"Night Owl really thinks highly of . Out of all the people on Death Island, he decided to assassinate himself. Is there a shortage of talent on Death Island now?"
Rembering how Night Owl had once threatened Sienna Johnson in this garden, Adrian Desmond felt a wave of lingering fear. If Night Owl had laid a hand on Sienna, he would never have been happy. Sienna was his goddess of light; if she were to die, he would live in eternal darkness.
"Night Owl hates you to the bone for almost killing him. He would love to torture you to death now," Alice said.
"Night Owl’s thods are brutal; even soone trained like can’t bear them." His eyes fell on her chest, which was covered in scars. "After I left, did they torture you?"
"What do you think?" Alice replied. "I’m Alice, one of the top five assassins on the island. Even during a mission, I wouldn’t get hurt this badly."
She pointed to her left breast, telling Adrian Desmond how each of her scars had gotten there. "This one here," she said, "is from when Night Owl was interrogating about your whereabouts. He branded with a hot iron.
"This one is where Night Owl cut away a piece of my flesh with a sharp dagger, leaving this scar.
"Bill, you know I can’t stand pain. Do you know how much it hurt back then? Night Owl tortured for a day and a night; it was worse than death. At that ti, I kept hoping you would descend from the heavens to rescue , but you never showed up.
"Bill, we agreed to escape together! Why didn’t you bring with you when you left?
"When I returned from my mission, I saw chaos on the island. The armory had been blown up, and all the boats and planes to leave the island had been destroyed. Andrew told sothing big had happened, and I rushed to find you, only to discover you were gone. You abandoned . You just left here alone. The explosion on the island—that was the chaos you created to escape, wasn’t it?
"Do you know what I kept thinking when I sat alone in your room? I thought that if I ever t you again, I would demand to know why you didn’t take away from this hell.
"Bill, you promised to take away from this hell with you! Why did you leave behind?!" she questioned him, her voice a mixture of anger and sorrow. She would never forget that betrayal.
Adrian Desmond frowned and explained, "I did intend to take you with , but you happened to be on a mission that day."
"So, you just decided to leave alone and run?"
"And what would you have had do?" Adrian retorted. "Escaping requires precise timing. If I’d missed that window, it would have been difficult to find another opportunity." He didn’t think he was wrong. In their worldview, no one was more important than themselves.
"What if it was your wife? Would you abandon her?"
"Of course not!"
"Why?"
"Because I love her. Her life is more important than mine. Without her, I would be living in hell."
Adrian Desmond didn’t hide his feelings for Sienna Johnson. Alice looked as if she had received a huge blow, her eyes filled with anguish and sadness.
"Alice," Adrian said, "don’t trust anyone, including ! I’m not a good person. I’m not your support! You can only rely on yourself!"
In Adrian Desmond’s mind, Alice had always loved beauty. Whenever she returned from a mission, injured or not, she would first clean herself up, change into her most beautiful clothes, and put on makeup before resting. He reached out to pull up the zipper of her black leather jacket.
As he pulled it up to her chest, Alice’s palm blocked the zipper. She pressed his hand against her chest, forcing him to feel the protruding scars—a constant, unforgettable reminder of her pain.
Adrian Desmond frowned, pulled Alice’s hand away, finished zipping up her jacket, and covered her scars.
"Bill, I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to kill for Night Owl anymore. I don’t want to be a killing machine," Alice pleaded, gripping Adrian Desmond’s hand tightly. "Bill, please help . For the sake of us growing up together, fighting side by side. I also want to live a normal life. I want to get married. I want to have my own children."
"Alice, I can give you so money, and you can figure out a way to leave the organization on your own. I can’t help you with anything else," he said coldly.
Alice’s eyes filled with profound disappointnt and despair. "Bill, are you afraid I’ll implicate you? Afraid that because of , the organization will target you again, that you’ll get into trouble?"
Adrian Desmond averted his gaze and, to his surprise, spotted Sienna Johnson standing by the window. He didn’t know when she had woken up, but she was looking at him with a complicated expression.
Seeing Sienna Johnson, Adrian Desmond said to Alice, "Alice, I have a wife and a child now, and my wife is pregnant. I can’t take risks for you. Besides, I don’t have the energy or ti."
She looked at him sorrowfully, laughing bitterly. "You an to say I’m not family to you, is that it? That I’m just so unrelated person? That whether I live or die has nothing to do with you, right?
"We were together for so many years. I thought we were more than just partners. I thought we were family, the closest of people.
"Bill, have you considered this? Your feud with Night Owl is already set in stone. Whether you help or not, he won’t let you go. The ten-year period is over. Night Owl has started his killing sprees again. He will not let you go."
Adrian Desmond furrowed his brow, appearing to ponder.
"Bill, Miss has awakened..." Alice said.
"She’s not dead yet?"
Alice sneered. She hadn’t thought Adrian Desmond could be so ruthless. Back in the day, Miss had been deeply devoted to him.
"You know Miss’s feelings for you!" Alice continued. "Night Owl adores that little sister of his. If you want to resolve your grudge with him, you might consider marrying Miss. For the sake of his beloved sister, Night Owl might even spare you, you know."
"I’m already married! I have a wife!" Even if he didn’t have a wife, he would never like Night Owl’s devilish sister.
"Bill, have you ever thought about what you’ll do if Night Owl finds you here?"
"Hasn’t he already found ?"
Fortunately, Sienna Johnson had been smart enough to notice Aiden Howard’s suspicious behavior in ti and alerted him. Otherwise, who knew how much trouble Night Owl could have caused.
"Bill, I know your strength; Night Owl can’t hurt you. But what about your wife and your child? They’re just ordinary people. If Night Owl targets them, what will you do?"
"I will protect my wife and child! I won’t let anyone hurt them!"
Adrian Desmond may have sounded relaxed, but the concern in his eyes was obvious. After all, he wasn’t certain how many people Night Owl would send to deal with him.
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