By Zephyria 
Santiano’s father mumbled in a trembling voice, seemingly dumbfounded. “So,” Grayson continued.
“I took Santiano’s punishment instead. You opened the basement door yourself, so it’s all over, right? You opened it because the punishment was over. To take the child out. It’s done, all over, happy ending!”
Grayson seemed genuinely happy, but no one shared his sentiment.
“You bastard, stop talking nonsense and tell me where my son is!”
Santiano’s enraged father shouted. Fortunately, he was focused on Grayson and seemed oblivious to everything else. Seizing the opportunity, Dane approached the man step by step. Unaware of the silent movement, the man waved his pistol and yelled.
“Tell me, where did you hide my son! If you don’t tell me, I’ll blow your head off!”
It was a precarious situation. The slightest mistake could lead to a bullet being fired, and everything could be over.
It’s okay, Dane reassured himself. He had trained for this situation thousands of times and experienced it firsthand on several occasions. Dealing with a civilian was no different from dealing with a child. Just be careful of that gun, the only thing to be careful of was that gun…
At that moment, Grayson met Dane’s eyes. Dane quickly brought his second finger to his mouth.
Shut up.
It was a universal sign for silence, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
“Wait, you can’t come now.”
Grayson suddenly said. Dane’s face twisted in dismay, and Santiano’s father turned and pulled the trigger almost simultaneously.
Desire Me if you can
“You bastard!”
Dane roared and threw a punch. It was a full swing, without any restraint, and Grayson staggered violently. If there hadn’t been a tree behind him, he might have fallen to the ground in an unsightly heap. Dane continued to shout mercilessly at him as he wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.
“What the hell were you doing there? I took the kid out, so why were you still there?”
That wasn’t all. Dane could have died because of this damn guy. Why did he suddenly make himself known? Even a three-year-old would have had the sense to stay quiet. If Santiano’s father hadn’t turned so abruptly, causing the gun to waver, Dane would probably be struggling to choose a coffin that fit his tall frame right now.
“You crazy bastard, if you don’t give me a reasonable explanation, you’re going to die today! Do you understand? Huh?”
Dane was furious and shouted wildly. He wouldn’t let it go easily without a satisfactory explanation. Of course, even if it was satisfactory, he still planned to beat him half to death.
Grayson opened his mouth to Dane, who was roaring like a ferocious beast.
“I was just helping Santiano, why are you getting angry?”
He frowned and looked down at Dane. The fist that was about to fly towards his face froze in mid-air.
…What? This guy.
Dane blinked in confusion. The crazy statement was absurd, but the problem was that Grayson’s expression was so serious right now. It wasn’t a misplaced joke or a fabricated excuse. Grayson Miller was serious. He genuinely believed he had helped the child. He even looked wronged. Ha, Dane let out a sigh of disbelief.
“Are you seriously saying that right now? You must be out of your mind.”
Dane spat out through gritted teeth, but all he got in return was Grayson’s still-frowning face. This time, Grayson tilted his head in the opposite direction, and Dane snarled at him.
“Why were you even there in the first place? Didn’t you hear why that kid was in the basement? Don’t tell me you thought they were playing hide-and-seek there?”
The story that this man had been imprisoned due to unavoidable circumstances was utter nonsense. It was clear that he had stayed there voluntarily, so there was only one thing to ask.
What the hell was he doing there with an abused child?
Grayson blinked and shook his head at the mocking question.
“Of course not. Santiano said he was being punished for doing something wrong.”
“And you just left him there? You even went inside with him?”
Dane groaned through clenched teeth. Grayson watched him with a puzzled expression as his blue eyes darkened with anger. There was no need to hear any more. It’s time to beat him to a pulp, he thought, clenching his fist.
“He couldn’t come out because he was being punished. So I stayed with him?”
The fist he was about to swing stopped abruptly in mid-air. Dane stared at Grayson without moving and opened his mouth.
“…What?”
Grayson answered nonchalantly to the question that came after a pause.
“I stayed with him so he wouldn’t be lonely. That’s all, right? What’s the problem?”
He seemed genuinely unable to understand. Dane slowly lowered his hand and said with a dumbfounded expression.
“Wouldn’t it have been over if you had just taken the child out from the beginning? Why did you have to go in there?”
Waiting to hear what other nonsense he would spout, Dane glared at his face. Grayson smiled helplessly again and answered.
“He’d get in more trouble if he came out on his own, right? It wasn’t time yet.”
“…What?”
Dane reacted the same way again. Grayson added an explanation as if it were nothing.
“Time, I mean. When you’re being punished, they set a time. It’s better to just quietly fill the time than to come out on your own and get in more trouble. That way, you only get punished for the time that was originally set.”
Having said that, Grayson smiled broadly and looked down at Dane. It was the same smiling face he always saw, but Dane stared at him with a confused expression, as if he had been hit.
Surely not, Dane repeated to himself. I must be imagining things. There’s no way that could really happen, this guy is Miller. Never, absolutely…
“Ashley Miller used to abuse you?”
Dane suddenly asked him. His mouth opened against his will, and Dane was startled by the words that came out sooner than he expected. What did I just say? How could I say such nonsense…
Grayson blinked, his smiling face unchanged, as he looked down at Dane, who was flustered and closed his mouth. For a while, Dane stared at Grayson without saying anything, his face hardened for the first time. There was no sign of Grayson being flustered or feigning ignorance. He genuinely thought so. He had just been punished, and it wasn’t abuse.
With such an innocent face.
With silence between them, Dane slowly unclenched the fist he had clenched tightly to hit him. He still couldn’t think of anything to say. With a face as hardened as his mind, he looked at Grayson. It was after a few more seconds of silence that he spoke.
“So you, back then, wished someone had been there for you?”