Josie fell silent, no longer willing to speak. She approached Rachel and said, “Listen, I know there are many things you haven’t explained. I won’t interfere with the rest, but I just want to know where Arnold hid my father, Paul. You know, don’t you?”
Upon hearing this, Rachel smiled faintly. “At this point, do you really think I would tell you? I wish nothing more than for you to suffer more than death, Josie.”
Josie’s brows furrowed deeply, and her calm facade finally shattered. “Is it your intention to make my life a living hell? Rachel, don’t you care about your own life anymore? If you provide me with useful clues, I can persuade Dexter to let you go.”
“Let me go, and then what? I would end up dead, caught in the crossfire of some power struggle. I would rather stay here where it’s safe, even if it means enduring some hardship,” Rachel taunted. “As far as I know, you’ve lost the use of half your limbs, haven’t you? It rained heavily for days, and you were tied up for two of them. Don’t tell me it didn’t affect you.”
Upon hearing that, Josie couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly.
Without any backing or leverage to threaten with, Rachel was truly at a loss with Josie. After a long while, she finally calmed down.
“Isn’t it that you just don’t want to see me succeed? So, give me the clues. Once I find Paul, I’ll leave Wavery and go abroad, and I won’t be with Dexter anymore.”
After hearing that, Rachel widened her eyes in disbelief. She hadn’t expected Josie to be so reckless. “Are you out of your mind? He’s just your foster father!” Is it really worth giving up Dexter for him?
“We are forever indebted to our parents who raised us. I am willing to do anything for him,” Josie declared, each word measured and deliberate.
She couldn’t see, but the man outside the iron gate, upon hearing her words, didn’t take another puff of his cigarette for a long time. He let the ember burn down to his fingertips, the searing pain jolting him back to reality, causing him to furrow his brow.
“How can I trust you? Even if I reveal the clues to you, you might still stick around,” Rachel expressed doubtfully.
“Just as you said, as things have progressed to this point, I no longer have feelings for Dexter, and I certainly won’t in the future. Therefore, there’s nothing worth lingering over. All I want now is to find Paul and live a peaceful life.”
The two words ‘no feelings’ seemed nonchalant, but only Josie knew she uttered them with a certain reluctance. Rachel still didn’t believe it. “Even if you’re willing to do this, Dexter might not be. He won’t let you leave.”
“My heart is no longer with him. He won’t force me to stay,” said Josie. Understanding Dexter all too well, she knew those words would hurt him.
Larry’s call came through again. “Mr. Russell, we really can’t wait any longer. Mr. Harrison is causing a scene in the conference room. He’s rallying the board members to impeach you.”
Dexter closed his eyes for a moment.
“How can I trust you?” Rachel asked.
Josie pondered for a moment. “When I leave, I’ll come to set you free. You can watch me board the plane then.”
Five minutes later, Josie left the room only to find Moses and the bodyguards. Dexter was nowhere to be seen, with only cigarette butts littering the floor.
She paused for a moment. “Where is he?”
“Russell Group had an urgent matter to attend to, so he left early,” Moses quickly replied, fearing she might misunderstand. “But he will return.”
Josie’s gaze was distant and deep. “There’s no need for him to return.”
Those were matters he was meant to handle. Some people are destined to shine within their own domain, not to stagnate for her sake.
Moses didn’t understand. “Huh?”
He thought everything had come to an end, that Josie should have been happily together with Dexter. Yet, things seemed to be growing increasingly unfamiliar.
Before Josie left earlier, Rachel mentioned that she had once seen the figure of Scar, accompanied by Paul, departing. They were headed for Rivodia.
Indeed, it was Rivodia.
