2.1 Dying

[“ THE MADAM TOLD HIM THAT YOU TRIED TO RAPE HER! SIR CESAR WAS SO MAD HE ASKED HIS MEN TO ABDUCT YOUR FAMILY RIGHT NOW!”]

Problem after problem. 

Xavier hadn’t solved how he would deal with the survivor in the back seat of the car, and now, another trouble aroused.

“The madam s-said that I tried to r-rape her?” 

It’s laughable. Horribly laughable. It’s freaking funny how that woman can ruin his life through a simple lie. 

Was it because she felt ashamed? Her pride was crushed? She wanted to get her revenge? 

None of these is reasonable to put someone in danger! 

As the seconds passed by, Xavier was sinking little by little into reality. The madam’s lie would get him and his family killed. 

He shook his head and began to murmur his desperate pleas. 

“No. Not my wife. Not my son,” he murmured with a voice that was like a turbulent ocean. 

He looked down on the dim car and searched for the phone he had dropped before. Just for that moment, Xavier forgot about the cadaver bag on the back seat. 

His mind only focused on how he and his family could survive this situation. 

And then, a voice which was as desperate as his, spoke to him. 

“Help.” 

It was that single word that made him stop. 

He looked back, there at the slightly moving bag. 

“Who’s there? H-Help me. Help me…”

People were born with the intent of longing to live. And sometimes, those who are in the same situation can develop a mutual understanding with each other. Just like what Xavier felt towards the man in the cadaver bag. 

Clenching the phone in his hand, Xavier turned against the bag. 

He dialed his wife’s number and nervously waited for her to answer the phone. 

[“The number you’ve dialed is out of service. Please call again.”]

“Oh come on!”

[“The number you’ve dialed is out of service. Please call again.”]

“Bridgette, answer the phone!” 

[“The number you’ve dialed is out of service. Please call again.”]

When he heard the AI’s voice on the line for the third time, Xavier felt like crying. He dialed the number again and again, but the result remained the same!

“F*ck!” he cursed as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. 

If he couldn’t contact his family anymore, he was certain that Cesar’s men had caught them already. 

What will they do to his wife and son? Where did they put them? 

Finding answers to these questions made him feel like standing at the edge of the cliff. He knew right then that he had to go back.

He might not convince the boss to believe him. But at least, he would have the chance to save his family and let them escape. 

Xavier started the engine of the car. Nodding his head as he swallowed repeatedly, he glanced at the cadaver bag in the back seat of the car. 

‘Let’s see if one of us is lucky tonight,’ Xavier thought before he drove the car. 

When he turned the wheels back, the loud hissing of the car tires squealed on the empty road. 

The corpse delivery time is 6pm to 8pm. It is because the police patrol roams the road from 9pm onwards. 

While driving, Xavier looked at the time in the car. 

7:36 pm. 

He carefully parked at the side of the dark and empty road. Xavier hopped down from the car and looked around. 

As expected, there is no CCTV around the place. After taking this road for a year, Xavier memorized which places have cameras and which places have none. 

‘There are no cameras here but the police always take this route,’ he thought. 

He opened the door of the back seat and looked at the cadaver bag. 

Xavier swallowed dry saliva repeatedly before he carefully carried the heavy bag. 

Wincing, Xavier succeeded in putting the bag on the roadside. 

While catching his breath, he stared at the bag and pressed his lips into one thin line. 

If the boss finds out about this, the boss will kill Xavier. 

‘But if the boss believes the Madam, I will die too,’ Xavier laughed at this. 

At least, if they really killed him, he set a trap that would unfold the hideous secret of the mansion.

“I won’t go down alone,” Xavier murmured.

He raised his hand and reached for the zipper. Then, he unzipped the bag. He couldn’t see the face of the man because it was dark. But Xavier could feel his faint breathing. 

‘He’s really alive.’

Xavier was about to unzip it all down, but he saw the red and blue light from afar. 

It is a police vehicle. 

In a hurry, Xavier looked at the man in the bag. 

“L-Listen,” he stuttered. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not. But let me tell you this.”

He took a deep breath before detaching his mouth again. 

“The police are coming to save you.”

“Hmmm,” the man groaned in pain. 

Xavier looked back at the police car. It’s coming closer and closer. 

“Live. Live and survive!” 

He stood up and was about to go back to the car when someone held his wrist from behind. 

“Haaah!” Xavier gasped as he looked back at the man in the cadaver bag. 

The bloody hands held him tightly, as if telling him to stay there. 

Xavier’s knees gave in with the blood on his sight. He saw down on the muddy grass field with wide open eyes that cannot shut. 

“Name,” the bloody man whispered to Xavier. “Your name.” 

Xavier glanced at the police car. He removed the hand away from his wrist and crawled backward. 

Feeling the pounding of his heart, Xavier stood up and stumbled towards the car. He held the doorknob and when he opened the door, Xavier murmured his name.

“Xavier Green.”

“...”

“If you are asking for my name to know your benefactor, then don’t bother. I might also die tonight.” 

He entered the car and drove away. 

Xavier wasn’t sure why he shared his name with the survivor.

‘Maybe I want someone to remember the last good deed that I will do in my life,’ Xavier thought. 

Xavier went back to the mansion. 

As soon as he hopped from the car, Frederick dashed towards him. 

“Why did you come back?! You idiot!” Frederick shouted at him. “Didn’t I tell you that Sir Cesar would kill you?!”

  

Trembling, Xavier held Frederick’s shoulder.

“My f-family. I couldn’t contact them anymore. D-Did the boss bring them h-here?” he asked in terror. “Where are they?!” 

“T-That…” Frederick murmured. “About that I already…” 

“Xavier is here!” shouted the men who found the two in the mansion’s garden. 

In an instant, Frederick and Xavier were surrounded by Cesar’s men. 

Xavier looked around. All of them wear guns on their waist. Even if he fights back, he has no chance of winning. 

‘There’s no escape,’ Xavier thought as his blood ran cold. He knew this would like to happen if he came back and he readied himself. But preparations were futile. 

The racing heat and shivering of his body could tell the whole story. 

“Xavier Green!” 

A man’s scream pierced the air. 

From the dark shadows of the trees, crows flew up in the sky. 

Under the moonlight, shadows overlapped behind Xavier. Two men pushed him down to the ground, and his knees fell hard. 

“Argh,” Xavier grunted in pain. 

As his eyes stood downward, he saw a pair of shoes and heels traversing in front of him. 

When he lifted his head, sweat gathered at the tip of his chin. A gray handgun welcomed his sight, and the gun’s muzzle pecked on his forehead. 

“How audacious of you to come back with your own feet,” Cesar said in a throaty tone while aiming the gun straight at Xavier’s head. 

Staring at the gun, Xavier felt the rising tide of fear. The chill of haze began to crystallize as he looked at Cesar and Lewelyn, who were standing behind her husband.

‘That evil and cunning woman,’ Xavier cursed inwardly, while glaring at the Madam of the house.

“This man! This is the man who tried to rape me!” Lewelyn shouted while pointing at Xavier. She covered her eyes and sobbed loudly as if she was traumatized just by seeing the rapist’s face. 

“...hah.” 

An abrupt scoff squeezed out from behind Xavier’s clenched teeth. On the back of his hands, lines of blue popped. His blood was riled by Lewelyn’s accusation. 

It was all a lie. 

The two of them know what really happened inside her room. Lewelyn asked him to be her lover, but she got rejected. So why would she do that? 

Because she felt ashamed?

Eager to know the answer, Xavier peered straight to Lewelyn. A hint of a sneer flashed on the lady’s lips, and no one saw it except Xavier. He knew it right then that Lewelyn was determined to ruin his life from the moment he declined her offer.