Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Bradley had a vague answer, but he could not say it aloud in certainty.
Clark put on the glasses hanging in front of his chest and took the photo from Bradley. He scrutinized it for some time before answering, "Mr. Bradley, she's Madam. Your parents went on a business trip and were caught in an accident. It's Madam who stayed nearby who saved you on the spot. Because you witnessed your parents' death, you've selectively forgotten the memory."
Bradley jolted. He stared at the girl in the photo in disbelief. She had eyes exactly like Esther's.
"S-So..."
Clark nodded and said in certainty, "Sir, Madam's your savior."
Bradley felt like his world was flipped upside down in an unnatural silence. He had never expected the woman he hated and resented to be his childhood savior. "W-Why... didn't you all tell me?" asked Bradley.
Clark shook his head wryly and explained, "You didn't even have that piece of memory. Telling you the truth would only add to your pain for nothing. You got to know Madam far earlier than you thought. Whatever happened, she saved your life. Please stop holding grudges against her. I also don't believe that she's the one behind Mr. Thomas' passing."
Clark's every word penetrated Bradley's mind like a needle. He felt a splitting headache as much as misery.
He did not know it. He did not know that Esther was his savior.
If he had known, would he not have treated her that way?
If he had not been so impassive and ruthless to her, would the many tragedies after that not have happened? "Clark, I don't believe it."
Bradley denied the photo Clark produced after he calmed down.
He had no memory of it.
Technology was so advanced now. He could produce hundreds and thousands of similar photos if he wanted to.
Just one photo could not represent anything.
Clark then retrieved a thumb drive and played its content on the study's projector.
It was a surveillance recording. A Mercedes-Benz flipped several times in the air and dropped to the ground. Fuel leaked from the back of the car, and a hand stretched out from the inside of it. A girl ran over from a distance and bravely pulled a boy out of the vehicle. Just when the two of them
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tried stopping cars by the road to ask the driver for help, the car exploded.
The boy who was closer to the car bore the brunt of the explosion and passed out from the force while. the girl used all her might to drag the boy to the side.
At the same time, passing cars finally stopped.
ago,
"Sir, this is the surveillance recording clip Mr. Thomas got from the police. It was a long time and the resolution's not very high, but you can still see that it's you in the video," Clark said and paused for a moment before saying slowly, "I have nothing to say if you still want to deny it."
As if a masochist, Bradley watched the surveillance clip again and again. He tried to spot traces of editing in the video and tried to tell himself that the brave little girl was not Esther. Despite that, it was in vain,
"Sir, you probably now understand why Mr. Thomas' will is written like that." Bradley only tasted a bitter taste in his mouth.