“The remitter was Rita.”
The answer covered Liam’s face with a layer of frozen ice. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. We even found the surveillance tape of Rita remitting at the bank.”
“Send me the video.”
“Yes.”
He hung up, is face livid.
The remitter was Rita?
That’s the last outcome he would expect.
With a plinking sound, a message popped up on his phone.
Liam put the car in neutral and clicked on the video.
When he’s done watching the clip, he looked so dreadful that as if he was going to kill someone.
He dialed a number. “Jacob, I’ll send you a video. I need you to find out whether it’s been edited. Hit
me back in ten minutes and tell me the result.”
“No. don’t hang up, I want to know immediately.”
“Yeah… alright.”
Jacob was still drinking, the sudden call and Liam’s cold voice gave him a pause. Then he put down his
wine hurriedly and dashed upstairs to the third floor of the bar.
It was one of Jacob’s stomping grounds.
He turned on the computer and start authenticating the video.
About ten minutes later.
“Liam, the video is original.”
Jacob’s voice rang again on Liam’s phone. Liam wrinkled his brows. “Are you sure?”
“Affirmative.”
Liam’s voice died off, but still, Jacob could feel his coldness through the phone.
His mouth a tight line, Jacob gave one more glance at the video playing on loop.
He took a deep breath and broke the silence. “Liam. If Rita told you to probe into what happened that
year, she wouldn’t leave such solid evidence. She’s not that dumb.”
He used to hate Rita.
But what they’re talking about now was a matter of life. Jacob was aware of the magnitude of it.
Liam squinted as he watched the video. “Indeed. Nobody would be that dumb. Things are getting really
weird.”
“For so long, all we have found are evidence to seal Rita’s sin.”
“Way too much evidence. To much that it makes it impossible to doubt Rita’s sin.” Liam frowned. “But
now all these evidences make me incredulous.”
He trusted Rita more now.
He started to believe that somebody set Rita up, that Rita was innocent.
“Now we’re back to square one, what do we do now? “
Liam took a puff of cigarette. Remembering his conversation with Rita the other day, he said. “Look into
Charlotte and Isabella’s intercourse.”
Charlotte?
What did Charlotte have to do with this?
Jacob was confused. But since Liam asked, he’s going to do it. “I see. Will do.”
Putting down his phone, Liam took more puffs, feelings stirring in him.
If somebody was behind this, who would it be?
What’s his purpose to set Rita up and drag Liam down with her?
It looked somebody was going after Rita.
Though they hadn’t found out who the real culprit was, Liam had an awakening—Rita was probably
innocent.
She had nothing to do with Joey’s death.
Staring off outside the window, Liam smiled.
When he realized he was happy, he was shock.
Suddenly, Jacob’s word reverberated in his brain. Liam, you’re in love with Rita.
***
Liam drove back home.
He entered Rita’s room as usual but found it empty.
Nobody’s home?
Where is she?
What is she doing out there so late?
Suddenly fidget surged through him. But it didn’t last long before it was replaced by indifference.
It was late in the midnight now.
Liam moved his eyes away from the magazine he had been reading and took a quick look of the empty
room. His brow kept wrinkling.
Once again, he lost sleep over Rita.
Damn.
Then he heard footsteps coming from downstairs.
And the smell of alcohol saturated the house as the door opened.
She drank?
Rita stumbled towards her bed and collapsed down. She fell asleep right away.
Looking at her back, Liam was even more fidgety now.
The two of them, silent, were sleeping back to back.
Suddenly, a bolt lighted up the dark night, raindrops broke the silence.
“No… please.”
He heard Rita’s painful whining, fear in her voice.
He was suddenly wide awake.
But this time, he didn’t do anything but look at her quietly.
I don’t care.
I do not.
He thought. He couldn’t allow her to affect his emotions again.
“No…”she huddled herself in pain, sobbing. “Stay away from me, stay away!!!”
She started her somniloquence again with her hands waving around in the air.
It nagged at Liam just to look at her.
He attempted to ignore her and turn around to go back to sleep. But Rita raised her hand suddenly and
tried to hit herself. “I’m wrong, I’m wrong, I’ll punish myself. Don’t treat me like that anymore, please.”
He sat up violently, leaned over and grabbed her hand as fast as he could. He wouldn’t allow her to
hurt herself.
But then she raised another hand.
Liam had no choice but to embrace her to prevent her from self-harm.
Looking at the woman sobbing in his arms, Liam frowned.
At the end, he still couldn’t control his feelings for her.
Being restrained, Rita still shook in terror.
She could’ve injured herself severely if Liam wasn’t holding her.
What kind of dream was she having?
She seemed to be in misery, despair and pain on her face.
He never saw her like this.
“Ri…”He tried to wake her up but didn’t do so after a second thought.
Somebody’s going to lose sleep if she awoke.
He kept holing her so she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Rita stopped the madness few minutes later although she kept sobbing. It took long before she finally
conquered her nightmare.
Watching her in the moonlight, Liam felt conflicted.
What Jacob told him earlier kept echoing in his mind.
Liam, you are in love with Rita.
Liam, you are in love with Rita.
He shook his head, trying to get rid of it, but the voice just haunted him like a ghost.
Was he in love with her?
He lowered his eyes to look at her again. “Am I?”
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