To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 22

Scarlett decided to play dumb. She didn’t think Aaron would let it slide, but she had a little hope that Scott might help her out.

“Dirty? What do you mean, dirty?”

“Oh, Carly. My young sister, Carly.”

Aaron’s low voice filled the room. His eyes, with his arms spread wide open, were heavy and cold.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know you’re sharp.”

He wasn’t approaching in a threatening way, but if it had been anyone other than Scarlett, they would’ve found Aaron intimidating. He was a man whose mere presence felt overwhelming even when he stayed silent.

“Yes. Something dirty did get on me. Aaron, was it your mafia?”

“It doesn’t matter if it was my side or the other. Those bastards are disposable cards. The important thing is you almost died.”

Aaron growled through gritted teeth.

Scott stood slightly in front of Scarlett, half shielding her. But Scarlett stepped to the side next to Scott.

She didn’t want to hide, but she didn’t have the courage to face Aaron alone either.

Aaron was like fire. He would flare up, scorch his opponent fiercely, and only calm down when there was nothing left to burn.

“I told you again and again. Be careful, and then be even more careful! The moment you step outside the house, you should be on alert! I must’ve warned you a dozen times to always have guards with you. Carly.”

“I can’t live like that forever. Which mafia was it? Was it your side?”

“If you knew how shocked I was when I heard you’d been captured, you couldn’t say it so calmly. They were heartless, brutal bastards! They were so filthy even I found them disgusting!”

Veins popped out on Aaron’s forehead as he got worked up. As he closed the distance to Scarlett with his flushed face, Scott quickly stepped in to grab him.

“You promised not to get angry.”

“Oh, right. I promised. I just forgot for a moment. I’ll calm down. Don’t worry. Don’t you trust me? Look, I’m calm now.”

Aaron even held up his palms casually, but his face was still red, and his voice was as low as a beast’s growl. Scarlett threw fuel onto Aaron’s fire.

“Why are you even involved with people like that?”

“If I hadn’t made deals with them, they would’ve gone after John or Scott.”

Scarlett, who understood the ways of the political and financial world even without being directly involved, knew Aaron had a point.

Mafias constantly tried to build ties with politicians and influential wealthy families. If they were rejected, they took it as a betrayal and often responded violently.

The White family had been a prestigious political family for generations. John was a senator, and Scott was an arms dealer, the kind of person mafia groups would love to get close to.

Where there was money and power, mafia couldn’t be far. So it made sense that Aaron, the most aggressive among them, would be the one to strike deals.

“And the result is kidnapping? Even after working with them, they still threatened me?”

“Scarlett!”

It was Scott who shouted. He tried to mediate by stepping between Aaron and Scarlett. He gave Scarlett a sharp look, signaling her to stop. But Scarlett ignored him.

“Because those bastards would do anything to get an advantage in the negotiations! They’re the kind who could betray you at any moment. That’s why I kept warning—”

Scarlett cut Aaron off.

“Enough nonsense! In the end, you’re saying it’s your fault I got kidnapped! I don’t care who leaked my location and information. The fact is, I was kidnapped by the mafia you were involved with. I’m the one who should be angry! Why are you the one yelling?!”

Aaron’s face turned even redder, like it was about to burst. He panted heavily, and only with Scott’s intervention did he force himself to calm down a little.

He ground his teeth and said in a low voice.

“You should’ve stayed away from that guy. It was through him that the information leaked. Through his loan sharks…”

He was talking about Noah.

At last, Scarlett understood why Aaron was so angry.

Aaron thought she had been kidnapped because she was involved with Noah. Aaron continued to grind his teeth and speak.

“If Scott hadn’t stepped in, things could’ve been a disaster. If we didn’t have military connections, there would’ve been a war between the Whites and those bastards before we could even arrest them. You need to realize what kind of power and position we hold.”

Aaron narrowed his brows and added,

“And stop hanging out with that filthy guy too. I don’t know when you started, but how could you even breathe under the same sky as such disgusting blood!”

“…Could someone explain what you’re all talking about?”

It wasn’t just Scarlett who jumped at the sudden voice. Scott also turned around, pale-faced, to see Susan standing there. Aaron, still fuming, ran a hand over his closely cropped hair.

Susan, looking quite shocked, glared at them with a frozen face.

The terrifying aura she gave off made Scarlett clamp her mouth shut.

“If I heard right, Scarlett was kidnapped by Aaron’s mafia connections, and it somehow involved Ashford. Is my conclusion correct?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Scarlett admitted it without resistance. She had planned to keep it a secret between her and Scott, but now most of the family knew. Scarlett spoke honestly.

“I approached Noah Ashford. Because of that, and because of Aaron’s influence, all this happened. I never meant for it to happen. So please, just don’t yell at me. If you blame me too, I don’t think I can take it.”

“Aaron. I clearly told you, don’t get involved with the mafia.”

Susan spoke slowly, emphasizing each word, but Aaron casually lifted a bottle and took a drink.

“Because those bastards make money! You need money to protect your family, my lovely sister.”

Aaron, much calmer now, sipped his drink. Their faces were close, but Susan didn’t back down. Instead, she curled her lips.

Susan snorted at Aaron.

“Explain everything. All of you. What exactly happened, and what you were thinking.”

“Then you start first.”

Scarlett crossed her arms and sat down firmly on the sofa. She jerked her chin at her brothers, signaling them to sit too.

Scott squeezed his eyes shut and sighed heavily. Dinner was definitely over, and now a family hearing had begun.

“Why did you hide the existence of Noah Ashford?”

Scarlett glared coldly at her older siblings. Susan’s expression slowly softened.

Scott pressed his forehead, trying to bear the pounding headache, and Aaron fiddled with a cigar, unable to smoke it in front of Scarlett.

“Don’t say it was because you were afraid I would be shocked. That’s just an excuse. You should have told me when I became an adult. I lived like a fool, not even knowing the real reason why I was sick!”

“Carly, calm down.”

Susan coldly ordered Scarlett. Scarlett gasped for breath, then forced herself to calm down. She stared straight at Susan and asked.

“Who decided to keep it a secret?”

“We’re sorry for not telling you. But we wanted you to be happy. Even if you didn’t know the truth, at least you would be happy.”

“Why? Because I was a poor girl who was dying?”

“Scarlett!”

Scott tried to stop Scarlett. Aaron, who had a cigar in his mouth but hadn’t lit it, spoke. The faint smell of cigar made Scarlett even more irritated.

“Yes. Because you were pitiful.”

Aaron held back from lighting the cigar and kept opening and closing his lighter, making a clicking sound. He continued.

“That was the way we loved you. Even if we seemed much older than you, we were still just your siblings, not your parents. We were just clumsy adults. So, of course, there were things we couldn’t do perfectly, and we couldn’t be gods. At that time, we thought keeping it a secret was the best way to protect you, so we chose silence. Back then, that was the best we could do.”

Scarlett bit her lower lip. Now that her young nephew Isaac was around, she had a faint idea of what it meant to raise a child. That’s why, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t bring herself to mock or argue with them as much as she wanted.

Scarlett knew the unconditional love her siblings gave her, and she also knew it wasn’t something she should take for granted. How could it be natural for young siblings to raise her with the love of real parents?

“I understand.”

“Then, Scarlett, my lovely sister, why don’t you tell us now? How did you find out about Noah Ashford? Why did you approach him and cause all this mess?”

Aaron’s voice rumbled like a beast growling. Scott sighed deeply once again.

“I told her.”

“Oh, of course! Cravitz knows everything! What else are you hiding under that name, my dear brother?”

Scott frowned. Scarlett quickly stepped between them and lied.

“I asked him to tell me if he knew any secrets. I always thought something was suspicious. Noah Ashford is my business.”

“…Come back home.”

Susan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Susan!”

“Don’t waste your time and feelings on things like that. They’re not worth it.”

“That’s for me to decide. Don’t interfere. Don’t try to stop me, don’t try to help me, just stay out of it.”

“You’re trying to get revenge.”

“Whether I’m trying to get revenge, or about the half-brother…”

“Are you crazy? That boy is not your brother!”

Susan cut Scarlett off and shouted loudly.

Susan, who almost never raised her voice, now reacted hysterically, and Scarlett’s face turned pale. Susan’s clenched fists dug her nails into her palms.

“He is not our brother! Even if he shares our father’s blood, he will never be a White. Never say such a thing in front of me again!”

Susan was breathing heavily, her face flushed red like her hair. Aaron chuckled while biting on his cigar. Scarlett answered.

“…Okay. I’m sorry. What’s important right now is the epidemic in the capital. I heard that if children get a fever, they could lose their sight. So let’s be careful. Cancel the charity party, and don’t receive any guests for a while.”

“I thought we agreed to think about it. Anyway, don’t change the subject. Come back home.”

“I’m going to Iodes.”

When Scarlett said that, Aaron laughed again and rubbed his stubbly chin.

Then, a moment later, Aaron’s eyes turned cold. Scarlett felt a headache coming from the pressure Aaron gave off.

“I received the letter saying your grades are terrible. I thought the boy who was kidnapped with you was your boyfriend, but that rat had actually faked his identity. You entered Iodes to get closer to Ashford. Enough with the little games. As Susan said, come back home.”

“I still have something left to do.”

“You have no interest in studying. Why stay? Carly, come back. Isaac misses you a lot.”

“No.”

“Do you know how angry John is right now? He’s so angry that he didn’t even send you a letter. He’s the one who pressured the military to act that day. Of course, Aaron helped too. Anyway… with this fever going around, you should rest at home. I’m most worried about you.”

At Susan’s coaxing, Scarlett decided to play her trump card. She needed a way to buy time before her siblings completely stopped her.

“If I don’t get over 90 points on all the pop quizzes from now on, even if I do well on the main exams, they’ll expel me. If I end up expelled… then I’ll come back home. I’ll also never approach Noah Ashford again.”

Scarlett took a short breath and made her proposal.

“But if I don’t get expelled, leave me alone. I’ll study hard. And until the midterms, none of you should approach me, and don’t approach Noah Ashford either. Just leave me alone.”

As soon as she returned to the villa, Scarlett thought she would start copying notes from Noah’s textbooks. It made sense since her own books were brand new, and she hadn’t even written her name in them yet.

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