Chapter 16
Staring at the blaze before him, James couldn’t help but be reminded of the fire at the Payne residence from before. A vague sense of unease crept into his chest, prompting him to call Simon.
However, the call didn’t go through right away..
Changing course, James redirected his destination toward the Payne residence.
As the navigation system kicked in, he turned on some music. The moment the car’s speaker played the introduction, Naomi instantly recognized the
song.
It was a children’s lullaby–one that James used to sing to her whenever she cried as a child. He never sang on key, but his deep, warm voice had always made her feel safe.
It was this warmth over the years that blurred her vision, leading her to foolishly believe she could stay with him forever.
Wrapped in the song, Naomi finally found a fleeting moment of peace. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
At that very moment, James received a call from Jocelyn. He answered half–heartedly,”
“Hello?”
“James, I found a beautiful cemetery for Naomi. Would you like to come see it with me?”
James could hardly bear to hear Neomi’s name right now. His brow furrowed tightly as he snapped coldly, “You don’t need to worry about that.” Without saying another word, he hung up. He even rejected her call when she immediately tried to call back
Meanwhile, Jocelyn simply smiled and turned around. “Hurry up!”
Before her lay Naomi’s lifeless body. Several strong men were dragging the corpse into a small room. Jocelyn handed over a wad of cash to them and waved them away.
At that moment, Simon finally returned James‘ call
“Mr. Payne, someone took the body. They knocked us out, so we couldn’t see who did it.”
James immediately became panicked.
for me. I’m on my way!
!!
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, slamming the horn repeatedly. How he wished he could fly straight there..
The fury in his chest boiled over, malong his driving dangerously erratic. He spun the wheel sharply, his car racing forward at breakneck speed. It was so fast that it frightened the pedestrians he flew past,
When he arrived at the morgue, he rushed right into the room as fast as he could.
Seeing the empty room made his heart sink. It felt like his heart was falling freely into the abyss. He urgently asked, “Have you found anything?”
“The surveillance footage was wiped. We’re checking nearby traffic cams now.
James clenched his fists and slammed them hard into the wall twice, trying to force himself to calm down. His face was still swollen from before, and his emotions now surged even more violently.
Then, a thought struck him–Jocelyn! He wondered if that earlier phone call was really just a casual conversation
He thought back to the fire at the Payne residence in the past, and his mind began to clear.
James called Jocelyn again, but her line was busy. He grabbed one of his bodyguards by the collar, leaned in, and whispered, “Go investigate the villa fire.
After that, he made another call. This time, he received a solid lead
In exchange for a plot of land, James had someone intensity surveillance efforts. After just three minutes of waiting, he finally obtained the exact location of Naomi’s body.
The moment he heard that they had found her, James didn’t wait another second. He rushed to his car and sped off.
Back in the morgue, Simon looked down at his half–finished report and sighed. He had never seen a young woman so covered in scars or meet heartbreaking, tragic end.
Maybe death really was a release for someone with a life like hers.
such a
Meanwhile, James, now o
on the road, pulled up to the address.
To his surprise, he was at a shrine.
