Chapter 436 Manslaughter
Wade shook his head, dripping with disdain. "After all these years, Quentin's still got the same messed-up taste. He used to be into his sister, now he's chasing another man's wife. In the end, he still fancies picking up what others leave behind."
Seb's face tightened with displeasure, but he kept his mouth shut.
A few minutes later, Seb and Richard walked out one after the other.
Standing by the window, Seb irritably patted his pockets and then asked Richard, "Got a smoke?"
"I quit," Richard replied. "I remember you didn't smoke."
Seb's brow remained furrowed. "I don't know when I started."
Probably since Isabella went missing, Seb hadn't been able to sleep day or night, constantly calculating and walking on thin ice, and eventually, he started smoking..
At first, it was just to distract himself, a way to relieve stress. But he smoked more and more frequently, from an occasional cigarette to six or seven a day.
Seb never thought he would one day become the smoker he once despised.
Richard looked at Seb, his eyes showing a hint of complexity. He sighed, "Nina and Isabella both hate guys who smoke. You should quit before you find Isabella."
Seb was silent for a moment, then said, "You and Nina, is it really over?"
Richard said, "For now, it has to be."
Seb shook his head helplessly. "I cannot ascertain whether it is favorable or unfavorable when Nina and Isabella cross paths with us."
Richard frowned but said nothing.
The two were silent for a moment before Richard said, "It's about time. I should go back."
"Yeah," Seb nodded. "I should go too."
Richard returned to the private room, where Elodie was still sitting, her face stern and her lips pouting.
When Richard approached, Elodie didn't look up, just stared angrily at the plate in front of her.
Richard sat down next to Elodie and took the foie gras in front of her, cutting it into small pieces.
Elodie's gaze was involuntarily captivated by him, as Richard's movements were both skillful and elegant.
The scarred hands that usually held a knife were now cutting foie gras for her.
Elodie questioned, "Why did you take so long?"
Richard turned to look at her, "I ran into some tricky business. It took some time to handle."
Elodie said nothing, just stared at him with a doubtful look.
Remaining composed, Richard carefully placed the sliced foie gras in front of her. "Eat," he said.
"I can't," Elodie murmured, her voice softening. She reached out, lightly touching his hand. "Richard, feed me."
Richard frowned slightly, pausing for a few seconds before picking up the plate.
He used a fork to bring a piece of foie gras to Elodie's lips.
Elodie gazed at Richard, feeling a strong sense of conquest.
"Richard, coax me," she said.
Richard's lips pressed into a straight line. Though he continued to feed her, his demeanor grew increasingly cold.
Sensing Richard's displeasure, Elodie felt a bit guilty but didn't want to miss such a good opportunity.
She wanted Richard to submit to her, to lower his proud head and become her most loyal knight.
But she was also afraid of pushing him too far.
So she gently tugging at his shirt and compromised, "Can't you just coax me a little? I'm easy to please!"
Richard looked at Elodie, his eyes a storm of conflicting emotions.
Elodie urged, "Richard."
Richard lowered his eyes.
A few seconds later, he looked up, the coldness in his eyes replaced by helpless indulgence. He sighed, "Be good, open your mouth."
Elodie immediately opened her lips and bit into the foie gras.
After chewing twice, she beamed with joy. "It's delicious."
Richard picked up another piece, "If you like it, have some more. I'll feed you."
Elodie seized the moment to kiss him on the cheek. "Richard, you're the best."
"Richard, after dinner, I want to see a movie," she took the chance to make a request.
It was inconvenient at home, and since they rarely went out, she wanted to seize the opportunity to bond with Richard, especially with the atmosphere being so good today.
The hotel had a private cinema.
She could choose an intimate movie, and the ambiguous atmosphere would naturally follow.
Elodie had it all planned out, and Richard readily agreed.
But just as they finished eating and were about to head to the cinema, Richard received a call from Bruno, asking him to return to the Black Mansion immediately.
Elodie complained, "What's so urgent?"
Richard's eyes were deep. "I don't know."
The call was from Bruno, and no one dared to disobey.
So even though Elodie was unhappy, they had to comply and return.
As soon as they entered the living room, they were hit by a stiflingly oppressive atmosphere.
Bruno sat in the middle of the sofa, with a terrified Wade on one side and an indifferent Esme on the other.
In the center of the hall, a long bloodstain trailed from a corpse.
The corpse was naked except for a towel around its waist.
The face was pale, lying stiffly on the ground, clearly dead.
Elodie screamed and threw herself into Richard's arms.
Richard raised his hand and patted Elodie's shoulder twice to comfort her. Then he asked, "Who is this?"
Bruno said, "This is the person I sent to protect Wade. He was found dead in Wade's bathroom."
Richard's eyes darkened, and he instinctively glanced at Wade.
Wade was trembling, constantly moving closer to Bruno, looking terrified.
Wade's acting was good enough to fool Bruno.
Richard inquired, "Have you found out who did it?"
Bruno said, "The forensic team has extracted fingerprints from the scene and is comparing them now."
There was another sound of footsteps at the door.
Wade suddenly hugged Bruno, crying out, "Don't kill me; don't kill me. I don't want anything. I won't fight you. You can have it all!"
Bruno protected Wade and then looked up at the door.
"Mr.Black." Quentin's forehead was bandaged, and he looked quite haggard, as if he hadn't rested well.
Wade kept screaming, "Don't kill me; don't kill me."
Wade's reaction was triggered by seeing Quentin.
Anyone could see that this had something to do with Quentin!
Bruno, furious, grabbed a cup from the coffee table and threw it at Quentin.
Because of the distance, the cup hit his leg, spilling tea and leaves on his shoes.
Bruno scolded, "Look at what you've done!"
Quentin looked down at the dirt on his shoes, then looked up.
His gaze first swept over the corpse on the ground, and he frowned slightly. "Mr.Black, I just got back. I don't know what happened."
Bruno pointed at the man on the ground and asked, "Do you recognize him?"
Quentin shook his head. "No."
Bruno snorted, "Of course you don't. If you did, you wouldn't have mistaken him for Wade and killed him!"
He was glad he had secretly chosen someone to protect Wade.
Otherwise, the person lying on the ground would be his son, Wade!
Quentin roughly understood what had happened.
He didn't rush to defend himself but turned to look at Esme.
Esme sat there, her fingers on her lap curled slightly out of guilt as she met Quentin's gaze.
Richard took in the expressions of Quentin and Esme without a word.
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