Not One, But Two!

Chapter 223

Charlotte remembered her father shouting at her the exact same way Craig did.

Unwittingly, her body froze in fear. By the time she realized what was happening, Craig had slammed the door shut with his leg. He thrust her onto the passenger seat and strapped her in.

"I think we need to have a talk about you and Hitman Island."

Her face went stark white upon hearing that. However, she knew there was no point in keeping it a secret since she had never once thought of running away.

"Fine, but can you take me to my parents first?"

She had been kidnapped soon after her parents' death. For years, she was unable to visit their graves.

After all, they were war heroes, so they were buried in a war grave, a place she could never enter.

She was a stain on their glorious achievements and the lives they have led.

Out of the blue, all of her strength broke before the sight of Craig's uniform.

She did not want this to begin with.

With good grades and great stamina, she wanted to join the military, as her parents wanted her to, or the police force. She had never wanted to walk a path that was the complete opposite of her parents' lives.

If her parents were still alive, they would likely have had a heart attack over the life she led.

She hurriedly turned to look away. Still, he was able to spot the tears streaming down her cheeks. His heart throbbed in pain.

"I'll take you to a florist first. Let us get two bouquets."

"Thank you."

She nodded obediently.

Other than meeting up with Abigail, she had planned to visit her parents' grave while she was in Harrion. This might be her last chance to do so, after all.

Even if she was a stain upon their perfect careers, even if she did not deserve to stand before them, she truly missed them. Oh, how she missed them...

All words left Craig's mind when he saw the look on her face.

"Let me clean up my wound first."

His head was still bleeding. While it looked terrifying, as all head wounds tend to be, it was just a minor injury.

He grabbed the first-aid kit from the back.

Before he could do or say anything, she took it from him.

"Let me."

Contrary to the chill in her voice, her hands were warm and gentle. Her unique and womanly scent filled his nose as she had to lean in close.

He nervously shuffled away from her but froze awkwardly when she said, "Don't move."

Charlotte was focusing her full attention on treating the wound.

How long had it been since she had cleaned and dressed someone else's wounds?

It must have been before her parents passed away.

Craig seemed slightly older than her, but he should be pretty old since he was a Lieutenant Colonel.

She wondered if he was over the age of 50.

It did not seem likely.

Still, he was the only person able to bring her to her parents' grave. So, how should she refer to him?

No matter how much she did not like acting like a sycophant, she still had to be on her best behavior.

After a brief consideration, she decided to say, "I'm done now, mister."

His mouth twitched upon hearing that.

Mister?

Was he that old?

"Do I look that old?"

Although he did not care what other people thought, for some reason, it felt really strange to be called "mister" by her.

"How old are you? 23, correct?"

While shocked to hear him accurately state her age, she still nodded in response.

He took a deep breath and stated, "I'm only 34! How can you call me 'mister'?"

Was 34 not considered the prime of a man's life? Was he not at the peak of his life right now?

How could the girl call him 'sir?

Has his military career aged his looks, or did the issue lie with the girl's judgment?

Charlotte was stunned as she didn't expect him to be so young based on his rank.

For a man to be a Lieutenant Colonel at just 34 years old, he must have achieved a lot. Nevertheless, she knew just how cunning people like that could be. So, she had to be cautious.

"Craig, then!"

She hurriedly blurted out.

That made him feel much better about himself.

"Let's go visit your parents."

After he patted the top of her head, he focused on driving.

That pat shocked her.

Her father loved patting her on the head when he was still alive. As such, the gesture made her feel like crying.

She swiftly turned to look out of the window as emotions warred within her.

Even though she did not cry easily, she had been crying a lot today as if she could not control herself.

Craig had always heard that women were made of tears, but he had never thought how upset he would be when a woman cried next to him. More importantly, he did not know how to comfort her at all!

The only thing he knew to do was to awkwardly hand her a tissue. He wanted to say something but did not know what to say. So, he chose to remain silent lest he put his foot in his mouth.

She likely had a terrible time on Hitman Island, but the evidence he had seen...

His heart squeezed with pain once more.

His instructor had only sired one child. Furthermore, she was a victim who was forced into that life. Perhaps he could try to plead mercy on her behalf, even if it meant losing his military ranking. He had to protect Charlotte.

He wondered just how heartbroken her parents would be if they could see her now.

As thoughts raced through his mind, he asked, "Have you eaten? Do you want to get some food?"

"It's fine. I wish to visit my parents as soon as possible."

She had been waiting for five years.

Who knew when Interpol would catch up to her? Before that moment, all she wanted to do was stay by her parents' graves.

Without saying another word, he drove her to the florist, where they bought two bouquets before heading to the war grave.

When she saw her parents' photos, tears began to roll uncontrollably down her cheeks like strings of pearls that had snapped open. Sadness overwhelmed him. How he wished to shout and scream at her to stop crying, but he knew that would be wrong of him.

"Can I have a moment alone with them?"

When she raised her head, he saw her eyes swelling from how hard she had been crying. The pleading look in her eyes made it hard for him to even think of saying no.

"Call me if you need me."

"Okay."

He then stood up to walk away, far away, so that he could keep an eye on her, but not too close that he would intrude on her privacy.

Finally, she let go of her emotions.

She flung herself to the ground and began to wail.

The past five years she had endured had been the complete opposite of the life her parents had taught her to lead.

She had tried to rebel against her captors. Over and over again, she tried to escape. Regardless, she always failed, and nearly died from the cruel punishments rained down on her for her attempts.

Later on, she stopped. The only way she could see her parents once more was by staying alive. That was her only way home.

"Mom, Dad, you must be terribly disappointed with me. Even I look down on myself. I have been so evil. I am a stain on our family's reputation, but I have tried my best. For five whole years, I kept trying. I missed you so very much. Why couldn't you have taken me with you? We could be together in the underworld. We could even be reborn as a family. Now, I cannot even see your faces again. Would you forgive me?"

She sobbed hard as she forced those questions out of her throat, only to receive nothing but a chilly breeze in reply.

Craig did not know what it felt like to be upset on another person—no, another woman's—behalf. All he knew was that his chest hurt a lot, as if someone had just stabbed him with a knife.

He pulled out his phone and called the base.

"Send me a copy of the documents on my computer."

Soon, a dogsbody sent the requested files to him.

When he opened the folder, he realized he could find none of the information on Charlotte in the files.

How could it be?

He could not believe his eyes.

While he had wished for the information to disappear, he did not feel relieved upon finding out the data was gone. Instead, he was worried.

Has someone tampered with the files?

Was someone trying to blackmail Charlotte?

She already had a terrible life. If she were going to suffer in the future as well, there was no way he could look her parents in the eye when he finally passed away.

At that thought, he called Bruno.

"Have you seen those internal files?"

"I have. What about them?"

Should Craig tell Bruno? His mind was conflicted.

"I've realized there is missing information that was there when someone sent the files over." Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He did not have the guts to speak Charlotte's name. Instead, he made it sound as vague as possible.

"I just received a message from Greg's men that their technician accidentally deleted two people's files when sending them over," Greg whispered back. "Those files are gone forever now."

When he heard the good news, he didn't know what to think, and he couldn't even describe the emotions he was feeling.

"Are you certain of this?"

"Greg's technician is one of the best hackers around. If he says the files are gone forever, then there is no way we can recover anything. Anyway, those are poor souls who did not do much. Since the files are gone, we will take it as a blessing for them. Also, this is just something between the two of us. So, do not put it into the report."

Both of them knew how Hitman Island got their members. Furthermore, Carter had already highlighted who the important killers and members were. Evidently, the two people whose files had been deleted were unimportant.

Craig went silent when he heard the thinly-veiled order under request. Then, after a few minutes of watching Charlotte bawling in the distance, he abruptly asked, "Recruitment has started for this year's batch, right?"

"Yes. I have been dealing with it for a few days now. What about it? Do you have a suggestion?"

"No. I just want to recommend someone. But, nothing is settled yet. So, just leave me a slot. No one is to steal that spot away."

Bruno was curious. It was rare for Craig to use his rank to demand a slot.

"Are they amazing?"

"Yes. I can guarantee you that they won't be an embarrassment."

Craig then hung up.

As he watched Charlotte's shoulders shake with grief, he suddenly chuckled.

Perhaps her father was protecting her from beyond the grave. But, since her files were gone, that meant there would be a brand new future waiting for her.

Thank goodness the world was not that cruel to good, honest people. Everything was back to what it should have been.

He knew it was terrible of him to decide on her behalf, but it was her only option right now.

The world was a dangerous place, and the military was the only place she would be protected. It was her one way of being better as her father had wanted for her. First, however, they would need to work on the five-year gap in her life.

Suddenly, he thought of his younger brother, Aidan Pratt. Perhaps there was a solution...