All Too Late

“That won’t be necessary. Old Mrs. Macari is in poor health, so it would be better if you

don’t tell her, lest she worry for me,” Kathleen said. “Have you been alone throughout the

years?” Gemma hung her head low as she sat beside Kathleen. “I suppose,” Kathleen

replied. “You suppose? What does that mean?” Gemma was confused. Kathleen smiled

ruefully. Ever since marrying Samuel, she was mostly alone even though it seemed as if

they lived together. “Kathleen, you’re quite lucky. You at least have Old Mrs. Macari.”

Gemma sounded depressed. “My brother and I are different. Neither of us was of legal

age. Nobody wanted to adopt the both of us together, so we were forcefully separated

when adopted by different families.” “So that was what happened.” Kathleen pulled her

lips into a thin line. “Jeez, why am I even telling you this?” Gemma’s expression reverted

to its former state. “I need to go to a night shift at the hospital later on. You take care.”

“It’s fine. I’ll leave after getting some rest.” Kathleen knew she shouldn’t have met up with

Gemma, for both of them had varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder. Their

parents’ passing had caused great hurt to their young and fragile hearts. Because there

were hurt that would never heal, these kinds of people had come to a tacit agreement to

not meet up with each other. Without meeting each other, they would never be forced to

recall those painful memories. “Kathleen!” Gemma sounded slightly exasperated, causing

Kathleen to pause for a moment. Realizing that she might have said that a little too loud,

Gemma softened her tone. “It’s fine. This place is your home too. I have clean clothes in

my room, so you can put them on after taking a shower. There’s still some oatmeal that I

made last night in the kitchen. Have some after heating it.” Gemma went to get changed

as she spoke and was ready to leave after putting on her coat. “Gemma, are you working

in a hospital now?” asked Kathleen. “I work as a nurse now.” Gemma didn’t look back.

“Kathleen, I’ve already moved on, so it’s fine. It’s okay even if you have troubles that you

can’t talk about to me. Just stay without worrying about anything else.” She left after

saying that. Kathleen heaved a long sigh. She knew both Gemma and her were dealt the

heaviest blows during the incident because both of them had witnessed first-hand the

horrible death of their parents. Kathleen’s eyes reddened as she was on the verge of

tears, but she managed to force them back when she lowered her head to check the blood

on herself. She entered Gemma’s room and took a change of clothes before going into the

shower. After showering, she checked on her belly in the mirror before reaching a fair hand

out to caress it softly. “Do not fear, my baby. I will protect you!” To her disappointment,

tears still fell when she recalled the fact that it was Samuel who had put her in such

danger. Samuel will never care about my state of being. He must be all lovey-dovey with

Nicolette in his arms while in the hospital. On the road, Samuel was leaning against his

Maybach while puffing on a cigarette. He was chain-smoking, so cigarette butts were

littered all over the ground around him. It was almost the break of dawn, but he had yet to

uncover Kathleen’s whereabouts. His fingers gripped her phone tightly as his heart

trembled nonstop. Will she die? Will she disappear from my life entirely? No! I won’t allow

this to happen! “Mr. Macari!” Tyson ran over to him. “We’ve found the drunken man who

abducted Mrs. Macari.” “Bring him over,” Samuel ordered in an aloof tone. When two

bodyguards brought the drunken man over to him, the man was already battered and

bruised all over his body and face. “What have you done to that woman?” Samuel lifted

his gaze, a distant look in his eyes. The drunken man was jostled awake and was aware

that Samuel wasn’t someone he could afford to cross, so he said, “I’ve done nothing.”

“Chop his hand off.” Samuel didn’t even blink. One of the bodyguards immediately

unsheathed a dagger. Upon noticing that Samuel was being serious, the drunken man fell

to his knees before Samuel while begging for mercy, “Please don’t chop my hands off! I’ll

tell you anything!” “Speak.” Samuel looked intimidating. “I was in a bad mood because I

just had a divorce. Lust overtook me when I saw a beautiful woman standing beside the

road, but I didn’t do anything to her. A man saved her and brought her away as soon as I

dragged her into an alley.” “Which hand did you use to touch her?” questioned Samuel.

The drunken man dared not answer his question. “Chop both his hands off since he

doesn’t have the guts to reply.” Samuel’s exquisite jawline was tensed up as he

maintained a cool, refined look. “No, please don’t! It’s this hand!” The drunken man raised

his left hand. Still smoking, Samuel said, “How dare you lie? You touched her with both

hands. Chop them both off.” The drunken man nearly fainted from shock. Why ask if

you’ve already made up your mind? “Argh!” Just when the drunken man was spacing out,

the bodyguard chopped one of his hands off with a clean swipe of his dagger, causing the

man to howl in agony. The other bodyguard covered his mouth before his other hand was

also chopped off. “Discard this scum to a deserted place,” ordered Samuel with a stern

voice. “Yes, Sir!” The two bodyguards left, dragging the drunken man away with them,

while the other bodyguards stayed behind to clean up the scene. “Check the surveillance

footage of the back alley and find out who rescued Kathleen,” Samuel instructed in a

detached manner. Just when Tyson was about to make a call, he got an unexpected call.

“Hello?” Tyson picked up. “Who are you?” “Are you Kathleen’s family?” asked Benjamin

distantly. “Is Kathleen with you?” Tyson frowned. Samuel narrowed his eyes as he

snatched the phone away from Tyson. “Where’s Kathleen?” Benjamin was startled. “How

are you related to Kathleen?” Samuel replied sternly, “I’m her brother.” “All of her family

members are dead. She doesn’t have any surviving relatives.” Benjamin didn’t believe in

that. “Who exactly are you?” “How did you manage to track down Tyson?” Samuel was

displeased. Why would he call Tyson when I should be the one who’s closest to her? “I got

his phone number from the emergency contact list Kathleen has filled during the recent

years.” Benjamin was unfazed. “Can you pass the phone back to Mr. Hackney?” It’s not me

but Tyson, who she listed as her emergency contact? Samuel didn’t feel good about it at

all. While passing the phone back to Tyson, he said emotionlessly, “Ask him about

Kathleen’s whereabouts.” “Understood.” Tyson took the phone and asked Benjamin where

Kathleen was. “She’s safe, but I need to confirm this with her before I can tell you her

whereabouts. I will contact you again.” Benjamin hung up after saying that. Tyson didn’t

know what to say as he looked at Samuel with a gloomy look. “Mr. Macari, he said he

would have to check this with Mrs. Macari before he could tell us her whereabouts.” “Start

an investigation about the caller.” Samuel sounded impassive. “I want information about

him before the sun is up.” “Yes, Sir.” Tyson immediately sent someone for the

investigation. All the while, Samuel puffed on his cigarette, still feeling disturbed deep

down. Although he had found Kathleen, he had no idea what her situation was. Why didn’t

she contact me if she’s fine? Shouldn’t she have come to me first and foremost after such

a grave incident?