Chapter 406 I Knew It from the Beginning
Ryder shot back, "It's not really a last word, just something I gotta say to you, Mark!"
Mark nodded, "Shoot!"
Ryder took a deep breath, locked eyes with Mark, and asked, "Right now, do you still think I'm the one who offed Kenneth?"
Mark shook his head. "Honestly, from the moment you walked outta that casino, I knew it wasn't you. I know Kenneth's skills too well. If you wanted him dead, you'd have done it in a way less obvious and way more slick."
"But you..." Ryder started to say something.
Mark cut him off, "You wanna know why, even knowing you ain't the killer, I still held onto you and didn't go after the real perp?"
Ryder nodded.
Mark gave a bitter smile. "At this point, more than revenge, I just wanna beat you once, to prove that you, a rookie, ain't got nothin' on me!"
"That's it?"
"What else?" Mark shot back, dead serious.
His obsession was pretty clear.
After all, being the underground king of Houston for decades, losing to a young punk and costing him everything was a bigger slap in the face than death!
So, he had to get his rep back!
Without that drive and mindset, how could he have climbed from the bottom to being Houston's top dog in the first place?
"Go ahead!" Ryder leaned back and said.
"Good luck!" Mark pulled the trigger!
The revolver made a sharp sound, but no bullet came out!
Staring at the gun barrel, Ryder secretly let out a sigh of relief!
Even though he looked calm, he was actually on edge and had a gut-wrenching fear!
After all, facing life and death, no one could stay totally chill.
But Ryder knew that tension and fear would mess with his judgment, so he used sheer willpower to push those feelings down!
They kicked off the third round!
It was Ryder's turn to draw first!
Five of Diamonds!
Mark drew a card!
Five of Hearts!
Same rank, they drew again!
Ryder: Two of Clubs!
Mark: Eight of Spades!
Mark smirked. "Sorry, I won another round. Now there are 4 shots left, with a 25% chance of firing. Think you can dodge death again?"
Ryder leaned forward a bit, looking straight into Mark's eyes. "Whether I believe it doesn't matter; what's most important is fate."
Mark's smile was complicated. He raised the revolver towards Ryder and at the same time pulled out a remote with his left hand and pressed a button.
Another TV screen next to the one showing Sarah lit up!
The screen showed another basement!
There were two people in the basement, one of them very familiar - it was Sandra!
But her clothes were a mess, with a big part torn open, showing a lot of skin covered with all kinds of wounds!
There were scratches, bites, and even burns!
It was the first time Ryder had seen her in such a bad state!
In the video, Sandra was pointing at the surveillance camera, cursing like crazy.
The sound was muted, so he couldn't hear what she was saying!
But it probably wasn't anything nice!
Not far from Sandra's feet lay a corpse sprawled out!
It was a woman, completely naked, showing signs of abuse!
It was Yves!
The woman Sandra had bribed was dead?
Mark said coolly, "Early this morning, Sandra called and said she had a way to control Sarah and deliver her to me! I had long suspected this woman was tied to Kenneth's death. Her constant info drops only made me more sure! So when she and Yves brought Sarah to the spot this morning, my guys nabbed them right there!"
"After some 'persuasion,' Yves spilled everything, confirming my suspicions. You, Ryder, ain't the killer; otherwise, your wife's fate would be way worse than theirs!"
Hearing this, Ryder's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but be impressed by Mark's ruthlessness!
From the video, it was clear Yves had been through hell before she died, and Sandra wasn't much better off!
The reason she was still breathing was probably 'cause Mark had other plans!
Of course, Ryder felt zero sympathy for them!
They dug their own graves and deserved it!
Ryder said to Mark, "No wonder you're Mark, figuring everything out. Well then, let's shoot. Let's see how long my luck holds out!"
Mark pulled the trigger!
Still no bullet fired!
Ryder took a deep breath and grinned. "Looks like my luck's holding out! Maybe it's 'cause I've done a lot of good deeds!"
Mark's fingers lightly tapped the table. "Let's keep drawing cards!"
Mark: Three of Clubs!
Ryder: Seven of Spades!
Ryder won!
Ryder threw Mark's words back at him, "Now there are 3 shots left, with a 33% chance of firing. Think you can dodge death?"
Mark glanced at the revolver in his hand, murmured, "Maybe!"
He slowly raised the revolver to his temple!
Even though he kept a calm face, Ryder could see Mark's right hand trembling slightly, and sweat forming on his forehead!
The psychological pressure was intense!
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly pulled the trigger!
Still no bullet fired!
Only two shots left!
Mark opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of relief.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Mr. Clark, it's your turn!"
Ryder glanced at the TV screen.
The water in the basement had risen to Sarah's knees.
A third of the time had passed!
The game was nearing its end!
Ryder adjusted his clothes, leaned on the gambling table with one hand, and asked, "Are you really not afraid of death?"
Mark took a puff of his cigar, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and answered, "Of course, I'm scared. But what I fear isn't losing my life, but leaving behind things I can't let go of after death!"
Ryder said, "Property? Brothers? Or..."
"None of those!" Mark shook his head. "It's the kid! To be precise, Kenneth's kid! He's still young and a bit wild, but I want him to grow up right and not go off the rails!"
"You..." Mark looked directly at Ryder calmly, "Yeah! I know Olivia's kid is actually Kenneth's. I knew from the start!"
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