Exposing the Charade of Deep Affection (PDF)

Chapter 30 I Kill Someone

When Rudolf said this, he was calm and somehow helpless, like a dying old man's exhortation to future generations. Somehow, I felt bitter. I had been quarreling with him for so many years, and now when I recalled, those days when I looked up and called him Dad with joy had passed a long time ago.

I looked at him and didn't object to him anymore. I nodded and said, "OK."

Both Rudolf and I were used to years of confrontation, and now that we suddenly talked with each other so peacefully, it made the atmosphere eerily awkward. I took a deep breath and said, "I'll take care of your discharge. I'm going to check on Mom."

Then I was about to leave.

He said suddenly, his voice cracking, "Take good care of her after I'm gone. I have made plans for the Conner Group's future development. If everything goes smoothly, and you get to keep the company stable for another ten years, the money you get will be enough for you and your mom to live for the rest of your lives. Now that the Hinton family won't make things difficult for the Conner Group anymore, after divorcing Walter, find someone you love and share a good life with him. Don't be stubborn and impulsive like you used to be. Tabatha, you've grown up. You have to learn to protect yourself. Don't make the same mistake you made five years ago. I can't go cross the mountains to find you again. I am too old to protect you."

I stood in situ, my body shaking uncontrollably, tears flowing down my cheeks. He was, after all, my dearest one. No matter how much we fought and hated each other, things between us would work out

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eventually.

I knew that he doted on me and loved me. Over the years, even though he never listened to me explain what had happened five years ago, and even though I would be scolded and punished by him if I made a slight mistake, once I was really in trouble, he would still protect me as he did when I was a child. I knew. I always knew.

I wiped my tears away, took a deep breath, looked back at him, and said, "I know, Dad."

I had never called him Dad during all these years of meaningless fighting. His expression on his aged face froze, and then he looked at me with a relieved smile, nodded at me, and said, "Go. Tell your mom to come in and talk with me."

I looked at him. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, and all of a sudden, I couldn't utter a word. I nodded. "OK."

Perhaps it was because of the sudden relief. Anyway, my desire to find out what had happened back then grew stronger. One way or another, I had to get to the bottom of what had happened. I wanted Rudolf to know that his daughter had never failed him or his upbringing. I wasn't capricious or shameless. I would clear my name!

Eileen was waiting outside the door. Seeing me out, she looked worried and said, "You did not quarrel with him, did you? Did he scold you? Don't get angry with him. That's how he is..."

That was who Eileen was. She was always worried that Rudolf and I would become enemies, so she always comforted me. Looking at her worried appearance, I smiled helplessly and said, "Mom, we did not quarrel. Why don't you go inside and talk to him? He's probably hungry. I'll get him some food downstairs. You haven't eaten either, have you?"

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Hearing that I offered to get Rudolf something to eat, Eileen was stunned for a moment. Then she smiled and nodded slightly, "OK. We'll wait for you."

I nodded and walked out of the hospital. Who didn't want their family to be happy and harmonious?

When I got to the parking lot, I saw a strange woman walking around my car. I looked at her from a distance for a while. As I hesitated to call the police, the woman looked back and saw me.

"Ms. Conner, you're here." When the woman saw me, she trotted towards me.

Looking at her, I could not help but frown. "You are?"

I didn't know her.

She looked at me with something dark and powerless in her eyes. Instead of introducing herself to me, she said, "You have a dead body in your trunk."

I broke out in a cold sweat at her words, but after a moment, I calmed down. I frowned and said, "Ma'am, sometimes you may be held responsible for talking nonsense."

She shook her head, her face livid. She said solemnly, "I'm not talking nonsense. There's a dead man's body in your trunk, which was placed in there five days ago. He was stabbed a dozen times in the back. He bled and suffocated to death."

Feeling numb, I looked at my car subconsciously, trying to remember where it had been, where it had been parked, and when the trunk had been opened five days ago.

Shortly after, I denied her words. I said, "My car was sitting in the garage at home five days ago. It never left the house that day."

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She was very calm. "Your name is Tabatha Conner. You are the daughter of Rudolf Conner from the Conner Group. Right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She continued, "Then everything matches. Your family has a royal blue Mercedes at home that has always been parked under the Conner Group's building and used occasionally by the company's higher-ups, right?"

I pursed my lips, nodded, and said the same word again, "Yes."

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