Chapter 5

"With a life sentence, how could he stand before me?!"

Zavier's whole body froze, he fell silent at his sister's words. His mind seemed to be forced to dig up fragments of memories from ten years ago, a time when he was just a foolish twenty three year old youth who didn't know that humans could be worse than animals!

Zavier's mind was clearly imprinted with the events of that night ten years ago. The Forger Family's courtyard was bustling with the arrival of a group of men in police uniforms.

"No way!" A girl's scream could be heard as she was seen being detained by two policemen. "My brother can't kill! He can't even kill ants, let alone kill people!" Gabriel—Zavier's adopted sister—screamed hysterically as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The man in charge of the arrest looked at Gabriel with a level gaze, seemingly not the least bit guilty at the sight of the girl crying. "Miss, only your brother's fingerprints were found on the victim's murder weapon," he explained. "Not only that, Zavier's own brother has admitted that he committed the murder of the Bentley Family heir, so he will be prosecuted according to the law."

"Something's wrong! Something must be wrong!" Gabriel shouted, shaking her head. "Sister!" She struggled and broke through the police defenses to run to her sister. "Sister! Tell them you're innocent! Don't lie! Tell them who forced you to confess!"

Zavier, who had been silent, looked at his brother intently. Then, his gaze shifted to his parents who were behind the police line. Their faces were clearly painted with disbelief, disappointment, and unwillingness. But—

"Is it because of Ayano?!"

Zavier froze at the name.

Gabriel's expression turned cloudy, certain that all of this had something to do with the woman she had just mentioned. "She's the one in that hotel with that man, isn't she?! She's the real one— ah!" Before the girl could finish her sentence, the two policemen she had just passed pulled her back violently. "Let go of me!"

"Shut up or we'll get violent!" snapped one of the policemen.

At that moment, Zavier said, "Gabriel, take it easy, everything will be fine." He smiled at his sister gently. "I promise I'll be home soon."

"Brother Zavier! Brother Zavier!!!"

Who would have thought that the next time Zavier returned to that house would be ten years after the incident?

Now, looking at Gabriel who was staring at him so angrily, Zavier felt very guilty. "Gabriel... I'm sorry that it took you ten years to come home."

Hearing Zavier's words, Gabriel froze. She remembered the promise made by Zavier, that he would come home and everything would be fine.

A big lie.

Because of the disbelief still in Gabriel's eyes, Zavier pulled up the neck of his shirt. A faint mark on his left chest was visible. "I'm sure you recognize this," the man said. "Is this evidence still not enough?"

Gabriel's gaze fell on the mark on the man's left chest, recognizing it as the birthmark of the older brother she had always teased when they were kids. The girl's gaze, which had turned cold, softened.

Zavier smiled, confident that the girl before him had recognized him. "Gabriel, I—"

PLAK!

Suddenly a slap flew towards Zavier's face, leaving the man frozen in place.

"How dare you come back after being gone for so long?!" snarled Gabriel with a face that instantly turned even more violent. "Do you know all the things that happened while you were gone?!" she asked, starting to punch Zavier in the chest to vent her anger. "It would have been better if you hadn't come back at all! There's no need for you to come back! WHAT ARE YOU COMING BACK FOR AFTER THINGS HAVE GOTTEN LIKE THIS? YOU—"

Gabriel's screaming stopped abruptly, and that was because Zavier pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Gabriel. Really, forgive your sister," the man pleaded with his eyebrows knitted together. "But now that I'm back, I won't leave you and Papa and Mama again. I'm going to make all that's wrong right!"

Hearing Zavier's words, Gabriel's anger instantly evaporated. However, it was replaced by deep sadness. "Too late, you're late, Zavier!" No more of the girl's affectionate calls to the kayak. "Father is no longer there."

Instantly, Zavier froze. He released his embrace and stared blankly at his younger brother. "What do you mean?"

However, Gabriel did not say a word and only continued to cry. Zavier gripped both of Gabriel's shoulders and asked with a worried face.

"Where are Papa and Mama?" Zavier's heart was filled with a bad feeling. "What do you mean Dad is gone?!"

"Papa's dead," Gabriel replied with a bitter expression. "And Mama... she—"