He closed the car door with a bang as Callista got out of the car ahead of him. Kenward made a half-run to position himself beside Callista. He grabbed the shoulder of the girl who was still crying silently.
Kenward's gaze did not move from Callista. With every tear that fell, his heart felt like it was being slashed with a knife. Kenward deeply regretted his actions. He should not have been consumed by the desire to kill the man who had dared to touch Callista. He had only increased the girl's fear of him.
Callista continued to walk on with a blank stare. Even when a box object carried her and Kenward away, she was still the same. Kenward's gaze dropped to Callista's trembling palms.
As if understanding the passenger's feelings, for some reason the elevator opened very slowly. Kenward led Callista to the room with his arm around her shoulder. His arm accidentally touched Callista's palm. It was so cold. How could that tiny hand be so cold?
Kenward pressed his lips together again when he felt the cell phone in his pocket vibrate. He picked up the flat box and stared for a moment at the name of the caller. Kenward sighed, he couldn't delay answering the call.
Kenward looked at Callista who was walking with a limp. The girl walked into the room and immediately closed the door without even looking at him. Kenward let out a long sigh. He leaned his naked back against the wall. He had taken off his blood-soaked suit and shirt.
"What's wrong?" Kenward's voice sounded very heavy as he answered the phone.
***
She felt tired all over. Her body couldn't stop shaking and she was tongue-tied. When her feet reached the corner of the wall, Callista immediately slumped her body which could not hold on any longer until her body hit the marble.
Callista hugged her legs. She could feel that her body temperature was below normal. Her body was always like this when she felt extremely frightened and threatened. She buried her dizzy head between the folds of her arms above her knees. The crying sound that she had been holding back was now completely released.
Part of her wanted to get the hell out of this mansion, to leave the country and catch up with her daddy. She was afraid that the psychopath would sadistically kill her when she made a fatal mistake. She wanted to run fast to escape the fate that her death might be in that man's hands.
Yet a part of her resisted her cruel accusations for Kenward. The man gradually began to warm up to her. It could be a trick or it could be true. However, something was certain. Kenward killed that man because he wanted to protect her.
Both of her palms grabbed her hair. The bloody incident she witnessed a while ago was swirling in her mind. For some reason, the contents of her head only remembered the bad memories and not so much the happy ones.
Callista screamed with watery eyes. "Ahh! Stop! Stop, please!"
The moment of the accident that took her mommy as well as her brother, Kenward's continuous torture from the first time to the last, the corpse that passed by her in the middle of her work, the bodyguards who gave brutal torture to the drunks, and Kenward's sadistic murder. All those memories merged in her mind and spun around like a broken radio.
Callista leaned her head against the wall. She was already very tired.
"Please stop. Just stop. Don't bother me," Callista murmured in what sounded like a whisper in the same position. Slowly the palm gripping her hair broke free.
Callista's body fell to the side. Having no energy left, the girl then fell silent as her body kissed the cold marble. Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.
"Mommy, brother, please bring Illis back to your lap."
***
"Prepare carefully. I'll be here soon."
Kenward lowered the flat object. He turned off the phone unilaterally. His fingers danced over the phone screen again and then put the box back to his ear.
"Did you find the body?" Kenward asked to the point. He didn't want to mince words with his subordinate.
There was no relief visible on Kenward's face. He was only doing this as his job demanded in front of the public. He must not make any loopholes.
"Okay, burn the body and eliminate all evidence at the scene."
The moment the call ended, the elevator doors opened for him. The traces of blood from his shoes on the floor had already been cleaned up. Kenward realized something. He had to change his bloodstained pants and shoes. Although he had already thrown away his shirt and tuxedo which were affected by the thick red liquid the most.
"I should take a shower and change for a while," Kenward thought. He would use his room downstairs instead of his room upstairs. He had to give Callista time to calm down.
All the workers bowed their heads when Kenward stepped out of the elevator. Seeing the chefs passing his bowing in respect, made him remember that Callista had not eaten dinner yet. She had to take her medicine.
"Prepare dinner for Callista. Deliver the food to her. Don't leave her stomach empty, butler."
The four-headed woman immediately nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir."
Kenward stopped his steps. "And don't forget to make sure Callista takes her medicine. They're on the nightstand."
"Yes, sir."
As the master passed them, they hurriedly turned around in the same position. Bowing their backs as a sign of respect.
"I feel uneasy. Finish all this and then hurry back. Wait for me, Illis," Kenward thought with his palms clenched tightly.
***
Knock! Knock! Knock!
They stared at each other for a moment because they didn't hear an answer from inside. They nodded their heads as a code to each other. One of them cleared her throat for a moment to normalize her voice.
"Miss Callista, Mr. Kenward has ordered us to deliver dinner to you," the two-headed woman half shouted. They waited twenty seconds to thirty seconds, but there was no answer.
The five maids stared at each other with obvious confusion on their faces. It was unusual that their amiable lady would ignore this knock on the door. If it was their master who acted like that, they were used to it, but their lady?
Knock! Knock! Knock!
In stark contrast to the noise at the door, the room was very quiet and without any lighting. Dark and lonely, just like the feeling she had right now.
Still in the same position, Callista hugged her body lying on the cold floor. Let her feel this low temperature so that her sanity would stay with her. She did not know what she would do if this voice in her head did not stop.