Chapter 139: Chapter 139

Camille swallowed.

In just that amount of time, Christian managed to find out the information that he needed to know. Did that mean, all this time, he was just playing with her? Acting patient with her?

How much more did he know?

“Harold Huckington’s business wasn’t going well, so they proposed a deal with him that would benefit both parties.” Christian shook his head. “A rather stupid deal, if you ask me. They’re not very intelligent, you know. They just want their fifteen minutes of fame after ‘exposing’ our family, since their family is no longer on top and they need to climb back up the social ladder. They never really cared about my mother.”

“This is… this is ridiculous,” Camille finally said, still trying to process everything in her head.

It was all becoming too much for her.

Wasn’t this a criminal action?

What should she do?

Should she go to the police with what she knew?

But what about evidence? They would need cold, hard evidence to put those bastards in jail.

She had really misjudged Gregory Callahan. She had thought a few times before that he was better than his son and at least had a brain, but she was wrong. Dead wrong.

The only redeeming quality about him was that he cared about Patricia, and that was it. At least, according to what she had seen so far.

Then again, even Christian himself at least tolerated his little sister.

Oh God, Patricia. Did she know about all this?

If not, what would happen if she ever found out?

She was too young, and also empathetic, unlike the rest of her family. She was different from them.

Thinking of Patricia made Camille remember the little girl she had saved all those years ago. Patricia Callahan was the main reason she had met Gregory and Christian Callahan, who soon became the bane of her existence.

The two demons who saw fit to play God with people’s lives. Disgusting scumbags.

“What is Patricia going to say if she ever finds out about all this?” Camille demanded angrily. “She’s your sister! Does she know anything about this?”

“Of course not. Patricia is too immature for this kind of stuff,” Christian said, rolling his eyes. “If she knew, she’d have a fit. But there’s nothing she can do about it.”

Camille was aghast, though not really surprised. “You’re despicable,” she hissed.

“Say what you want about me. I don’t really care,” he laughed. “But let me tell you one more thing, Miss Parker.”

She stiffened, glowering at him even more. “What else do you have to say that will make me hate you more than I already do?”

Christian chuckled. “Do you hate me for planning to bring Harold down by such means? How amusing. I thought you hated him.”

“It’s not that! It’s because of your methods!”

“Why do you think I had to do it?” he asked with a half-hearted shrug. “Harold Huckington got too ambitious. He thought he could outmaneuver me, maybe even take over some of my operations and become famous for bringing me down. It’s too bad he’s not connected to the McGregors. That would have been a good opportunity to take them down myself. But then again…” He leaned forward with a wry smile. “…you would just try to ruin my plans anyway, right?”

Camille felt her breath catch in her throat. The room suddenly felt too cold, and her palms grew clammy. A slow, oppressive feeling was settling in, making it harder to breathe.

Darn it. He kept catching her off guard this entire time. Had he planned this out in detail? To make her slip?

“…What are you talking about?” she asked slowly.

“Ha. Hahaha!” Christian burst out laughing, startling her. “Oh, how naive. Did you really think I didn’t know? You have a long way to go, my dear.”

“Huh?”

“Though I have to give you props for trying. It was almost convincing. ‘Almost’ being the keyword.” He laughed again, the sound grating on her nerves. “But unfortunately, you will never get the Best Oscar Award.”

“Can you please get to the point?” she gritted out.

“The one who tipped off Michael McGregor about the perpetrator’s appearance and how he planned to leave the country.”

Camille instantly felt her blood run cold.

“I know it was you, Camille,” Christian said casually. “You came home at the wrong time, didn’t you?”

Camille’s fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. “You’re talking nonsense. How would I even know?” she said.

He shook his head. “No need to act ignorant. You know I don’t tolerate lies.”

She stubbornly refused to answer, though she knew it was useless to keep denying it.

He had probably figured it out that day. Damn wet hands.

“Don’t you want to know why I did it?” he asked.

Her jaw clenched in response. “Why you tried to kill Joanna McGregor? Sure, I’d like to know why. But it’s not really surprising, considering your family’s brilliant history!” she spat out.

“Ha! Well, you shouldn’t feel completely innocent. After all, you were the one who told me that Michael and his sister didn’t get along,” he pointed out in amusement. “That was the perfect motive, right?”

“What bullshit!” she exploded, startling the nearby waiters with her sudden outburst.

Christian waved them off with a casual gesture, and they scurried away. A few guests turned to look at the commotion, but the waiters quickly assured them that everything was fine.

“Keep your voice down, Miss Parker,” Christian said lightly. “Unless you want to draw attention to yourself.”

Camille seethed. “You…”

“Careful, darling,” Christian said almost teasingly. “Think rationally before you do something you might regret.”

“Don’t call me darling! Bastard!”

“All right, all right,” he said placatingly, which only made her anger increase.

“Just… why?! How could you?” she said incredulously. “And if you knew that I overheard the conversation that day, why didn’t you rescind the order for the culprit? You could have had him leave the country some other way, or maybe scheduled his flight for next week and had him go into hiding, or—”

“But that wouldn’t be any fun, would it? Besides, I have a contingency plan, so no worries.”

Camille’s throat went dry. “Why are you telling me all this?” she asked, trembling all over.

Now that she thought about it, maybe it was good that she had already eaten her dinner. Otherwise, her appetite would’ve been lost.

“It’s very simple, my dear. You are in the middle of it now,” Christian said with a smile. “So if you ever talk about this to anyone, you’ll be considered an accomplice.”

Her eyes widened. “What—”

Christian’s eyes bore into hers, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Remember, Miss Parker, I always have a plan, and now you’re part of it. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your precious family, would you?”

The threat hung in the air, and Camille felt a wave of despair wash over her. “You wouldn’t…”

He laughed. “Of course I would. I would if you ever betrayed me again.”