By Zephyria For just a few seconds, Georgina lost her memory as if she had lost consciousness. Belatedly, she shook her head violently, and then widened her eyes.
And the moment she realized what she had heard, she snapped to her senses.
“A psychiatric ward? How am I supposed to do that?”
Georgina shouted in a voice that was higher than usual in surprise. Winston still answered calmly, watching his young niece, who was just gaping at the unbelievable story.
“That’s for you to figure out.”
“Ha.”
Georgina let out a short, dumbfounded breath. What is he suddenly talking about?
“There’s something I need to hear from Andrew.”
Winston continued slowly and quietly.
“So you find out before I find Andrew.”
“Suddenly, why? To me?”
Georgina was so confused that she kept stammering.
“It doesn’t have to be me, does it? Why are you making me do this?”
The voice that barely came out was shaking wildly. Too many thoughts were going through her head, and she couldn’t sort them out. Winston said, watching his niece, who was just blinking.
“Catherine will be less wary if it’s you.”
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“If I’m going to give your family any consideration, I need to have a good reason.”
…Huh?
The complicated thoughts in her head emptied out at once. Georgina stared at Winston with her eyes still wide open and opened her mouth.
“…What? What do you need a reason for?”
No way, it can’t be.
A loud warning sounded in Georgina’s head. Does he know? Does Winston know everything and is doing this to me? Then why is he saying this to me? What’s the point?
If that’s the case, what’s going to happen?
“My secretary will be submitting a report sometime tomorrow afternoon.”
Winston continued in a calm voice to Georgina, who had belatedly come to her senses.
“You’ll have to give me an answer before then. Your information will be useless after the secretary submits it.”
Georgina belatedly started to think desperately. I have to do something. I have to say something to buy time…
I need to buy time to think.
“What happens if I don’t do it…?”
Winston chuckled at the last-ditch question.
“Then that just means you’re not as smart as I thought.”
That was a generous assessment of his niece. In this situation, defying him was something only a naive three-year-old would do.
“…O-Okay. I’ll try…”
That was all Georgina could say. There was no way out. Still in shock, Georgina stood awkwardly and was about to turn around when she suddenly stopped.
“Why do you need a reason to give me consideration?”
Winston answered as if it was nothing to the question she squeezed out.
“Because you’re Angie’s friend.”
Georgina made a dumbfounded expression, and he chuckled and added.
“Wouldn’t my daughter be sad if she couldn’t see her friend again?”
I need you until she makes other friends.
Georgina felt like she knew Winston’s hidden feelings. Having nothing more to say, she turned around and left the study without saying goodbye.
What should I do?
The footsteps that had been walking quickly down the hallway soon turned into a run. Georgina, who had run to her room in a daze, hurriedly closed the door and gasped for breath.
Did Winston find out everything? So maybe he needs a final testimony? But Andrew wouldn’t talk easily, so if I just pretend I don’t know…
He wouldn’t leave me alone either.
I’ve heard countless times that the truth will come out someday, but when it came to my own situation, I wanted to ignore it as nonsense. Everyone has been living well with it buried until now, so why now? Besides, I’m not even involved. I didn’t even know that had happened until recently.
Does Winston think I know?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe he thought Andrew said something while he was high, or maybe he’s giving the children of the people involved in the incident a chance to decide whether or not to give them consideration. What was certain was that Winston had given Georgina a way out.
Because I’m Angela’s friend.At that moment, her small and young friend felt incredibly reliable. But her current situation hadn’t changed. Now she had to choose. Should she continue to pretend she knew nothing, as she had until now, or should she trust the possibility, however slim, and cooperate with Winston as much as possible?
After much deliberation, she finally made a decision.
But this isn’t enough.
Even Winston’s secretary could easily find out cheap information like Andrew being locked up in the Closed Ward. She needed more valuable information than that. For example…
She paced around the room, deep in thought, before stopping abruptly. The thought that flashed through her mind was the result of absurd assumptions piled upon assumptions. There was no evidence that it actually existed. It might just be her wishful thinking. But if it really did exist, she couldn’t get more valuable information than that.
Okay, let’s bet on that.
Georgina made up her mind and picked up the phone in the room. She dialed the internal number to wake the Butler and spoke quickly.
“Call me a taxi, right now.”
* * *
Haa, haa. Haa, haa.
Yu-jin gasped for breath, his eyes closed against the extreme dizziness. The nausea that came and went now seemed to be constant. He was especially sensitive to smells, and even the subtle scent of air freshener made him vomit. As a result, all scented products in the bedroom and bathroom were replaced with unscented ones, and the Butler and maid took turns ventilating the room and checking on Yu-jin’s condition.
Hoo…
After a long sigh, he barely managed to flush the toilet and staggered out, where Winston was standing in front of the door. He looked up with a dazed expression, and Winston picked him up without asking. He wanted to push him away, but he didn’t have the strength, so Yu-jin gave up and slumped in his arms. Winston slowly, very carefully, laid Yu-jin on the bed and looked down at him, leaning over. He seemed completely exhausted, breathing heavily with his eyes closed. He seemed half-conscious. Yu-jin’s condition had deteriorated rapidly since the previous afternoon. Winston had been watching him because Yu-jin had stubbornly insisted that he didn’t need to see a doctor, but he couldn’t wait any longer.
“I have to call a doctor.”
Winston said, but Yu-jin didn’t move, whether he heard it or not. Winston continued to mutter to himself.
“I’ve put up with this enough. No more, Angela is worried too.”
Yu-jin twitched briefly at the mention of his daughter’s name. It might have been a reflex. Feeling a bitter feeling, Winston sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Yu-jin’s cheek.
Revisiting a case from years ago was not easy. Even if he tried to check the case files from that time, there was almost nothing left, and even if he looked at the investigation data, it was all facts he already knew, and he couldn’t find anything special.
Above all, the perpetrators of the incident at the time were the problem. There were four members of the gang, one of whom had never been caught, and the three who had been arrested had already served their sentences, but one had died of drug addiction and another had been hit by a car while walking drunk. The last one had left the country and his whereabouts were completely unknown.
Perhaps he was no longer in this world either. In the end, there was no one to prove Yu-jin’s words. Except for one person.
Andrew.
Winston slowly furrowed his brow. The problem was that that one person had been consistently claiming his innocence since then.
‘I was just trying to help him because I felt sorry for him.’
He wailed that he was just trying to be Yu-jin’s friend because he was lonely, but Yu-jin was more actively involved. He even cried loudly like a child, a grown man, saying that he had been hiding it secretly for his brother Winston, but Yu-jin had brought a bad crowd he was hanging out with to his house, which caused this mess. There was plenty of evidence to support his claim. There was countless evidence that Yu-jin had contacted him first, and Yu-jin did not deny that point either. Of course, the reason was different.
I wanted to get close to your family.
Yu-jin said with a bitter face. Winston couldn’t understand why he thought that way. Was it because he was too busy and lonely? Then he could make other friends. Why did he have to try to get close to the Campbell family?
I told you many times that you didn’t have to.
You’ll never understand.
Yu-jin said with an empty face and closed his mouth. Of course, Winston couldn’t understand. It was the same now, but anyway, that didn’t matter.
Maybe Andrew will say the same thing this time. But this time, Winston’s thoughts were different. Maybe he’ll see something new that he didn’t see back then.
If not…
Winston quietly looked down at Yu-jin’s face. His choice would go back to square one. Would he believe Yu-jin’s words, which had no basis, or would he still push him as a liar?
Winston stared at his sleeping face without moving, then turned and left the room. The Butler was waiting for him outside.
“Contact the doctor, Yu-jin’s condition is not good. Contact me immediately if anything happens.”
As he spoke quickly while walking, the Butler replied briefly, “Yes,” and followed him.
“Miss Georgina called a taxi in the early morning and went back.”
Winston only said, “Is that so?” He didn’t wake the child who was still asleep and walked across the hallway, quickly leaving the mansion and getting into the waiting car. In the hazy dawn, just as the sun was beginning to rise, the black sedan drove familiarly.