His Perfect Wife Strikes Back

57 A Man's Weakness

Daley sent someone to drive me back to his house, and the nine rescued girls were sent to a safe place by Chris. Chris assured me that they would not be forced into p.rostitution, and they would be given food and a comfortable room.

I sat in the living room and waited with a small-caliber pistol in my hand. I found it when I snuck into Daley's study on my way back. It was in the top drawer of his desk. The magazine of the pistol was empty, but I found the bullet in the same place. I'm sure there are plenty of bullets in the pistol now, enough to kill at least one person.

When night fell, I didn't turn on the lights. My body was so merged with the darkness that I could barely breathe. Time passed slowly, and there was silence all around. My eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for the person who would come in.

Outside the house there was the sound of a car, and then I heard the noise of an iron door opening. The sound only lasted a few seconds before it stopped, and then the whole yard fell silent again. The expected footsteps didn't come, but I knew the man was just outside the door.

He was getting closer, and I could smell the smoke and the smell of blood coming from him. A shadow appeared under the crack of the door, and he stood hesitating for a moment. But he pushed the door open.

"You're back!" I pointed the gun at his chest. "Put your hands in the air and lean slowly against the wall. Don't play games with me!"

He smiled. He looked at me like I was a child with a toy gun at my parents. He must think what I'm doing is childish. Instead of listening to me, he drew closer and closer to me.

"A small caliber pistol like this can't hurt me at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have left my gun in the drawer." His forward steps made me recoil. He wasn't afraid of me, nor was he afraid of death.

"Are you sure you can aim at me?" He sneered. "I think I should get closer."

"Stop!" I had to shoot him, but only to warn him, so the bullet only went over his shoulder and hit the wall behind him.

Just when I thought I would be able to fire the second shot, he was already on my body. He easily grabbed the gun from my hand, and I fell on the sofa. He had a hand around my neck, and I could feel his grip.

Even though he didn't use much power over me, I knew I couldn't break free from his grip. Our faces were only three fingers apart, and he stared at me. His face is as cold as his mask.

"I'm tired today. I don't want to kill anymore!" He said as he let go of my neck and walked away from me. He stood in front of me and drew the bullets out of the pistol one by one.

The metal clattered to the ground, and I looked down with a sudden sense of frustration. I hesitated. I could have shot him in the head. I should have known he wouldn't run, but he guessed I wouldn't hurt him. He won a psychological battle.

I lost. I showed him my weakness.

As the last bullet rolled down at my feet, I looked up to see him sitting across from me. He gave me a reproachful look, as if I were a child who had made a mistake. He is waiting for me to admit my mistake.

What can I say? How did my pent-up anger just go away? I should have pointed the gun at him and scolded him. But why did things turn out the opposite of what I expected?

"Go ahead, say what you want to say!" He said calmly, his hand resting on the edge of the sofa. Those golden eyes are looking at me.

"You're hiding something from me!" I said. "You've been hiding it from me since you planned for me to take the bomb to the Karr brothers' house. Tell me everything."

I know he used me. But I want to know another important thing. Is he really going to open the green door? Whether or not he wanted me to die in the house with the girls.

I could feel him hesitating, just as he had been hesitating outside the door.

"I planned to take revenge on the Karr brothers, so I pretended my leg was broken and asked for peace. I chose his father's birthday to give him money. I knew he would let his guard down so I could successfully raid his house."

"Did you kidnap the senator on the way?" I asked.

"Yes. The Karr brothers invited the councilman to his party to curry favor with him so they could rule the island of pudding! But I let his plans fall through!"

"You weren't going to open that door, were you? You were lying when you told me that the side door would open at 7:00, weren't you?" I looked into his eyes to see if he was lying.

"Yes!" He admitted, without even the slightest hesitation.

"Why?" I hated being lied to. "Why save me and then push me to the brink of death? Why save me again when you've decided to let me die?"

I couldn't read his eyes. I felt like a dog he was playing with. Would he have had the most fun watching me struggle over and over again on the edge of danger?

What a pervert! I curse in my heart.

"You made me change my principles!" His voice sounded tired. "I don't like it!"

"I know I was wrong the moment I decided to save you!" He seemed to be talking to himself in the dark. "A woman in distress often becomes a man's weakness."

"I don't know what you mean!" There was an ambiguous undertone to his words, and I felt uneasy.

"Let's forget about what happened today!" His expression softened. "Do you remember your death list? I caught the Karr brothers as a gift to make amends. Don't you want to see them?"

"You haven't answered my question," I pressed.

"I think I answered it!" He said. "Are you sure you don't want to see what I've got for you?"

I was silent. Did he want to see me deal with the Karr brothers?

"Wait here for a moment." He turned away and went upstairs.

After a while, I saw him change into a white dress and come downstairs. The hem of his coat was wide enough to cover his knees, and even his trousers were white. He looked like a pious preacher at the moment, with his grave expression and his clothes. He is the only bright white in the dark.

"Come with me!" He whispered.

Then he led me to a warehouse behind the house. He pushed open the iron door of the warehouse, and I followed him. The white light illuminated everything in the warehouse.

I saw the Karr brothers naked and tied to the gallows. Beside them stood a medical bed and a worktable, and a machine stood at the end of the bed. Many blue plastic buckets were arrayed in the corner.

What I saw surprised me. What was he trying to do?

The Karr brothers had their mouths taped shut and their hands and feet bound with rope. Sweat covered their foreheads, and I could see fear in their eyes.

"What do you want to do?" I suddenly became nervous.