Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 69 - 68. Viper in One’s Bosom

Chapter 69: Chapter 68. Viper in One’s Bosom

Ethan...

Ethan Yoo. The name pounded in Sarah’s head like a hammer. Memories flashed, of a man she once thought was her close confidant; of a man shielding her from the rain with an umbrella.

She had been feeling guilty because her revenge might impact him, she hadn’t been able to face him because of that, and yet...what?

[M-Miss Diamond...?] Little Bird’s voice came through weakly, cautiously.

Sarah gripped her phone tight and took a deep breath--being in the family compound and knowing someone might be watching her helped her find her ground quickly. "So the one who provided my schedule to the gangster is Ethan."

[Yeah...]

Sarah closed her eyes. Well...it made sense. No one knew her schedule better than Ethan, who was in charge of managing her activities. It was just...the possibility of him being on her enemy’s side never crossed her mind.

No. Sarah refused to see him as such.

For someone who stayed by her side until the very end, the first person from her old life she met and saw on that rainy day in the Columbarium to be one of the people causing it all...

That concerned look, that sadness...was it fake? Was it actually guilt? Did Ethan stay with her until the end because he felt guilty?

Sarah let out a choking laughter that came out like a snort, before clasping her mouth to control herself again.

[M-Miss Diamond...]

"I’m fine," Sarah said, taking another deep breath. "Thank you, Birdie."

[Y-yeah...]

With another deep breath, Sarah ended the call. Calm down--she told herself as she stood in the middle of the dark foyer. Sending the schedule didn’t mean Ethan was involved voluntarily. He could be thinking he was sending it to someone in the company or something on her behalf and not...

Biting her lips, Sarah clenched her fist angrily at her weak thought.

Because, if what she thought was true, there was no need for Ethan to send it through a temporary email from an obscured domain that was no longer active.

"Haa...I need to..."

Sarah looked around; she needed to talk to Hajin, to get her thoughts out and plan what they had to do next. But...where was he? Hajin would have been waiting for her on the porch if he was there, but the annex was dark and she hadn’t heard the man’s voice even after standing there for minutes.

The empty building felt suffocating all of a sudden, and Sarah stepped back out to the porch, which was brighter from the garden lamp. Thanks to that, she could see a pair of garden gloves and shears left behind untidily, as if the one wearing them had to leave quickly.

"Oh..." Sarah shifted her gaze to the main house. "Was someone called him there?"

It wasn’t impossible. It was rare for them to be separated from each other, so perhaps someone thought they could bully her puppy while she was gone.

With a frown, Sarah walked toward the main house, wondering whether she should ask the house manager about Hajin’s whereabouts or not. That was when she realized something.

"Wait--" Sarah looked down at her hand, suddenly realizing something. "I can just text him..."

She felt stupid. It was the same with the time Hajin disappeared last time. She could have just called him on the phone instead of getting hysterical. But, well...she wasn’t really in her right mind at that time. It was better this time, perhaps because they already talked about it and she found traces of him in familiar places.

Sighing, Sarah stopped in the middle of the garden path and started texting the bodyguard--

Or so she meant to, when she heard the sound of Hajin’s name come out of someone’s lips. Several people, walking while talking--or rather, gossiping, walking down the path. For some reason, Sarah found herself hiding behind a topiary, peeking--and eavesdropping--at the passing house staff members.

"Hajin-ssi is truly handsome, isn’t he?" one of them said.

"I didn’t believe you guys before, but after seeing him up close..." another one giggled.

"But it’s so hard to see him, since he’s always cooped up in that building with the second miss."

"Yeah--I don’t really like Madam Aunt, but thanks to her bringing him inside, we can catch a glimpse."

Sarah blinked--it was her aunt who called Hajin? Oh, at least she knew he wasn’t leaving--

"But what do you think they’ve been talking about?" they started to whisper. "They were at the kitchen in the afternoon, but suddenly moved to the library and locked the door. It had been...what--an hour?"

"Sush--don’t talk about stuff like this or we’ll get in trouble!"

Someone hissed a warning and they stopped talking, although they were still giggling while whispering, inaudible from where the topiaries were. Not that Sarah could hear them--she wouldn’t be able to with the ringing in her ears, returning like a nightmare to her distraught heart.

Was...was one betrayal did not enough in one evening?

Sarah crouched behind the topiary as the sky continued to darken. Only after her ankle got tired from the heels did she return to the annex. It was still dark and empty, but turning on the light only made it feel emptier.

She took off her heels, slumped on the couch, and crouched there silently, hugging a cushion. When she was a child, she had really wanted a plushie. But she was told that owning a plushie would make her look childish, so she couldn’t have one. Her mother bought her one and hid it inside the annex for her to play there, and it was brought to the apartment after the divorce.

Sarah had no idea if that plushie still survived after all this time, but...she wanted that plushie now. Just something to be hugged, something to make her feel warm and drove away the cold and the nightmares creeping all around her body at that time. She could feel it; the hot lump lodging in her throat and starting to block her airways--

"Master? You’ve returned?"

Sarah gasped softly and looked up, seeing Hajin at the door. He still wore the black shirt he wore when Sarah left earlier, and had the same bright, cheeky smile he made that afternoon. The man walked briskly to the kitchen’s sink and turned on the faucet, washing his hand rigorously--almost aggressively.

"I was worried you’d be dragged into dinner too," Hajin exhaled in relief. "Do you still want dinner? Or are you still full from earlier? I can just make dessert if you’d like."

Sarah bit her lips; she wanted to confront Hajin about what she heard, but it was so hard to move her tongue. What came out in the end was just a weak "Dessert," before she returned to hugging her cushion.

"Was it awful? I’ll make sure to make something extra good," Hajin smiled at Sarah’s reaction, who seemed like she didn’t have the energy to do anything. "Then, will your mood improve if I tell you your aunt was luring me today?"

"...huh?"

Sarah lifted her gaze again, frowning. Why would she be happy about--

"She asked me to work for her instead since you’re going to marry someone else anyway--it’s funny that she thinks it’s already fixed," Hajin scoffed. "I stayed with her for a bit since she kept on talking. I thought I might be able to get some information, but...hmm...I’m not sure--I’ll tell you later and let you decide if it’s useful."

What...was this man even talking about?

"So? What should I do now, Master?" Hajin asked. "You told me someone might want to poach me over to their side, so I told her I’d think about it, but...I’m not sure what you are planning with this. Do you want me to pretend to accept and spy for a bit? I don’t like seeing that woman again, but if it’s your order..."

Oh?

Oh. That was right. Sarah belatedly remembered she was the one setting up the plan for this; for someone to approach Hajin so they could somehow take advantage of it. But she was so distraught by the news about Ethan that she forgot all about it and got panicked on her own.

Or...

Sarah looked up at the confused man who was still waiting for her answer.

Or...was it because she needed--wanted--Hajin more than she thought she was? More than she was willing to admit? It felt harder thinking about him leaving her than about Ethan’s betrayal, and knowing she could still trust him...

"Master, why are you so pale?" Hajin finally realized something wasn’t right with Sarah and hurried to her side. "Did that man--?"

"No," Sarah raised his hand at the approaching bodyguard--but rather than to stop him, she clutched on the edge of the black shirt. "I...received a call from Little Bird."

The concerned gaze darkened as Sarah told Hajin about Ethan--not just about how he was the one supplying the schedule, but also about how he used to work as her personal assistant.

"So, he was my predecessor," Hajin said darkly, reaching out to stroke his master’s cheeks from where he was kneeling on the floor. Fortunately, those cheeks were dry, even if the black eyes were tinged by red. "Isn’t it a good thing that I took his place?"

Sarah blinked at the cheeky smirk that did not match the coldness of the grey eyes. For some reason, however, it made her burst a laughter. Perhaps because the man looked both angry for her while also feeling triumphant for being a better employee. It felt childish but also...endearing.

Honest.

"Yeah," she leaned onto the large, warm hands. "Yeah, I’m glad."

The pain and bitterness were still there, and Sarah was sure she would be plagued with nightmares that night. But she also knew Hajin would be there when she woke up, perhaps also stroking her head to soothe her nightmares away.

That thought gave her enough energy to feel angry rather than sad.

And anger was an excellent fuel.

"I need to talk to him," Sarah narrowed her eyes; a pair of obsidian gleaming coldly. "I need to know why, and who was he working with."

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