At night, Stella went back after Sherry was asleep.
Clarence was reading a book on the sofa. He did not react when he heard the door open.
Stella was tired and asked as she was walking to the bedroom, “Have you showered?”
Clarence answered, “Yes.”
Stella took her nightgown out. “It’s pretty late. Aren’t you going to bed?”
“Yeah.” He mumbled but did not seem concerned.
Stella paused, walked over to him and sat beside him, “What’s wrong?”
Clarence turned a page and said, “Nothing, go shower. Don’t bother about me.”
Stella was speechless. This man must be upset about something.
Stella looked over and noticed that she could not figure out what he was reading and asked, “What are
you reading?”
"Buddhist Sutras."
What the hell was wrong with him?
Before Stella said anything, Clarence said in his calm baritone voice, “I slept alone for three days and
should read some Buddhism to control myself.”
On hearing, Stella felt amused and put the book aside. “Are you a kid who needs my company every
day?”
Clarence looked at her and said, “Why not? I can’t sleep without you.”
Stella stood up and then ruffled his hair as if she was coaxing a kid, “Okay okay, I’ll take a shower and
then sleep with you.”
He grabbed her hand when she was about to walk away. In the next instance, she fell into his embrace.
Clarence placed his hand on her waist and then said suggestively, “What kind of sleep?”
“Sleep, just sleep.” She replied.
“Perhaps we have a different understanding of sleep.” Clarence teased.
Stella said with gritted teeth, “Behave yourself!”
Clarence grinned, kissed her, and carried her up.
He took Stella by surprise. “What are you doing? I want to take a shower…”
“Together.”
“Didn’t you say that you already showered?”
“Aren’t you going to sleep with me? Why can’t I shower with you?” He said mischievously.
Stella was speechless.
It was two hours later when they lay on the bed.
Stella was already very tired and asked as she yawned, “How were things at the studio?”
“It’s great to be a sponger.” Clarence said and continued, “Work harder to expand the studio and I can
help you manage finance.”
Stella no longer had any strength to argue with him. She whispered after a while, “Is there any news
about Elaine?”
Clarence acknowledged, “No news is good news.”
“That’s true.”
Clarence pulled her into his embrace and said, “Okay, you’re tired, sleep.”
Stella was so tired that she slept as soon as she closed her eyes.
…
Elaine was in that apartment for three whole days. Each day they would deliver food to her and then
lock the door. Downstairs were their men and she had no chance to escape.
She felt more and more homesick as the days passed. She missed her father and grandfather. If she
had been obedient and remained in Riverside City or even married to Darnell, then her situation would
be much better than now.
At least she would be carefree and even if she had made Darnell unhappy, at least before he killed her,
she could beg him to give her a last meal on account of the old Mr. James who had died.
She would also not get Caesar and Sherry into trouble…
Elaine collapsed on the bed and looked aimlessly ahead as if she had no interest in anything.
After a while, the moon had already risen and suddenly there was a bright flickering light from the
apartment beside. Immediately there was a commotion outside.
Elaine heard the commotion and walked to the window. She saw that there was a large fire and it
appeared that it was spreading towards them. People were running about downstairs and could not be
bothered about her.
This was an opportunity.
Elaine quickly tied up the bedsheets and prepared to escape from the window. The man saw her
actions and immediately knew her intentions. He yelled, “I've warned you, Ms. James. Don’t play
tricks!” He then grabbed Elaine’s arm and dragged her downstairs.
Elaine did not comply and kept struggled and stumbling on the way down. It resulted in bruises on her
face and legs.
Once downstairs, she was pushed into an awaiting car and they prepared to transfer her to another
location.
Elaine banged on the window and shouted repeatedly, “Help! Help!”
But the fire was raging and the surrounding commotion drowned her screams.
Very soon the black sedan sped away. Elaine was thrown painfully back into the seat causing her to
become dizzy.
The car drove a distance and they came to a road blockage. The driver got down for a look and walked
a couple of steps before suddenly collapsing to the ground. The man who also got on the car grabbed
his gun and went off. He squatted beside the driver to inspect him and then there was another loud
sound coming from the car.
He looked back but it was too late. The car sped forward.
The man yelled, “Fuck!”
He wanted to charge forward but he was surrounded by numerous gun barrels.
Inside the car, Elaine was once again thrown about. She excitedly asked, “Are you my dad’s man?”
“No.”
“Then are you Uncle Caesar’s man?”
“No.”
“Then… you are Clarence’s men?”
A man in front turned around and looked at her, “I’m your brother.”
Elaine was stunned, “I… I don’t have a brother…”
“I lied.”
Elaine was speechless. She looked at the stranger and then cowered in fear. She felt like an ant which
thought it had escaped out of the frying pan but ended up into the fire.
After a while, she asked softly, “Where… where are you taking me?”
“Back to Riverside City.”
“You are a villain! I don’t want to go with you!”
“…What makes you think that I’m a villain?”
Elaine replied, “My father said that I cannot believe any of the James and should not go back with them
to Riverside City!”
“Then why did you leave with Caesar?”
“That’s my uncle! Furthermore… he… he did not intend to send me back to Riverside City. He just
wanted to take me somewhere safe.”
The driver laughed, “He is your uncle and you choose to believe him rather than your father. Why don’t
you believe me when I said that I’m your brother?”
“Caesar is indeed my uncle but I don’t have a brother. You’re lying to me!”
“Since when did I lie? You were hardly one year old when I left Riverside City. But we are not blood-
related siblings. You were adopted by your father. He was worried that you’d be upset by this fact.
That’s why he kept the truth from you.”
Elaine was shocked, “That's…that's nonsense!”
“What nonsense? I’ll take you back to Riverside City. You can ask your father in person.”
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