Alluring Mask - ENGLISH VERSION

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 21

"What did you do?" I asked him, confused.

My heart was pounding, and my palms were sweaty because of what was happening. The barrio where I came from—Vallosian—was small, so I'm sure my family had already heard the news that I was dead.

"I did that because you no longer need to use your identity as Sarah," he replied seriously.

"There are many other ways you could have done that. I'm sure my family has already heard the news," I said to him, on the verge of tears.

He should have at least told me about this plan instead of surprising me like this. At least I could have prepared myself. I could barely chew or swallow the food I was eating because of what I heard.

Atlas continued to watch the large TV until a different reporter began speaking. The woman had finished reporting on the burned Zevallos company.

"Don't worry, your mom won't find out that I'm the one sponsoring all the expenses for the funeral until the day of your burial, they won't have to spend any money. If you want to watch your own burial, I can accompany you."

I let out a sigh and fought back the tears that wanted to fall down my cheeks. It was over... He had declared me dead. I could no longer just leave because other people now knew I was no longer alive.

"I already planned this, Sarah. There's nothing you can do about it. You no longer need the identity of Sarah Dayanghirang. I didn't tell you my plan because I knew you wouldn't agree, but you don't have a choice because I'm going to do it anyway. Making it look like you're dead is the easiest thing I've done to quickly finish my plan. Once I make it seem like you're dead, after a few days, months, or years, they will eventually forget about you."

He stood up from his seat and turned off the TV. He went to the minibar near the hallway leading to his office and poured himself a drink. I just stared at him, speechless.

"There's nothing they can do once your family finds out you're dead. They will just have to accept that you're gone, that you're dead. There won't be any other explanation because your dead body will be the evidence," he took a sip from his glass while looking at me.

I quickly wiped away my tears and looked away from him. I filled my glass with iced tea and quickly drank from it to shift my attention to something else and not my emotions.

"And when something is lost, something else takes its place, right? That's how everything is, Sarah."

"W-what about the body you used? What happened to it?" I asked him while stuttering. My voice was hoarse from holding back tears.

"I paid the family of the owner of the body we used to make it look like it was you," he replied.

My jaw dropped at his answer. When I tried to look at him, I almost fell off my seat when I saw that he was already behind the sofa. He was looking down at me, still serious.

I couldn't hide my reaction to him anymore. I knew he saw it, so what was the point of hiding it?

"Nowadays, if you have a lot of money, you can do whatever you want in no time, Sarah. So don't be surprised by what we're going to do, especially now that you're working for me and for our organization."

I turned my gaze to my plate and tried to eat, but I felt like I had lost my appetite. Eventually, I returned the barely touched food to the center table.

I felt him put his hand on my shoulder and pat it gently a few times.

"Sarah Dayanghirang is already dead. The processing of your data in our organization's system is almost complete. My calculations about everything that's happening now are correct. Once your training has finished, I can say that your new identity has been created. When that happens, you'll be known as Valentina Imara Meadows and not Sarah Dayanghirang," he said, which made my ears ring.