Chapter 101: Taken Away

Cassie’s eyes shook. She avoided his gaze and said quietly, "Evelyn told me, but I forgot."

"You forgot...?" Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So you’re telling me it was a coincidence? It wasn’t something Chris knew about?"

Cassie’s head snapped back to him. "What? Chris didn’t know of any of it."

"Any of it...?" He stressed. "Any of what? Your elaborate plan?"

The young woman froze, her eyes widening in panic. "W-what do you mean? I didn’t plan anything, Ethan! Don’t put words into my mouth!"

Ethan nodded, but he still asked, "So Chris didn’t know about it, and it was a coincidence?"

She nodded, feeling her stomach twisting in pain.

Ethan hummed, then smiled. "Oh, well... why did you come to Evelyn’s shop, then?"

"Can you give me the antidote first?" She winced, clutching her stomach. "I’m in pain..."

Ethan shook his head. "The antidote? Not yet. Let’s see how much longer you can lie."

Cassie’s eyes widened, and she snapped. "Fine! Fine! I did it intentionally! And it was your fault! I wanted to separate you from Evelyn by putting you all into a debt only Chris could pay!"

She paused, grabbing her own hair as she cracked. "I... I didn’t want to hurt Nora, okay?! She just happened to be the only available tool to use."

She raised her head and saw Ethan staring at her silently.

"Hey, you heard me! I already spoke the truth! Now give me the antidote!"

Ethan nodded and tossed the small bottle to her. She quickly ripped it open and drank the contents in large gulps.

Pausing, she looked at it again, feeling the itchiness in her stomach lessen.

"...Water?"

Ethan chuckled. "Do you think I’d give you a real poison? I only added something unpleasant and irritable to the pancakes, and you only felt stomachaches because you didn’t drink water immediately."

Cassie froze, her jaw dropping. "You can’t be kidding me..."

Ethan shrugged and stood up. "Well, whatever. I already got what I wanted, and you surely got yours."

Picking up his phone, he called Vincent. After a few seconds, he said, "Good. Tell them to hurry. Thank you."

Dropping the call, he said to Cassie. "The cops should be here in about five minutes. Is there anything else you want to do?"

Cassie trembled, feeling enraged. "You... bastard...!"

She grabbed her bags and immediately headed for the door. Ethan leisurely followed her, watching as she hurriedly climbed down the flight of stairs.

The moment she stepped outside the building, she was surrounded.

"Don’t move!"

Cassie stiffened, seeing the guns pointed at her. When did the police get here? How had she not heard their sirens? She immediately realized she has been tricked. Ethan had already called the police beforehand. He only lied to make her run into them by herself.

"Raise your hands in the air and turn around. You’re being arrested for deliberately harming a child with health challenges. Anything you say can be used against you."

The lady’s expression sank, but she obediently complied. One of the police officers immediately came forward and handcuffed her before turning to Ethan.

"We’ll work with the evidence you’ve sent us. Her confession will strengthen the case, but we’ll still follow the proper procedure."

Ethan nodded. "Alright, thank you."

He turned back to Cassie and asked solemnly. "Do you regret doing it? Do you feel like you shouldn’t have done it?"

She said nothing, merely lowering her head as she was led to the police vehicle parked outside the gate.

Ethan quietly turned around and sighed. "Case closed. I hope you rot in jail, Cassie. For what you did to my daughter... this is the easiest punishment you’re ever getting."

Once they had taken her away, Ethan messaged Evelyn and sent her the recording of his conversation with Cassie.

He didn’t want to start explaining everything again from scratch so he did that and prepared to head to the shop.

It took him almost ten minutes until he finally arrived at the shop, parking his bike nearby. Evelyn wasn’t at the counter. Instead, only Cassandra was there, wearing a stiff smile on her face.

Ethan entered the shop and patted her shoulder. "You’ll get wrinkles quickly if you keep faking smiles."

With that, he walked past her and approached Evelyn who was inside the shop, curled up on the couch and sobbing into her knees as she hugged them.

Ethan’s smile faded quickly, and he quietly sat beside her.

"Although a little late, she already got what she deserves. Why are you crying again?"

Evelyn shook her head and continued sobbing, refusing to look at his face. Ethan hummed, then wrapped his arms around her.

He gently shifted her onto his lap, patting her back as if petting a child. He didn’t say anything, merely holding her as she cried.

’She must be deeply hurt... knowing that her best friend had intentionally triggered Nora’s asthma attack.’

He shook his head and held her tighter.

Evelyn cried until she fell asleep, which greatly surprised Ethan. However, he didn’t mind. He held her for a little longer then helped her lie on the couch to sleep properly.

Planting a single kiss on her forehead, he stepped out of the shop and said to Cassandra.

"I’m going to get Nora from school soon. For now, I have something to discuss with your brother."

Cassandra blinked. "My brother?"

"Yeah. I’ll say you said hi." He got onto the bike and waved at her. "See you later."

He quickly drove off to a popular gaming cafe in the area where the teenagers in the district frequented to hang out and play games.

Stopping in front of the building, Ethan’s brows furrowed.

"You want to play games here?"

Walking over to him, Vincent nodded. "Not just that. I also want to speak to you about something. I hope you don’t mind."

Ethan sighed. "Just know I only have less than an hour to stay here. After that, I need to go get Nora from school."

Vincent nodded. "Same. Looks like we’ll be going together since my son is in the same school."

Ethan smiled.

"Well, then... let’s see how well you can play."