Chapter 187
Grace parked outside her place and rushed inside for a shower. After taking off
her clothes, she stared at the marks all over her body. She really felt like slapping herself how could she be such a pushover?
She bent down and splashed cold water on her face. When the heat in her cheeks finally went away, she quickly changed into fresh clothes. Her neck was definitely not presentable, so she threw on a turtleneck.
Turning around, she spotted another subtle mark just below her earlobe. She dabbed some foundation over it, which could barely hide the mark. Then, she hurried back to her car and hauled Brent to Amity Hospital.
When Brent woke up and saw Maria, panic flashed across his eyes before he started yelling, “What are you doing to me? You can’t do any illegal stuff here! What do you want?”
Maria recognized this man. Brent had been friends with her husband, and they had worked on a project together that failed. After that, he vanished.
Rumor had it that he developed a gambling addiction and got divorced. His only daughter had moved abroad to get away from him too.
Maria thought he’d been beaten to death long ago. Yet here he was in Druville, wearing expensive designer clothes that suggested he wasn’t exactly broke.
Grace kicked him hard in the stomach. She wasn’t in the mood for talking. “Spit it out. What exactly is your relationship with Alice?”
His face contorted in pain, nearly throwing up. But Grace grabbed a knife from nearby and sliced off one of his fingers in a single motion. Maria and Paul were both shocked by how ruthless she was.
Brent screamed as his face went pale. “I can’t tell you—I just can’t! If I reveal my connection to Alice, I’m dead. You have no idea how vicious she is; she’s the one who cut off my ear!”
With shaggy hair covering both his ears, he looked like a disheveled thug. Grace pushed his hair aside to check. As expected, that one ear was missing.
Maria trembled, and she found it hard to speak at all.
Grace twirled the knife in her hand. “If I know about your arrangement with Alice, she won’t let you live. She’d never leave that kind of evidence. The only reason you’re still breathing is because she thinks nobody knows about your connection.
“Here’s the deal. Since you owe them one million and a half dollars, I’ll give you that money. After that, you leave Druville for good.”
Brent didn’t answer, still writhing in pain. When Grace tapped his face with the knife, flashes of memory suddenly rushed through her mind.
While glancing at the sharp blade, she realized she wasn’t afraid of blood at all. She also found out that she had a surprisingly high pain tolerance. The thought vanished as quickly as it came, and she continued her threat.
“What’s it going to be? All that money you demanded from the Lamberts ends up in Alice’s pocket, right? She looks down on regular folks, especially deadbeats like you. The fact that she gave you a hundred grand is already quite kind of her.” His cheeks flushed-Grace had hit the bullseye. Every time he demanded money from the Lamberts, it seemed like a lot, but he could only keep a fraction.
He couldn’t earn a cent from honest work. After getting hooked on gambling, a regular job seemed way too slow compared to these under-the-table deals. Over time, he’d gotten stuck in a vicious cycle.
At least working with Alice got him some cash, so he kept it up. As for the future, he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But now, Grace was offering him one and a half million straight up. With that kind of money, he could gamble in another city and get far away from Alice’s control. “Fine, I’ll take it! Just don’t hurt me anymore!”
But before he could say more, Maria, still shocked, spoke in a strained voice. “Do you have any proof? I’m the one who’s raised Alice, and she can’t be the kind of person you’re describing. Are you guys making this up?”