Chapter 201: Can I Kiss You?
"Now that Steven's gone, Maeve's the only one left to take the reins of the Sullivan family."
"As a woman in a leadership role, she'd face a lot of scrutiny – she'd have to work extra hard to prove herself."
Maeve and Amelia only exchanged a few words before separating.
If they stayed too close at this time, it would draw attention.
Maeve also needed to put on an act.
—Steven was dead, so she had to appear grief-stricken.
Crying sounds gradually rose.
Everyone sympathetically consoled Maeve.
"Amelia popped by, reminded her to take it easy – her body's still recovering, no stress allowed."
Maeve nodded, her emotions stabilizing slightly, then got into the car and headed down the mountain to see steven.
Amelia also drove down the mountain.
Someone was sitting in her passenger seat.
It was Byron.
To others, Byron was Maeve's friend.
Because he had come with Maeve, and Maeve had even offered him fruit.
"I followed your instructions and replaced your brake pads," he said, feeling a wave of fear in his heart. "Thank goodness you were so perceptive, guessing there was a problem with the car and having me replace them. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
Amelia reassured him, "I'm fine, aren't I?"
Then she added, "I wasn't being perceptive—someone told me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what Steven's specific plan was."
"Who?"
"Ava."
"Who's Ava?"
"One of Steven's people."
Byron was even more surprised.
"Why would one of Steven's people tell you this?"
Amelia smiled and said, "It was an equivalent exchange. I gave her some information and she did the same"
"What information?"
Amelia didn't need to hide anything from Byron, so she explained in detail.
The first time she saw Ava, she thought she looked very familiar.
When she heard the name Ava Baker, she guessed this must be the sister of the woman named Alice who had once pretended to be Samuel's girlfriend.
Back then, she had kept misunderstanding that Samuel had a girlfriend, until Samuel showed her Alice's information and explained their relationship clearly.
Incidentally, he also mentioned Alice's fate.
Samuel was very angry that Alice had tried to drive a wedge between him and her, so he retaliated in kind and sent Alice back.
Alice had stayed at Rosevale Manor for so long that Steven would surely suspect whether Alice had betrayed him.
His intention was that after Steven became suspicious of Alice, Alice would feel uneasy.
That way, Alice could truly be used by him again.
But unexpectedly, Steven killed Alice.
Amelia told Ava this "news."
Ava had already been dissatisfied with Steven because of those two slaps.
And because she realized Steven didn't treat these girls as human beings at all, she developed thoughts of betrayal.
But she couldn't just escape directly—that wouldn't work.
So she wanted to use Amelia to kill Steven.
If Steven died, she and the other girls Steven had raised would be completely free.
She formed an alliance with Amelia.
When Byron was replacing the car parts, she found a way to get Steven's people away from the area.
That's why Byron's operation went so smoothly.
And Byron was able to arrive in time because when Amelia's car was stopped, she had Byron check her location and follow her.
Later, Maeve also sided with her, allowing Byron to appear as "her friend."
"My success this time was due to perfect planning and cooperation with aligned goals. Not luck, and not because I was perceptive," Amelia explained.
Byron completely understood.
"Steven's death wasn't unjust. He wanted to harm you, and ended up killing himself."
"Exactly."
The car soon reached the foot of the mountain.
Fire trucks and police cars had also arrived.
The fire was quickly extinguished, but the car was burned down to just an empty frame.
Steven died miserably.
His entire body was charred.
Only a human-shaped piece of charcoal remained.
Amelia felt not a shred of sympathy in her heart.
If she had made even one wrong step today, or if any one person hadn't followed her instructions, the person who fell and burned to death would have been her.
Amelia watched this scene very quietly.
If she showed too much emotion at this moment, it would actually bring suspicion upon herself.
She had been forced here by Steven in the first place, so regarding Steven's death, she should appear very relaxed, even relieved.
That would be right.
But Maeve could only cry her heart out.
Because that was her own brother.
It would be strange if she wasn't sad.
Almost everyone was taken back to give statements.
Amelia was the second person to give a statement after Maeve.
Because she was the one who had raced with Steven.
"He forced me to come. He said that if I lost, I'd sleep with him for a night, and if I won, he'd stop bothering me from then on. I did as he said." Amelia truthfully recounted these facts that everyone present at the time knew.
If she concealed them, it would actually be worse.
Amelia also said, "To be honest, I think it's great that he's dead. This is his karma."
The two police officers exchanged glances.
They actually became less suspicious of Amelia.
A real culprit wouldn't dare say such things—they would only try hard to clear themselves.
Even if there was a grudge, they wouldn't be so bold to mention it.
By doing the opposite, Amelia had actually cleared herself of any suspicion.
After completing her statement, they let Amelia go and called Ava in for questioning.
The two met in the corridor, neither looking at the other, as if they didn't know each other.
In the interrogation room, what Ava said was similar to what Amelia had said.
She just didn't mention Steven's plan.
Steven's plan to kill Amelia was only known to Steven and her.
Because the more people who knew, the easier it was for information to leak.
Steven had arranged it this way to prevent Samuel from thoroughly investigating the matter after Amelia's death.
Little did he expect that this arrangement would actually help Amelia and Ava.
...
Amelia walked out the door of the police station.
Maeve was waiting there, her eyes still red.
Just as she was about to speak, Maeve waved her hand and smiled, "Get in the car. Someone's waiting for you."
She added, "I actually wanted to chat with you some more, but someone beat me to it. We'll talk next time."
Amelia looked at her car in surprise.
The car window was rolled down, revealing a strikingly handsome face.
It was Samuel.
He had actually come.
"I told him," Maeve said in a low voice. "I wasn't entirely at ease, but with him here, I feel much better."
Amelia was pulled back from her thoughts by Maeve's words.
She gestured to Samuel, indicating for him to wait a bit longer.
Then she asked Maeve, "When are you leaving?"
Maeve lowered her eyes and said, "My parents and grandfather are still on their way. I originally wanted to wait until tomorrow to notify them, especially grandfather—he's old and can't handle this kind of disturbance in the middle of the night. But this incident became too big and made the news, so they found out anyway. I need to wait for them to arrive, then go back together."
Amelia nodded, thought for two seconds, then said, "Don't tell anyone the real cause of Steven's death, but you can tell your grandfather."
Maeve asked in surprise, "Why?"
"Your grandfather's life was extended by me. But I'm not a god, and my abilities are limited. He knows this himself—I can't extend his life by much. So someone who could face death at any time sees things more clearly than ordinary people. Plus he cares about you and will help you in the future."
Maeve nodded.
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Maeve knew she didn't have Amelia's kind of mind, but she was willing to listen to advice.
People who listen to advice, if guided by the right person, can walk a very bright path.
Maeve knew that Amelia was that person who could guide her correctly.
After saying those words, Amelia left.
As soon as she reached the car, Samuel had already gotten out and opened the passenger door for her.
Amelia got into the car.
She said, "Byron is still inside, waiting to give his statement."
"I had Jeremy stay here. After he's done with his statement, he'll take him back."
Amelia instinctively wanted to refuse.
No one could know where Byron lived.
But then she thought that Byron wasn't a fool—he would know what to say, so she didn't refuse.
Besides, this was the first time Jeremy and Byron would meet.
Who knew what might happen.
Maybe her guess was right after all.
The car started, and Amelia said, "Don't you think Jeremy and Byron look very similar?"
After she spoke, there was no response.
Amelia looked at Samuel curiously.
But she saw that the corners of his eyes were actually a bit red.
She froze for a moment, about to ask why, when Samuel suddenly pulled over, leaned across the center console, and held her tightly.
Amelia froze again, but when she came to her senses, she didn't push him away. Instead, she reached out and hugged his shoulders back.
"I'm fine," she said.
She knew Samuel was feeling the fear in retrospect.
Fear that the person who died could have been her.
She could feel Samuel trembling slightly.
That he would worry was something Amelia could have predicted.
But to be this frightened was truly somewhat unexpected.
Perhaps Samuel loved her more than she had imagined.
She raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder.
The two embraced each other, saying nothing, yet expressing many things.
After a while, Samuel finally loosened his hold slightly.
He looked steadily into her eyes and asked, "May I kiss you?"
Amelia's face instantly burned hot.
She didn't dare to look directly into Samuel's eyes.
His eyes seemed even hotter than her face at that moment.
But for the first time, she gathered her courage with Samuel and nodded, "Yes."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Samuel, quick as lightning, pressed his lips firmly against hers.
Amelia had felt a bit cold inside the police station, but now, feeling the warmth from Samuel's body, her own body began to heat up too.
He kissed her lips passionately, the two pressed tightly together.
But Samuel still felt it wasn't enough.
Soon he understood why it didn't feel like enough.
He nimbly parted her lips, and when their tongues touched, both of them trembled hard.
It was a joy that came from deep in the soul, striking straight to the heart.