"Dave, what's wrong, why are you looking so scared?" Chloe asked her son who had just come home.
Dave's face looked pale and his expression was so tense. Though to Chloe's knowledge, Dave was not a coward, it was her son who liked to scare other people. So why does he look like someone who has been chased by the devil?
Dave didn't answer Chloe's question. He sat on the sofa with his eyes straight ahead. His breathing was still rattling up and down erratically, as if he had just done a strenuous workout.
"Dave?" Chloe moved her palm in front of Dave's face, but Dave didn't respond. His son was still staring blankly, not blinking at all.
"Dave! What's wrong with you, huh?" Chloe asked with a slight jerk while shaking Dave's shoulders with both hands.
Only then did Dave lift his face and look up at his mother.
"What's wrong with you, don't scare Mommy, Dave." Chloe asked again in a worried tone.
Dave's mouth opened slightly, looking like he was about to say something, but he didn't do it. Dave closed his mouth again with an uncertain look on his face.
Dave recalled how his men had fallen to the ground in terrible condition. He didn't know what the servant who was guarding Liliana's house had actually done that in just a matter of seconds, the well-built men had fallen helplessly.
Dave managed to contact one of his confidants, so that his dying subordinates could be immediately taken to the nearest hospital. Dave also went there with the feeling of horror still dominating. He was even more horrified when the doctor said that all of his subordinates would end up permanently disabled in one part of their body.
Some were deformed in the legs, shoulders and hands. For example, Dave's biggest man, the bone in his wrist was completely shattered and could not be saved, so it had to be amputated to prevent his hand from rotting.
"He's not human, he's a monster," Dave muttered in a voice that was still shaking.
"Who's the monster, Dave? Say something, don't keep Mom guessing." Chlooe's voice came back, making Dave look back at his mother.
"That woman, Mom. She's not human. She makes human bones crumble out of shape just by grabbing them. She deformed the strongest of my men." Dave finally told the story.
Of course Chloe didn't understand what Dave was saying. The middle-aged woman's brow furrowed in surprise.
"Who are you talking about?" Chloe asked.
"The maid... the maid who works at Arthur's mother's house," Dave said, a little haltingly.
"The maid who looks after Liliana's house?" Chloe repeated.
Dave nodded. He wanted to tell her more, but his head was still spinning what happened earlier, which made him cringe. Instead of continuing to tell the story, Dave closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
"One moment," Chloe said as she got up and left Dave for a moment. Shortly after, the middle-aged woman returned with a glass of warm water.
"Drink first," Chloe ordered as she gave the warm water to Dave.
Dave, who was usually unruly and insubordinate, seemed to obey his mother's orders without a word of argument. He accepted the glass offered by Chloe and took a few sips.
"Feeling better already?" Chloe asked.
Dave took one more sip of the warm water Chloe gave him, then nodded. After that, he put the glass back in his hand. His face looked much more relaxed this time.
"What exactly happened, Dave? Please tell me," Chloe asked later.
Dave exhaled roughly, then rubbed his face. It was unbelievable, the events he had seen earlier had left him a little traumatized, even though he himself was a violent person and no stranger to violence. You could even say he was a perpetrator of violence himself.
"I went to Liliana's house earlier, but she still hasn't returned home. There was a servant in charge of guarding the house. I asked my men to scare the maid into telling me Liliana's whereabouts, but my men were made to suffer terribly by the maid," Dave finally explained.
"Your men? You mean your bodyguards who are well-built and good at martial arts?" asked Chloe.
"Yes, right now they are all receiving treatment at the hospital. The doctor said they will all be permanently disabled," said Dave.
"What?" Chloe looked surprised. "They're all going to be permanently disabled just for fighting one person?"
"Yes." Dave nodded while looking away. He sounded like a loudmouth making up a story, but it was the truth.
"And the person they fought was a maid? A woman too?" Chloe asked again. Between surprise, disbelief and incomprehension.
"Yes." Dave nodded again.
"How so?" This time Chloe mumbled a little.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, Mom. That servant really looks terrible. Her strength is unbelievable. She shattered Roy's wrist bone just by gripping it like this for a few seconds," Dave said as he practiced on Chloe's wrist.
Chloe reflexively pulled her arm away and hid it behind her back as she was suddenly horrified.
"Then when I ordered my other men to attack him simultaneously, they were all knocked away within a few seconds. Their bones were also crushed in places. I shudder to remember how he grinned at me after doing that. He really wasn't human, but a monster," Dave said again.
Chloe was stunned by Dave's story. For some reason she cringed as if she had witnessed the incident.
"Where did Liliana get a servant like that?" Chloe muttered later.
As far as Chloe knew, Liliana was an ordinary woman who had never once dealt with anything violent. Liliana was a gentle woman who was easily bullied and preferred to give in when faced with problems. She was also so modest that she never even thought of hiring a bodyguard. So how could she now hire a servant who was said to be like a monster?
"That old lady has changed a lot since her son disappeared. It seems like she wants to fight us now, mom," Dave said.
"We need to get your DNA test documents back, Dave. He had promised not to publish them when all of Jordan's assets were transferred to Arthur. But the situation is different now. Even though there's no proof, I'm sure Liliana can guess that we killed her son," Chloe said.
"I've been trying to do that, Mom. I got information that your confidant said that the DNA test results were not kept by Liliana, but by you. He keeps them in a safe that only he and Liliana know about. I've been trying to pressure Liliana, but she won't tell me where the safe is." Dave said.
"You think she'll tell you? Her son is gone now, of course she won't be afraid even if threatened in any way because she feels she has nothing to protect." Chloe responded.
"Then how about when he comes back, we just eliminate him altogether," Dave suggested.
"We can't act recklessly, Dave. Right now, the news about Arthur mysteriously disappearing is still very hot. People are suspecting us even though the police have given a statement in our favor. Let's not complicate the situation. Besides, Liliana could have given the DNA test results to someone she trusted. If she tells that person to make the results public when something bad happens to her, the situation will get out of hand. Right now, your position in the company is shaky." Chloe said at length.
Chloe was calculating despite her ambition. Unlike Dave who tends to be careless and must always be reminded. Her plan to take over all of Arthur's assets could only be successful because of Eve's huge role.
"So what should we do now, Mom?" asked Dave.
"Let's observe the situation first, then think about what steps we should take," Chloe said while looking straight ahead.