The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

At this moment the glowing and radiant mood of Erick this morning was nowhere to be seen. It was replaced by a cheerless, dark and sullen vibe around him.

For only God knows how long, he had stayed still on his chair unmoving while leaning his back with his eyes closed. The tears on his face already dried up.

Every thought in his mind was silenced into shock, denial, and grief. He laughed coldly, it was short and harsh.

"I have been fooled, haven't I? All this time, we've all been fooled by her, right?" he mumbled with disbelief.

He put his hands to his head, tugging his hair tightly. The desolation he felt was consuming him.

However in that darkest moment he still found himself thinking and seeing the beautiful image of his beloved woman. Elle's smiling face with her eyes filled with love just suddenly popped up in his consciousness.

He could also hear her sweet voice calling his name. His happy moments he shared with her just kept on flashing into his mind right now. He felt really confused and lost at the same time.

"Can I be selfish for once? I just want to live happily with my wife. Is that too much to ask? Why? Why is this happening to us?" Erick mumbled to himself.

Erick was still struggling inside when he saw his phone. He picked it up and dialed Marie's number.

"Erick calm down. Don't assume first. You need more concrete evidence." he said as he was still trying to convince himself.

After a few seconds, the call got connected as he heard Marie's voice from the other line.

"Hello, Chief Lee."

"Marie… I have something to ask you if it's okay for you." Erick directly said to her, avoiding pleasantries.

"Sure, what is it Chief?"

"It is about the necklace in Black Shadow's possession. Can you check it again, please? Once you get a hold of that necklace, try to press the pendant." He said to her in a desperate plea.

She was puzzled after hearing his request but still she just agreed with him.

"Ok Chief but…" she was about to ask him further but Erick cut her off immediately.

"Thank you, Marie," he simply said before he hung up the phone.

He had just finished talking with Marie when he received a call from Elle. He fixed his gaze on the phone, hesitating whether he should answer it or not. His emotion was still unstable. Is he ready to talk to her?

In the end, he could not bear to ignore her call so he answered it.

"Hubby?" Erick's heart skipped a beat after hearing her hoarse voice.

'What's wrong with her voice. Did she cry?' Erick could not help but ponder.

"Yes wifey? What's wrong?" Erick was trying his best to sound normal. He heard from the other line that Elle cleared her throat before she spoke again.

"Nothing. I just want to ask if you can go home early today. Can you?" she said softly.

"Why?" Erick asked her curiously.

"Hmm, to celebrate. Please hubby, come home early. I will be waiting for you." Elle said to him, pleading.

When he heard the word to celebrate, Erick felt a tinge of pain inside his chest. He smiled bitterly. However after hearing her request, he felt really helpless. He wanted to flee right away just to be with her.

"Alright. I will go home early today just to satisfy my dear wifey." Erick masked his negative emotion by a chuckle.

"Erick…" she called out his name.

"Hmm?" he mumbled

"I love you," Elle said to him with a soft and gentle tone.

Erick was speechless after that. Her words brought a lump on his throat stopping him to utter a word. He felt like he was going to cry but he was suppressing himself. For goodness' sake, he was a man.

Elle was about to hang up the phone since she thought Erick was so busy and the other line became very silent. But then, she heard his deep raspy voice.

"I-I love you too, Elle."

"Alright then, see you soon, hubby. I thought I wouldn't hear your response." Erick heard her soft giggle before she finally hung up the phone.

Erick gazed into the wall blankly. He was still holding the phone into his ear even though the call already ended.

"Erick, you are so pathetic… and a big fool," he mumbled, ridiculing himself. He was currently having his inner struggle.

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Meanwhile, on Elle's end, she already came up with a plan on how to save Charles. She decided to rescue him as soon as possible. She watched the video twice to confirm who is the culprit.

She also informed Phantom of the current problem but she told him not to worry and she could handle it. 

Since Phantom was already on his journey, it would be a hassle if she would ask him to come back. She assured him of her plan.

After her call with Erick, she dialed someone's number using her burner phone. In just a few seconds, that person answered the phone call.

"This is me, Catseye. Are you expecting my call?" A cold glint flashed on her eyes and a sinister smile appeared on her face.

"Stop torturing him. I am coming to meet you myself. Just wait for me." Elle said with her stern voice. 

"I said STOP. TORTURING. HIM! You don't want to see my angry side, do you?" she threatened him. 

Her grip on the phone tightened as she heard Charles screaming, agonizing with pain. Elle's eyes were red because of so much fury.

"I Will Kill All of You if Something Bad Happened to Him! Mark My Words."

After saying that, she disconnected the call. Her heart was burning with rage. She could imagine Charles right now. She knew he was in so much pain but she couldn't do anything as of this moment.

"I tried to avoid a bloodbath. I tried to do things in a more humane way. I tried to forget my cold-blooded nature but someone is really trying to awaken my demonic self. They touched my bottom line. Hurt my people then I will give you the taste of hell."