the storeroom.
The bitter irony was that when Vivian actually got pregnant, Finnick never got the chance to shop for the baby with her.
Finnick’s eyelids slid shut. He pressed on the corners of his eyes with his fingers, forcing his tears back. She must have felt helpless when I insisted on aborting the baby.
Coincidentally, Rachel had been diagnosed with leukemia at that time. Knowing how filial Vivian was, Finnick was certain that she had kept the baby a secret from Rachel. Fighting a lonely battle must have been wearying and devastating.
Finnick could not bear to imagine how Vivian had endured such torment. He slammed a fist into the steering wheel to vent his debilitating remorse. Why? Why did I choose to trust Evelyn instead of Vivian? How big of an idiot am I?
At this moment, Finnick’s phone buzzed, bringing him back to his senses. He collected himself before picking up. It was Noah on the other end.
“What is it?”
“Mr. Norton, Evelyn has left your office,” Noah reported.
“Noted. I’m going back now.”
With that, Finnick hung up and headed back to the company. There were some things that had to be dealt with quickly or he would not have the courage to face Vivian.
Finnick found Noah waiting for him when he arrived at his office.
“You’ll be in charge of anything regarding Evelyn in the future. Don’t let me see her,” Finnick instructed impassively as he took a seat.
