Chapter 940:

Eugene shook his head. “No, sir.”

Taking a steadying breath, Eugene continued, “Officer Owen just called me. She said it couldn’t wait.”

Brandon’s brow creased, unease crawling up his spine. The dim hallway light made Eugene’s face look even more serious. Something was wrong. Brandon could feel it—a new disaster about to break through.

“Officer Owen told me Jon had identified his attacker,” Eugene said quietly. “The person who drove the car that hit him… it was Macauley.”

The news struck Brandon with crushing force.

It felt as though the entire hallway fractured under the weight of that revelation. Vivian’s muffled cries seeped through the closed basement door, but Brandon barely registered them. His thoughts stopped cold. For a moment, even his heart forgot to beat.

If Macauley was involved all along… that could only mean Vivian and Macauley had been in cahoots from the very beginning. She must have answered Macauley’s call that night. Every mystery from back then suddenly snapped into focus.

Memories crashed over Brandon, scenes from a year ago replaying with merciless clarity. He’d raced to that building, convinced Millie was the one in trouble. Chaos met him at the door—clothes strewn everywhere, evidence of a struggle. He rushed farther in, voices echoing from a nearby room.

In the farthest room, he’d heard a woman sobbing and a man talking, their words blurred. His chest had felt as if it might collapse, but he’d kicked the door open, shoved the man away, and knelt beside the trembling woman. He reached out, hands shaking, terrified for Millie.

But when the woman looked up, it was Vivian’s face streaked with tears. A swirl of emotions swept through him—relief, confusion, and something he couldn’t even name. Back then, a single thought filled his head: “At least it’s not Millie.”

That thought clung to him, and each time he looked at Vivian after that, the guilt sank deeper into his chest. It was the same thought that kept pulling him back, making him go easy on her again and again.

𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 g⍺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀﹐ⅽ𝗼𝗺

But now, someone was telling him that Vivian and Macauley had been connected from the very beginning—and worse, Macauley had tried to hit Millie with a car. For Vivian.

Everything seemed to freeze. Brandon stood in the hallway, his thoughts refusing to move forward, unable to accept what he’d just learned. He could not let his mind unravel the full meaning of it. The whole situation felt twisted, almost like someone had played a sick joke on him.

“Mr. Watson, are you alright?” Eugene’s worried voice sliced through the fog. Brandon lifted his head, staring blankly at Eugene’s anxious face. The corridor, the harsh light, even the papers in his hand—all of it felt impossibly distant.

“Mr. Watson?” Eugene’s worry deepened. “Please, say something. You’re starting to scare me.”

After a heavy silence, Brandon finally responded, “Is this true? Are you sure?”

Eugene nodded, determination in his eyes. “I double-checked with Officer Owen. First Jon gave the police sketch artist a description, then he identified Macauley from a bunch of photos they showed him based on the sketch. It’s Macauley, no question.”

Staring down at the documents, Brandon barely registered the words, his eyes moving only on autopilot. So Macauley and Vivian had history. The way things looked, their connection hadn’t just existed—it had been surprisingly close.

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