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“I don’t want to owe him anything.”
“Well, if you end up being his heir, he’ll owe you more.”
“Well, I don’t want that. I hate him. Not just because of what he did to you, but the Loxtons are always in the spotlight. Such a headache.” I said it with a frown. “I just want to stay with Mina.”
“Yes, yes. We know. Please don’t start again.”
She typed something on the keyboard, and I propped my chin in my hand.
“Lately… she’s spending a lot of time with that Bernova girl. Wasn’t her father some kind of trouble? I don’t want my Mina anywhere near them.”
“So now you meddle in her friendships too? Bravo, keep going.”
“No, they’re not just friends. Mina acts like she’s in love with her.”
“You can’t get between the girls, Raymond. Just give up.”
“She avoids me because I’m a man? If I shed the parts of my body, then maybe…”
“Before, you idiot, she thinks you’re a damn machine.”
“Oh.” I fell silent. When Johanna activated the big screen, a bunch of squares appeared on the wall, and I turned around.
“Okay, where should we look? Did she give any details about the boy?”
“I couldn’t ask her. Let me see.”
After half an hour, I finally found the recording. Johanna had fallen asleep, complaining of a headache, so I was able to watch without suppressing my emotions.
Two figures stood in the backyard. One was my beautiful Mina, the other one… Oh. He wasn’t a student. He was a grown man. I remembered his face because we had had dinner together a few times.
Francis Bernova.
At first, he had offered Mina the same innocent smile he gave his fans. But my baby must have said something to get under his skin, because his face darkened, and all of a sudden, he slapped her hard across the face. His hands slid down her skirt. Just as he raised his fist, Bernova arrived. But that didn’t stop him. He’d thrown both girls against the wall and had his hands around their throats. He didn’t let them until a basketball player waved at him.
What if… he hadn’t let go? With Mina in his grip… would she have died?
I couldn’t remember how I had woken Johanna up.
“What? What happened?”
“Bernova did it. I… can I actually kill Bernova?”
“You’ll end up in prison.”
“For life?”
“At least until Mina grows an old lady”
My face contorted. “Can’t we just kill him without getting caught?”
“I hope one day we grow strong enough to kill anyone we want.”
Silence settled over the security room, and I pressed my lips together.
“I can’t just sit here doing nothing. That man… he beats children.”
My Mina, specifically.
