Chapter 395: Clark Crowe’s Breakdown

Chapter 395: Chapter 395: Clark Crowe’s Breakdown

Neither of them had much strength left, but they could still trade threats.

So, upon hearing what Mrs. Crowe said, Clark Crowe whipped his head around to glare at her. He said viciously, "If you want to touch Wendy, you’ll have to get through me first!

Unless I’m dead, you won’t lay a finger on her!"

Heath Hale noticed that as Clark said that last line, he subconsciously glanced outside, a flicker of expectation in his expression.

He quickly understood.

"Wendy Dawson isn’t here. She can’t hear you, no matter what you say," Heath Hale reminded him.

Hearing this, Mrs. Crowe let out a strange laugh. "Trying to profess your loyalty to the wrong audience! With the Crowe Family in this state, everyone else dead and only you left, what kind of excuse are you planning to feed her?

Do you really think Wendy Dawson is stupid enough to believe whatever you say? For all you know, she’s already sensed something is wrong and is wary of you!"

At these words, Clark recalled how Wendy had been subtly keeping her distance from him over the past two days, and his expression turned utterly grim.

Unwelcome truths he had refused to acknowledge suddenly flooded his mind.

His original plan had been to keep Wendy and the other two locked on the second floor. After he dealt with everyone here and cleaned up the bodies, he would let them out.

That way, even if they had their suspicions, they’d have no proof and would be forced to accept it.

But Clark never expected Zoe Sawyer and the others to actually slide down from the balcony, run back up to the second floor, and break the locks.

Everything he had planned had gone up in smoke!

Most importantly!

If Wendy was truly suspicious of him, then everything he had done would have been for nothing!

But in the next moment, Clark laughed again. He tightened his grip on the paring knife and stared at Heath Hale and Mrs. Crowe as if they were already dead. "So what if she found out? Once you’re dead, I’ll be the only one left in the Crowe Family. Then I’ll find a clean room, lock Wendy inside, and she’ll never be able to leave!

Just give me enough time. I’ll find a way to make Wendy forget everything that happened today and spend the rest of her life with me!"

’So what if she found out?’

’Wendy doesn’t know anyone here, and she doesn’t speak the language. I have her passport and ID. Without me to lead the way, she could never leave this place.’

’Ever since they started dating in college, he had seen Wendy as his and his alone. He had deliberately worked to make her helpless, so dependent that she could never leave him.’

’Without me, even if Wendy managed to return home, her life would be miserable. When it came down to it, I’m sure Wendy will know what the right choice is!’

The more he thought about it, the more Clark’s expression relaxed, as if he could already envision their blissful future together.

’Anyway, Wendy didn’t follow them up here. Whatever happens next, I’ll be the one telling the story!’

Heath Hale watched Clark warily. The meaning behind his words was perfectly clear.

"Well, I’m terribly sorry, but I would rather die! I will never, ever be with you!" The voice of Wendy Dawson, seething with rage, came from nearby. Clark’s heart skipped a beat, and panic began to cloud his face.

’She didn’t hear me pledging my loyalty, so why did she have to hear me when I was making threats?!’

’She’s not actually going to leave me, is she?!’

Wendy felt a knot of misery in her stomach. Although she had known for a while that Clark was no saint, she had believed his love for her was genuine.

That’s why, from the very beginning, all she had wanted was to return home safely. The Crowe Family’s business had nothing to do with her.

But after hearing Clark’s own words, Wendy finally realized she had never truly known the man she shared a bed with.

Driven by the fear of losing Wendy, Clark cast all else aside and strode quickly toward the doorway.

When Mrs. Crowe saw this, she instinctively tightened her grip on her knife, intending to take advantage of Clark’s distraction and finish him off.

But just as she raised her hand, a pair of eyes shot in her direction.

They belonged to the man named Heath Hale!

The moment Clark stepped out of the room, he saw Wendy Dawson just down the hall, right beside Zoe Sawyer.

Wendy’s face was deathly pale, and she was clutching Zoe Sawyer’s left arm with both hands.

When her eyes met Clark’s, and she saw the knife in his hand and the bloodstains on his clothes, she instinctively slapped a hand over her mouth, looking like she was about to be sick.

Thanks to Zoe and Heath’s warnings and protection, Wendy hadn’t seen any of the gory scenes or bloodstains on her way here.

Now, suddenly seeing the blood on Clark’s body, his face, and even the knife in his hand, she couldn’t control her fear and reflexively gagged.

Seeing the clear fear in Wendy’s eyes, Clark froze. His grip on the knife loosened, and it fell to the floor with a CLATTER.

"Wendy, Wendy, are you okay?" Clark instinctively moved to check on her, but he’d barely taken a few steps before Zoe shot out an arm to block his path. "Stay right there!"

"Wendy, you have to believe me. I would never hurt you.

Just give me some time, and I’ll explain everything from start to finish. I didn’t kill indiscriminately—I was just getting revenge!" Unwilling to face the terror in Wendy’s eyes, Clark blurted out a defense, trying to quell his wife’s fear.

Just then, Mrs. Crowe emerged from the room, her hand still clamped tightly around her knife.

But when her gaze fell on Heath Hale’s wary eyes and saw his guarded stance—one hand in his pocket—she knew at once that he was no ordinary person.

’Looks like I was right when I provoked Clark earlier. This Wendy Dawson has been suspicious for a while!’

"That’s right, revenge.

Let me tell you, Clark tortured his aunt to death. And on the day of the ritual, he killed his own uncle too.

Wendy Dawson, do you want to know what really happened that night? Let me tell you, these people in the Crowe Family are a nasty piece of work." Then, ignoring Clark’s furious glare and his roars for her to shut up, Mrs. Crowe laid bare everything Aaron and Evan Crowe had intended to do.

Mrs. Crowe made sure to emphasize how Clark had just sat by, completely indifferent.

She also described the exact nature of the ritual that was supposed to happen today, and why she had been allowed to bring people with her.

She told Wendy everything, piece by gruesome piece.

The truth of the matter was more or less consistent with what Zoe and the others had already investigated and surmised.

Wendy’s face was ashen. In that instant, the last shred of hesitation and affection she held for Clark vanished completely, replaced by pure terror and revulsion.

When Clark’s gaze fell on her, Wendy instinctively turned her head away, unwilling to even look at him.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! I told you to shut up!" Unable to accept Wendy’s reaction, Clark finally broke down, roaring at Mrs. Crowe.

"I said... SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"