Chapter 177: OLIVIA’S PREDICAMENT (3)
Hazel checked her phone when Ranon left for the office and saw Olivia’s distressed message, which told her that a few people had broken into her apartment.
There were several miscalls from her as well.
She remembered Olivia called her yesterday when she was about to attend the meeting with the other shareholders.
Because she called relentlessly, Hazel turned off her phone. She thought Olivia wanted to be petty and mess with her. She didn’t have time for that.
But then she forgot, and her phone was dead because it ran out of battery.
"Bring the other people. We are going to leave."
There was no restriction for Hazel if she wanted to go out, but the look on her face told Yara something was not right. Hazel looked a little bit scary.
"Where are we going?" Yara followed Hazel to the lift as she made a few phone calls.
However, Hazel didn’t answer her; she tried to call Olivia again, but it went straight to voicemail. In the end, she called Lyle.
If Olivia had called her, she must have called her brother, too.
But the result was the same. Hazel couldn’t get to Lyle.
What happened? She didn’t feel good about the whole situation.
***
"Do you remember me now, bastard?" Viper leaned over and looked at Lyle closely. He smirked viciously at him. "Or do you still need help to remember what you have done to my son, hm?"
Lyle didn’t make a sound when Viper stepped on his fingers. He was stubborn enough to look at him right in his eyes.
His blood wetted the floor, and he couldn’t fight back since this man held his sister at gunpoint.
However, it was not only his blood but also the other man’s, Nelson’s. He was the same man that Lyle saw talking to his father the other day.
Right now, Viper alternated between beating Lyle up and torturing Nelson.
It was very naïve of Nelson to think Viper didn’t know about his secret deal with the head of the McKenna family.
As it turned out, Viper had calculated everything. He kept Marcus close because he learned about Olivia. No matter how hard he tried to keep her away from the crowd, nothing escaped him.
"Now, do you remember?" Viper asked the same question again.
"I don’t know. I don’t keep tabs on an insignificant target." Lyle spat on Viper’s face, which only enraged him.
He kicked Lyle so hard that his body skidded on the floor. You could hear his broken bones.
"No! Leave him alone! Take the money that you want and leave!" Olivia screamed.
Her voice was very coarse. It had been more than five hours. She screamed and begged them to stop hurting Lyle.
"Stop! Please!"
Olivia couldn’t do anything aside from regretting her decision to call Lyle over. She thought Viper only wanted the money he demanded from her earlier.
Who would have thought he had a personal vendetta against Lyle?
Based on what Viper said, Olivia learned that Lyle had killed his son five years ago. Apparently, Viper’s son was one of the targets from the Lozens, and it was Lyle who had executed the mission.
It took Viper long enough to figure out who had shot his son before he got the name, and it was Lyle.
On the other hand, Marcus was still unconscious. He would mumble something here and there, but he was not fully awake. He was delirious.
Viper approached Lyle again and grabbed his hair to force him to lift his head and look at him. "Who gave the order to kill my son?"
"I don’t know." Lyle squinted his eyes. "Go and look for Arthur Lozen to get your answer." He smirked mockingly. It was not a secret that the McKennas worked for the Lozens.
Lyle knew this man wouldn’t be able to get his hand on the Lozens. He was no match for them.
"I don’t know. Even if you kill me, you will not get the answer out of me."
"I see..." Viper straightened his body, and now his eyes fixed on Olivia. "Don’t worry. I will not kill you. Death is a convenient way out. I want you to live."
Viper looked around, and his eyes landed on the young boy, who had been trembling in the corner, staring at the floor, refusing to see the gruesome sight before him.
"Carl, come here."
Viper beckoned the young boy. His voice was suspiciously very soft and gentle, as if he knew how afraid he was of him.
"Carl, come here. I want you to do something."
Trembling, Carl shook his head. He was fidgeting. He didn’t know what he wanted him to do, but he was sure it was something he wouldn’t like.
"Come here, Carl." Viper waved his hand. His smile was harmless, but Carl had learned not to trust such smiles.
He shook his head again, and this time, Viper approached him, which made Carl take a step back. He couldn’t understand how his life became like this or how he became so deeply involved with these people.
He missed his life with his mother. Laurel. He wanted to go back to that time they were together.
He kept calling for his mother, and it was Laurel’s face that flashed in his mind, the thought of how disappointed she would be if she knew what kind of situation he put himself in.
"Don’t be a pussy. You are a man." Viper patted his shoulder. "I had a son, and when he was around your age, he was also shy like you, but don’t worry. I help him to grow up into a better man."
"And he was dead," Lyle sneered. He chuckled while curling himself on the floor. The pain was too much for him.
This was a huge mishap on his part not to know that Viper’s son was once his target. He overlooked the people around Marcus.
There were around twenty people inside the room, which made Olivia’s living room very crowded. She had never had so many guests before.
"Lyle, please... don’t." Olivia shook her head. She regretted calling Lyle over, but Viper threatened her with Marcus.
But then, Lyle had come here on his own. When he called her back, it was Viper who answered.
Viper only made this move now because Nelson had tried to take Marcus away after his failed attempt to ask for help from McKenna. He had been keeping tabs on his movement.
He also knew who Carl was and the dispute between the Lozens and Ranon Leighton. Last he heard, Arthur Lozen kidnapped his wife.
Such information was hard to obtain, but of course, Viper had his own way.
"I have told you he only brought problems for you," Lyle said, coughing so hard he was breathing heavily, especially when Viper grabbed his hair again and landed two blows to his face.
"Yes, he was dead." Viper tilted his head. He enunciated his words clearly, just in case, amidst the pain, Lyle couldn’t hear his next words. "And your sister will accompany him. Even though she is not his type, he will appreciate the gesture."
Viper cackled maniacally when Lyle widened his eyes. This was the reaction he wanted to see.
"Come here, Carl." This time he didn’t use his sweet voice again. "Or you will be next."
Carl still didn’t move. He was scared. Tears welled up in his eyes, and this made the other men laugh at him and push him towards their boss.
"Go. Do you want to be beaten up like him?" One of the men said, and Carl trudged closer to Viper.
"Give him a gun."
Carl immediately knew what he wanted him to do. "No, please... I don’t want..." He had witnessed how cruel Viper could be. "I don’t want..."
The same man came forward and handed him a gun, but Carl immediately dropped it as if he were touching a hot coal.
"I swear. If you hurt her, you will join your son soon," Lyle said through his gritted teeth. His eyes flashed with murderous intention.
"Really?" Viper tilted his head. "Seeing your current condition, do you think your threat will deter me?" He mocked him and then stood up to approach Carl.
He picked up the gun that he dropped and squeezed it back into his hand. His grip was very strong; Carl felt as if he crushed his fingers.
"I heard you want to know how to shoot."
Carl shook his head vehemently. "No... No, I didn’t... I didn’t want to know..." He was crying now, but no one cared.
"Come on, don’t be shy. This will be your first lesson." Viper patted his cheek and stood behind him, but he didn’t loosen his grip on Carl’s hand.
And now, he guided the gun that Carl held; he aimed it at Olivia.
Carl tried to shove him away, but he didn’t have the strength to shake him off him. He couldn’t even drop the gun because Viper’s sausage-like fingers wrapped around his.
"Come here, I know you have been very curious. This is how you do it." Viper kissed Carl’s head. "The first time will always be rough, but you will get over it soon." He winked at Lyle. "Don’t you think so?"
Even though his son was not Lyle’s first target, around that time Lyle was considered new to the field.
The most infuriating thing for Viper was the fact that Lyle didn’t even remember his son at all. How nonchalant he could be...
"Aim and pull the trigger," Viper said languidly.