To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 101

Even young Isaac could tell that his uncles were not doing good things.

Aaron always smelled strongly of cigarettes and alcohol, and Scott had a look in his eyes that could make anyone terrified.

But that didn’t mean Isaac didn’t love his uncles.

They were a little scary, but they sometimes gave him snacks without his mother knowing, and they tried their best to fill the gap left by his father.

So, seeing his two uncles covered in blood was a huge shock, as if the sky was falling. And on top of that, his mother was dying from being strangled.

Isaac repeatedly thought the same thing as he watched the scene that day. “I’ll forget this once I wake up from the dream.”

“Ah.”

Isaac opened his eyes wide and, as he expected, couldn’t remember anything. He yawned and scratched his head.

It had been three days, and Isaac had been locked up in the White mansion. The fact that he had almost been kidnapped had reached Susan’s ears, thanks to Scott.

“Ah, it’s that dream again.”

He knew instinctively that he had the same dream every time. But he kept forgetting it again and again.

The psychiatrist had said that he was traumatized as a child by a robbery at their house, and that he subconsciously tried to forget bad memories. But Isaac thought it was just because he had a bad memory.

“Ah, whatever. Whatever.”

Isaac wiped the sleep from his eyes and left the room.

Being stuck in the house for three days was unbearable, so he planned to go to Aaron and try to throw a tantrum.

Unlike the strict Scott, Aaron was more flexible and had been exposed to violence through his connections with the mafia, so he wasn’t easily shaken by most things.

So, it wasn’t impossible that Aaron might help him get out of the house, brushing off the fact that he almost got kidnapped.

With that thought in mind, Isaac headed to Aaron’s room. He was about to open the door when he heard Scott’s mocking voice from inside.

“Damn Norton again. How long are these guys going to keep bothering us? If they’re going to expose corruption, they should focus on the Norton Chemical waste disposal case.”

Isaac recalled the expose that had been printed in the newspaper today. His uncle, Aaron White, was being heavily accused of colluding with the mafia.

There was also suspicion that Isaac’s granduncle, John White, had turned a blind eye to Aaron’s dealings, and shady things from John’s past defense work had come to light, making the White family a complete mess.

Because of that, reporters had gathered in front of the gate since morning, and Teddy couldn’t even go to school today.

Exposing the White family’s corruption wasn’t new, but recently, it had been a hot topic, making the elders of the family more on edge. Isaac felt suffocated by the atmosphere at home.

“You’re close with the mafia. Use them to get rid of the Nortons.”

“That’s nonsense. The real issue is the article about John’s defense work. I didn’t expect the Eric Thayerton case to blow up like this.”

“That’s something John can handle.”

Scott’s tone was full of indifference.

Isaac wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but he knew that there was some kind of rift between his granduncle John and the other brothers.

Isaac’s mother, Susan, would frown whenever John’s name came up, and his aunt Scarlett would pretend not to hear and would avoid the subject.

Isaac was only nine years old when their relationships began to sour, so he couldn’t judge the situation fully.

But from what he saw in the media, John White was a quiet and righteous gentleman, a politician without a single flaw.

Isaac’s grip on the doorknob tightened.

“Scott, we can’t keep fighting like this.”

“You would say that. You’re going to marry Samuel Anderson’s daughter.”

“Can you stop mocking me?”

“Don’t tell me what to do. Anyway, do you know that Theo Grisham guy is getting close to Isaac?”

“What’s that about?”

Theo Grisham was the man who had saved Isaac not long ago. It seemed like both Scott and Aaron knew him.

How did they know him? Who was he? Isaac leaned in, curious.

“Theo Grisham, that guy saved Isaac. This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Hm. Maybe he’s just repaying a debt.”

“Ha. Repay a debt? You’re still a fool, aren’t you?”

“Then what would you call it? Anyway, that guy owes our family a big debt, and in the end, he saved Isaac. That’s the truth.”

“The truth is, that guy is the reason our family fell apart. And you and I almost died.”

Isaac’s lips, which had been tightly shut from the intense conversation, parted.

He quickly tried to remember the name Theo Grisham. But nothing about it came to mind.

He felt like he’d heard it before, but it was such a common name that it didn’t seem significant.

“Anyway, we should at least send him a thank-you letter.”

“That guy is living off our misfortune, and he’s never even said thank you. You want us to thank him? What we need to figure out is how he knew Isaac was kidnapped. The kidnapping could have been staged, or maybe he was following Isaac…”

“Enough, enough. I’ve thought about that too, but that’s a bit much. And what can we do? Are we supposed to kill him?”

“…We won’t kill him. Yeah… we can’t kill him.”

“Then let’s go to the Natalia embassy soon and fire a gun there. Will getting revenge on the guy who saved Isaac make you feel better?”

Isaac, listening to the conversation, squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his face with his hand. It felt like his head was going to explode from the frustration.

From Isaac’s perspective, all the Whites seemed to have problems. They were either too violent, cold-blooded, or hot-headed.

Looking at his uncles’ conversation, they seemed to have known Theo Grisham for a long time.

Even though they had never been on good terms and had been enemies, Theo Grisham still recognized Isaac and saved him.

But Scott doubted his intentions, and Aaron was making low-level jokes about shooting him.

‘I really hate this…’

The White family’s rough nature wasn’t new, but Isaac was disgusted by how his own family was behaving.

How long were they going to live like this, without any regard for anyone else? It was so unbearable that it was making him sick.

He just wanted to live a life with common sense—no mafia connections, no violence, just living life by accepting kindness and returning it in kind.

With a completely tired expression, Isaac quietly returned to his room. He stuffed some clothes into his bag, then snuck into his mother’s room and stole a few pairs of diamond earrings.

Once he was ready, Isaac threw his bag out the window, climbed down the tree that reached the balcony, and left without hesitation.

Late at night, Noah was reading the letter sent by Wilhelm.

“…With his lover… planned visit…”

Noah’s eyebrows twitched at Wilhelm’s reply.

He crumpled the letter, clenched his teeth, and swallowed his anger, but when it came to Scarlett, he had long since run out of patience.

In the end, Noah tore the letter to pieces and threw it on the floor. Even then, his anger didn’t subside. He stood up abruptly and began pacing the room, trying to calm his furious breathing.

“A lover… Hah, how far do you plan to deceive me?”

It was cruel, even wicked. She—Scarlett—was far too unpleasant. He couldn’t even understand what she was thinking. She was like the wind, elusive and hard to catch.

Whenever she made his chest burn with frustration and his head feel like it would explode, it almost seemed like some madness might spill out.

Noah took a deep breath through his gritted teeth, trying to settle his emotions. Just then, a knock sounded.

“Come in.”

Noah’s permission was followed by Peter, who appeared with a troubled expression.

“That boy, Isaac White, is looking for Theo Grisham at the embassy,” Peter reported.

“…Isaac White?”

“Yes. The problem is, it seems he has run away from home.”

“…That’s good. Bring him to me.”

Peter left to handle Isaac’s situation. Noah quickly began to plan while waiting for Isaac’s arrival.

The reason Isaac ran away wasn’t important. Noah didn’t care about that.

What mattered was that Isaac was walking right into his hands. If Isaac was under Noah’s protection, dealing with the Whites would be much easier.

While Noah sorted out his thoughts, Isaac arrived. He had packed his bag tightly and, with a nervous glance around, entered the room where he was staying.

“Isaac Brown, it’s been a while.”

Noah’s voice sent a chill down Isaac’s spine. It was the same voice he had heard that night.

“Theo… Grisham?” Isaac stuttered.

“Yes, that was the name at one point. Do you need something from me?”

Isaac noticed that Noah’s physique resembled the man he had seen that night. He cleared his throat and tried to compose himself, but his voice still trembled when he spoke.

“I-I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I… I heard you are from Natalia.”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll give you money. Please hide me. And… send me to Natalia.”

Noah’s eyes twitched slightly. He had to force himself not to laugh.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“You, I don’t think you have a very friendly relationship with my family. So, my family will never guess I came to you with this request. When the next ship to Natalia leaves, hide me and get me on it.”

“Then, what do I get in return?”

Isaac, with the look of someone who expected this, pulled a blue diamond earring out of his pocket and showed it to Noah.

“This is the Blue Diamond, sold for the highest auction price ten years ago.”

“No offense, but I have plenty of money.”

Noah, now somewhat older, could clearly see that Isaac, much younger than him, was trying to come up with something clever.

Isaac was naive. He didn’t understand how harsh the world could be, so he was asking to be taken to Natalia.

Noah looked at Isaac, who looked just like Scarlett. Isaac, it seemed, didn’t remember that he was the one who had tried to kill his family when they visited the mansion years ago.

“If you want something, I’ll pay the price.”

“What exactly do you want? Do you want to leave Wifland, or do you want to go to Natalia?”

“Leave the White family.”

“….”

In this moment, Noah thought that if Scarlett had heard that, she would have been very sad. He judged himself as being sick in the head for thinking this way and clicked his tongue. Isaac flinched.

Isaac had assumed that Noah would reject his offer and put the diamond earring back into his pocket.

“Fine. Then our negotiations are over.”

“…No. Wait a moment. Alright, I’ll help you. I don’t need the diamond. But there are a few questions I want you to answer.”

“What questions?”

“I’ll add one more condition. Don’t ask any useless questions.”

“…If you’re trying to get our family’s secret information, it won’t help. I don’t know anything.”

“I’m not expecting you to know anything. Peter, I think it would be best if he shared a room with you. Show him the way.”

Peter, not happy about sharing his room, took Isaac and left.

Before the door closed, Isaac, holding the doorknob, asked with suspicion in his eyes:

“You promised you would send me to Natalia, right?”

“I don’t break promises,” Noah replied harshly.

At that, Isaac released the doorknob.

As Isaac left the room, Noah realized that he had the same posture as Scarlett. He bit his lip, feeling frustrated.

There was no way to express how crazy it was to be hopelessly in love with someone who had abandoned him. His chest felt tight with the weight of it all.

Support