Chapter 122: Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker Staged This Themselves?

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker Staged This Themselves?

"Shouldn’t the police be in constant contact with you?" I asked, my voice heavy. "If you were under their protection, you couldn’t possibly be in danger."

"We... got separated," Erin Whittaker stammered, sounding nervous and frightened as she glanced around constantly. "Silvia, that madman only listens to you! If you come and save me, I’ll tell you everything. I’m begging you, please save me."

’So, it’s come to this for her.’

’Begging *me* to save her.’

"Then do you have any idea... how desperate Cecilia Caldwell was before she died? She called Julian Fletcher, and he told her to go die. She screamed for you, and what were all of you doing? What were *you* doing?" I sneered. "Erin, this is your karma."

Erin Whittaker’s voice trembled. "Silvia! You’re not Cecilia Caldwell! What are you, nuts? No matter how much you resemble her, you’re not her! Save me..."

"And why should I save you? Didn’t you tell the police I was in league with the murderer? Didn’t you claim... I tricked you into giving me Cecilia Caldwell’s file so I could imitate her? Didn’t you say... I was an accomplice in Cecilia’s murder?"

I chuckled and added, "If I’m an accomplice, why would you come to me for help?"

The moment Erin begged me to save her, the knot of anxiety in my chest inexplicably loosened.

’Ha. Erin Whittaker is no fool. If she really had proof that I was the killer’s accomplice, she would never be begging me to save her.’

’She should be assuming I *want* her dead.’

"Silvia!" On the other end, Erin was clearly dodging something, her voice shaking. "I know, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have lied to the police. Someone told me... they told me you were imitating Cecilia on purpose, just to seduce that madman and Julian..."

I couldn’t tell just how scared Erin was, but after a long pause, she spoke again. "Silvia, save me... Please. That madman won’t let me go. He’s a complete lunatic! When he realizes you aren’t Cecilia, he’ll kill you just as mercilessly."

"He’s here... He’s here! Silvia, come save me!" Erin grew frantic.

My heart clenched. ’Did she see Asher?’

To be honest, I was getting scared, too. I’d woken up and Asher was gone. ’Where did he go?’

"If you want my help, you first need to tell me where you are. There’s no way the police lost track of you—you’re a key protected individual. You know exactly what you’ve done." I knew for a fact that Zeke Shaw was a responsible officer who would never let a protected individual slip from his sight.

That left only one possibility: Erin, in her arrogance, had deliberately slipped away from the police. Either she thought she could hide from the killer on her own, or... she knew she couldn’t lure him out with the police tailing her. She was making a gamble.

They say none of the kids from Twin Star Orphanage are dim-witted.

Two were absolute geniuses, and the rest were merely standouts overshadowed by them.

Erin was indeed a good student. She was in the same school as Julian, a year ahead of me. She had graduated first in her class and fourth in her year. That’s why her adoptive parents treated her reasonably well—they believed she would be a source of pride for them.

Erin also knew she had to work even harder to be exceptional to win more people’s approval. So when she became the "one that got away" for Julian, I never thought of her as just some pretty face who got by on looks alone.

Erin is very smart. That’s why I died at her hands in my past life.

Even in a situation this terrifying, she didn’t call the police. She called me.

She knew that if Asher was the killer, I was her only hope. The police couldn’t protect her forever.

She was making a bet.

I was sure I wasn’t her only backup plan, so I wasn’t worried she would actually die.

I was worried about Asher.

Worried that the one going to kill her really *was* Asher.

This was a trap Erin had set for the "murderer."

My heart skipped a beat. I started to feel confused.

’What am I thinking? If Asher really is the killer, I should hate his guts and want him executed immediately. Why... why am I actually worried about him?’

"Silvia, right now, you’re the only one who can stop him." Erin’s voice was still shaking. She was hiding somewhere; over the phone, I could hear the sound of metal scraping against the ground, like someone dragging an axe or some other tool.

"The orphanage... I’m at the orphanage."

Erin had brought this on herself, going to the orphanage.

"I’m guessing Julian is lurking in the shadows somewhere, right? You love him so much, I’m sure he’ll protect you. And you call me over, too? You’re pretty good at arranging double insurance. What, was getting Cecilia killed not enough? You want to get me killed, too? I’m not as stupid as she was."

My words sounded a bit hollow, even to me...

"You’ll come. Because you want to know Cecilia’s secret..." Erin sounded quite confident.

’I guessed she’d probably planned this with Julian. They want me to go over there and see the ’murderer’—that is, Asher’s—true face.’

Julian had always said he would make me see Sebastian Lancaster’s true colors, and both he and Erin were convinced that Asher was the killer.

This was why Erin was so insistent that I go.

"He’s here..." Erin’s voice trembled even more.

"If you come over now, you’ll get to see your husband," Erin said, her voice shaking, before hanging up.

I stood frozen for a moment, then decided to call the police first.

If I had just called the police first in my past life, I wouldn’t have died such a miserable death.

Now that I had a second chance, I knew that while I couldn’t rely on anyone, the police were certainly more dependable than Julian and his crowd.

"Zeke, Erin went to the orphanage." Zeke Shaw finally picked up. "She said the killer has her in his sights and is already there."

Zeke cursed on the other end of the line. His voice was frantic; they had obviously lost Erin and everyone was scrambling. "This woman is insane! A total psycho! We agreed the operation would be in Street Alley, but she put the tracker on a dog, slipped away to Nocturne, and ran off! We ended up following a damn dog in a huge circle!"

I could hear Zeke running, probably leading his men toward the orphanage.

"I’m heading over, too." Hanging up, I decided to go to the orphanage myself.

The truth was, I was terrified.

Terrified that the person going to kill Erin really was Asher.

Just as I ran out of the villa, the big dog that had been crouching in the yard darted out, wagging its tail as it nuzzled up against an approaching figure.

Asher stood under a streetlight, smiling at me and holding up a bag of fried mushrooms that was still steaming.

They were from my favorite chain, the one where you always had to wait in a super long line.

’He went to buy fried mushrooms?’

For some reason, a wave of relief washed over me.

Asher stood under the streetlight, the light illuminating him from above, casting a long shadow at his feet.

The image was striking, like a fusion of angel and demon.

"Asher..." I ran over to him and asked nervously, "You didn’t go to the orphanage?"

"You knew I was supposed to go to the orphanage?" Asher asked, looking puzzled.

I froze.

"Julian called and told me to go to the orphanage. He deliberately said things to provoke me," Asher said, looking wronged. "And that Erin girl, she kept bad-mouthing you to provoke me, trying to trick me into finding her at the orphanage. I didn’t go. I went to buy you fried mushrooms instead."

Asher looked at me as if to say, ’I was a good boy, now praise me.’

My expression darkened. ’Of course. This was all a show directed by Julian and Erin! They wanted to lure Asher there, provoke him, make him lose control, and have the police identify him as the killer.’