With a sharp bang, Ray slamd his hands against the table, causing the dishes to rattle. "Stop eating your damn pudding and tell us if we’re right or wrong!" His voice was a mix of frustration and fear, his eyes fixed on her, searching for the truth.
Es paused mid-bite, her spoon lingering in the air. She blinked once, twice, before finally setting it down with deliberate slowness. Her eyes flicked up to et Ray’s, a spark of amusent glimring behind them. She leaned back slightly, exhaling softly as if she were indulging in their rising panic.
"Well," she began, her voice light and teasing, "what do you think?"
The silence that followed was deafening. The brothers’ faces fell into various stages of shock, disbelief, and anger. Ryan’s hand dropped to his side, his confusion now replaced with an icy realization. Kai’s pale complexion deepened into a sharp frown, his eyes narrowing as the pieces began to fit together.
"You..." Ray’s voice faded, his mind racing. "You were the one who made the poison?" He glanced at Jay, who appeared taken aback. Ray pressed on, saying, "Wasn’t it you who brewed this toxin?"
Jay was still trying to process everything as the tension in the room thickened. His gaze flickered between Es and the others, his mind racing. Yes, he had made the poison, but only because Es had given him the formula. When she handed it to him, he assud it ca from a well-known scientist or so secretive expert in the field. But now, realizing that Es herself had created it? That shook him to his core. He looked at her in disbelief. How was this woman—who ran a company with such precision and confidence—also knowledgeable enough to craft a poison?
He didn’t know what to feel in that mont. Admiration? Fear? Maybe both. There she sat, calm and poised, like nothing was out of the ordinary. A woman who could navigate the cutthroat corporate world and also manipulate poisons so effectively—what kind of danger had he unknowingly allied himself with?
Ray’s voice cut through Jay’s swirling thoughts. "The hell, tell !" Ray shouted, his frustration finally boiling over. "You damn both of you, what the hell is going on here?" His eyes bore into Jay, demanding answers, while Es remained calm beside him.
Es didn’t flinch at Ray’s outburst. Instead, she slowly stood, as if completely unbothered by the rising tension. She put her spoon down with deliberate ease, dabbing her mouth with the napkin before setting it aside. Her expression was one of mild amusent, like Ray’s anger was little more than a child’s tantrum.
"Why does it matter who did it?" she said, her voice calm, even. "What matters is that your aunt, even after losing control of her emotions, is still smart enough to cause us problems."
Kai, who had been silent until now, nodded thoughtfully, clearly picking up on Es’s point. "Yeah, I think so too. After all, she called on the landline—probably so we couldn’t record her. If we’re right, she’s likely used another number altogether."
Ray, still fuming, slamd his hand on the table. "That’s not the point, Kai!" he snapped, his voice trembling with frustration. "We’re not talking about how clever Aunt is—we’re talking about this!" He gestured wildly between Jay and Es, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Es gave Jay a formula for poison! Poison! And neither of them thought to ntion it?"
Jay finally spoke up, his voice quieter than usual. "I—I didn’t know she made it herself. I thought it ca from so professional. She didn’t exactly tell ."
Ray shook his head, incredulous. "How could you not ask questions, Jay? You’re a scientist. How could you just do it what if that formula fe—"
The mont Es handed him the formula, doubt clouded his mind. How could he, in good conscience, create sothing so dangerous? A poison, no less, based on a re formula. But the shock that followed Es’s revelation had shaken him deeply, rattling him to his core. It brought back mories from his childhood, mories that stung even now.
He had always been different, more vulnerable than his brothers. From a young age, his second aunt made sure he knew it. She would whisper cruel words, telling him he was the worst of the bunch. To say such things to a five- or six-year-old child was a form of brainwashing, and over ti, he began to believe her words. It wasn’t that his parents or brothers had abandoned him—not really. But Ryan’s illness demanded their constant care, and there were monts when he felt utterly alone, with no one to turn to.
Still, whenever that thought arose, it was swiftly silenced by the unwavering love of his brothers. Ray, especially, had always been more than just a brother. He was a protector, almost a father figure, despite their minimal age difference. Ray had shielded him from countless hardships, stepping in front of him whenever danger or scolding threatened, even if his own body trembled in fear. And Ryan, despite his illness, would try to be a barrier between him and the world’s cruelties.
As he reflected, his mind drifted to darker mories—mories of his second aunt. The woman who had tornted him had also spent far too much ti around Ray in their childhood. He rembered how she would stare at Ray with unsettling eyes, her gaze cold, almost as if she were looking at a lifeless doll. It made his skin crawl even back then. She had a habit of calling them dolls, but it wasn’t until much later that he realized the true malice behind those words. The way she looked at Ray filled him with dread, as if she were plotting sothing sinister.
One day, unable to keep silent, he had confided in his mother. He didn’t know what his mother had discovered, but soon after, the doors to their house were closed to guests and relatives. His mother had shut out the world, ensuring that his second aunt was never left alone with them again. Whatever she had found, it was enough for her to sever ties.
Reviews
All reviews (0)