Chapter 242 Ripple Effect

Chapter 242 Ripple Effect
Bradley POV

"Bring Diana to me, and I'll tell you everything else. Otherwise, you can keep torturing me, but I won't say another word." Colin's voice was ragged but determined.

I let out a cold laugh. "Parker, continue."

But to my surprise, after that, Colin truly didn't say another word. Each time the water torture ended and I questioned him, his response remained the same: "Bring Diana." Nothing more.

A few hours later, I had no other choice but to have Parker and the bodyguards keep watch over him. I decided I would speak to Diana about this in the morning.

I walked back to the house, my mind in turmoil. Bringing Diana anywhere near that man seemed unthinkable, yet he'd saved her when he could have let her die.

Sleep was out of the question. I took a quick shower, washing away the night's ugliness, and waited until I heard movement from our bedroom.

"You're up early," she said as I entered. "Did you get the man?"

"Yes." I sat beside her. "His name is Colin, and he's an assassin. He was hired to kill you."

Diana's eyes widened. "But that makes no sense. Why would he save me then?"

"That's exactly what I've been trying to figure out all night. He's admitted to being hired for the job, but he won't explain his actions or tell us who hired him unless..."

"Unless what?"

I hesitated. "Unless he can speak to you directly. He said you once saved him. A long time ago."

Diana looked surprised, then thoughtful. "Me?"

"Yes."

Diana was quiet for a moment. "I should go. If you don't bring me to him, you won't get any information. You said yourself he's refusing to talk."

"It's too dangerous."

"Bradley." She squeezed my hands. "If he wanted to hurt me, he could have just let that chandelier fall. Instead, he saved me and got himself injured in the process. There's something else going on here, and we need to understand it."

I knew she was right, but everything in me rebelled against putting her in harm's way. "He could be playing some kind of game."

"Then we'll play it carefully. We need answers."

The logic was sound, even as I hated it. After several more minutes of discussion, I finally relented, but with strict conditions. Diana would be accompanied by me and two guards at all times. She would keep a safe distance. And at the first sign of trouble, we would leave immediately.

When we walked into the cottage, Colin's head snapped up. His face, bruised and swollen from the night's interrogation, suddenly transformed. His eyes widened, and to my astonishment, they immediately filled with tears.

"It's you," he whispered, staring at Diana as though she were a mirage. "It's really you."

Diana stepped forward cautiously, but I placed a protective hand on her arm, keeping her back.

"I don't understand," she said. "Do we know each other?"

Colin's laugh was watery, disbelieving. "You wouldn't remember me. Why would you? But I never forgot you." He leaned forward as much as his restraints would allow. "Do you remember giving food to a starving boy in an alley? About twelve years ago?"

Diana's brow furrowed in concentration. I watched her face carefully, saw the moment recognition dawned.

"That was on a street corner," she said softly. "The boy had been beaten badly... he was bleeding..."

"I'd tried to steal food," Colin explained, emotion thick in his voice. "The owner caught me and beat me half to death. Left me in that alley to die."

Diana nodded. "I gave you my sandwich..."

"You saved my life that day," Colin said simply. "I was too weak to thank you properly. But as you walked away, I saw the crescent-shaped birthmark on the back of your neck. I never forgot it."

I looked between them, trying to process this unexpected connection. Diana seemed equally stunned, her eyes wide as she turned to me.

"It's true," she whispered. "That happened when I was still Dayna Melgar. Before everything."

She turned back to Colin, compassion softening her features. "But how... how did you become an assassin?"

Colin's story spilled out in broken fragments. After that day, he'd been taken in by a gang, taught to fight, to steal, and eventually to kill. He'd developed a reputation for precision and discretion, never failing a job. Until now.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Colin continued. "Last night, I was here to... to complete my contract. But when the chandelier started falling, I saw that same birthmark. It was just a split-second glimpse, but I knew instantly it was you. I couldn't let you die. I just reacted."

I stepped forward, my patience wearing thin. "Then perhaps now you can tell us who hired you?"

Colin nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Diana's face. "A woman named Marisa Pierce."

The name hit me like a physical blow. "Marisa?" I repeated, unable to hide my shock.

"Yes," Colin replied grimly. "She contacted me through channels only professionals know about. Paid half my fee up front, promised the rest when the job was done."

I exchanged a glance with Diana, seeing my own concerns reflected in her eyes.

"If you're lying to us—" I began.

"I'm not," Colin interrupted, his voice suddenly fierce. "I swear on my life. If I'd known from the beginning that she was the target, I would never have taken the job. What kind of monster would I be, killing the woman who once saved me when everyone else left me for dead?"

Diana stepped closer to him, ignoring my attempt to hold her back. "Thank you," she said softly. "If it had been someone else who took that contract, I'd likely be dead by now."

The cold reality of how close I'd come to losing her hit me afresh. I stared at this broken man, this assassin who had saved my wife because of some food she'd given him years ago. Acts of kindness create ripples we never see coming. The thought was almost too much to comprehend.

But larger questions remained. If Marisa had somehow truly escaped her confinement, where was she now? And her family fortune was long gone. Where would she get the money to hire an assassin?

Could this Marisa be an impostor? Or was there someone else working with her, funding her vendetta against Diana?