If I Could Turn Back Time
The second Kathleen stepped out of the ward, her phone chimed. She fished out the phone and
glanced at the screen,only to find a virtual phone number. Tch! Trying to play games with me, huh? She
instantly hit the answer key and put the phone near her ear.
“Your daughter is with me, Kathleen.Come to the old campus where you attended high school if you
want to see her alive.You should know where that is.”
A machine-like voice sounded over the phone. The other party ended the call abruptly right after
finishing the sentence. At this, Kathleen descended into a moment of deep thought as silence ensued.
Prior to that, the old campus of her previous high school had been emptied out. That place had already
been put on the waiting list to be demolished and then rebuilt. How interesting for her to set our
meeting there, of all places.
Immediately, Kathleen made her way downstairs and drove off in her car. It was already the dead of
night. The security guard at the front gate was seen crashing out as he sprawled on his desk. Tiptoeing
toward the small door beside the front gate, Kathleen gently pushed it open and strode inside.
Without deliberation, she made a beeline for the school building. Right then, her phone rang once
more. She picked up the call right away and questioned, “Where are you?” “Why don't you make a
guess?”
An icy voice was heard on the other end of the line. Her eyebrows knitted to a knot of displeasure at
that.
Scanning the vicinity, she marched toward the fourth floor of the building. Once she reached the fourth
floor, she walked to a wasted classroom. That very classroom was the one she had been to during her
final year. There Desiree was, lying on the floor right in the center of the classroom.
Her body was strapped with bombs. No one else could be found inside but her. Kathleen rushed over
to her daughter's side and carried the latter in her arms.
“Desi,” called out Kathleen softly.
“Mommy's here.”
Sadly, Desiree remained unconscious and unresponsive. Touching her daughter's body, Kathleen
reckoned that Desiree must’ve been drugged with sedatives. As she held Desiree in her arms,she tried
to remove the bombs that had encircled her daughter's body. Alas, the bombs began to emit a series of
beeping sounds. Kathleen was scared out of her wits and dared not continue her reckless act.
At that juncture, the ringtone played from her phone. Tapping the answer button, she was all ready to
listen to what the other party had to say.
“Even if you've found your daughter, Kathleen, I doubt you could come up with an idea to rescue her!”
That voice reeked of naught but coldness and sarcasm.
“You will both be blown into smithereens! Haha!” Kathleen took a deep breath.
“Nicolette, I didn't expect you to be so full of yourself despite everything that has happened.” The
laughter from the other end of the line ceased instantly on that note.
Letting out a snort, Kathleen continued, “I've already caught sight of you when I picked Zion up at the
port the other day.Why on earth did you cover yourself up from head to toe? Were you that afraid of me
seeing you?”
Only silence came from the phone.
“I didn't anticipate you to keep me waiting after your arrival in Jadeborough.You nearly had me there for
a moment with your inactivity,” added Kathleen with sarcastic chuckles.
“I then realized that you’re not idling at all.Rather, you're busy acting out the role of someone else—
Yareli!” The rhythm of breathing could be heard over the phone.
Kathleen went on, “It has already come to this.You'd better show yourself!” A loud peal of thunder
came from Nicolette’s lips.
“Haha! Not bad, Kathleen! But you're too little, too late to see daylight.You’ll never get to defuse the
bombs.Besides, the detonator is in my hand.A single tap from me will send you straight six feet
under.Don’t fret, though.That little bastard will join you.”
As Kathleen sensed that they were in peril of dying, her gaze turned as sharp as the razor.
“Do you think you can go on the lam after getting rid of me? Ha! You can never shake off Samuel’s
pursuit!” That statement only made Nicolette sneer.
“Why would I be responsible for Yareli's doings? She and Zachary will be the scapegoats! Anyway, it’s
time for you to kiss this world goodbye, Kathleen! I hate you! Go to hell!” Those were Nicolette's final
words before she pressed the button on the detonator.
Boom! With the thunderous boom, the entire school building exploded into scraps. Even the windows
of the nearby buildings were all shattered to shreds. That security guard who had been sitting at the
guardhouse was also jolted to his senses. Pieces of glass were already scattered all over his body.
At that point in time, Samuel finally arrived at the scene, only to catch sight of the roaring sea of flames
engulfing the whole building. A parade of passersby surrounded the area in a matter of seconds, but no
one was in the know about what had actually happened. Samuel's attractive face paled to a ghastly
white. Am I too late? Oh, no! Tyson immediately stopped Samuel in his tracks.
“No! Don’t go in there, Mr.Macari!”
If Kathleen and Desi were really goners, what would become of me? At that thought, Samuel gushed
out a mouthful of blood all of a sudden. Tyson recoiled in fright upon seeing that, screaming his lungs
out, “Help! Send Mr.Macari back at once!”
There was no strength left in Samuel's body.
All he could do was fix his gaze on the fire as he was being taken away by his men. Kate! Desi! Oh,
God.
How could you be so cruel to me? Punish me and take me instead! Why do this to them? Why?
Samuel had a dream while he was unconscious. In his dream, there Kathleen was in his sight. That
Kathleen was very young and petite.
She appeared to have just arrived at the Macari residence. There were traces of tears on her cheeks,
not to mention her beguiling appearance that could move the hearts of anyone who saw her. Diana led
Kathleen to Samuel and declared, “From now on, Samuel, Kate will be your sister.Make sure to fulfill
your duty as a big brother and treat her well.”
An indescribable feeling crept up on Samuel as he laid eyes on his so-called sister. Despite that, he
nodded with an impassive countenance.
Right then, the little girl called out to him in a mellow voice, “Nice to meet you, Sam.I'm your sister,
Kathleen.”
Samuel froze at that. That made sense, for he had always been the only child in the family. Of course,
they were others addressing him the same, yet somehow, it was particularly sweet for him to hear that
from Kathleen. His usual frosty visage seemed to be wavering as he gave her a nod in response.
The other prestigious families, who were affiliated with the Macari family, were soon informed about the
newest member of the Macari family, Kathleen. They all brought their children to pay the Macaris a
visit. No matter how those people gave Kathleen a hard time, she put up with them and didn't make a
fuss.
At first, Samuel only watched from the sidelines. It was when one of the arrogant silver-spooned brats
tried to lay a finger on Kathleen that Samuel went over to kick his butt out the door. In that instance,
Samuel wasn't even eighteen, but he already had a sinister and menacing mien. The children from
those wealthy families in Jadeborough were all very much terrified of him because of that. Tugging
Kathleen to his side, Samuel announced in front of those brats, “She's my sister.I'll hunt you down if
any of you ever mess with her.”
Hearing his threat, all of them scurried away in fear. Kathleen, in turn, flashed Samuel a grateful grin. A
thought flashed through Samuel's mind at that time. He even surprised himself when he realized that
he had taken a liking to Kathleen.
That would be logical, for hardly anyone could resist inclining their hearts to an obedient and gentle
little girl like her. Even so, there was also a sense of gratitude in Samuel's heart toward Nicolette
because, at that moment, he thought that it was Nicolette who had saved his life.
In order to prevent the others from bullying Nicolette, he had no choice but to allow her to call him her
boyfriend. In Samuel's mind, though, he, too, knew that he ought to not let Kathleen grow on him like
that.
Thus, he proclaimed, “I've always seen you as my dearest sister.”
The girl blinked her eyes at that.
Feelings of grievance, insecurity, and hurt were apparent on her delicate face. It was as though Samuel
was watching himself from the sidelines, reviewing every episode in the past. He was dying to tell his
past self to own up to his true feelings from the depths of his heart.
I have to confess to her right now and put an end to her suffering! Yet, he couldn't seem to utter a word
no matter how hard he tried. He watched himself walking away. Kathleen was huddling in a corner,
crying her eyes out.
Witnessing the scene, Samuel felt a pang of misery in his chest. Not even once had Kathleen
attempted to do anything to sow the seeds of discord between him and Nicolette. Nicolette was the one
who had insisted on getting married and gotten herself sent away by Diana. Samuel realized that he
shouldn't have put the blame on Kathleen, for she was truly innocent of tying the knot with him.
“K-Kate...” He struggled to mutter to himself.
“I’m sorry, Kate…I was wrong.I should've loved you with all my heart right from the beginning…
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