Chapter 837: Brian’s Secret (Part 2)

Chapter 837 -7: Brian’s Secret (Part 2)

…

About thirty minutes later, the young man left the tool room carrying an empty tray and locked the door.

Watching him return to the house, Ronald laboriously climbed over the fence and hunched down as he approached the tool room.

During his approach, he noticed that the grass in this household was meticulously maintained, lush, and carefully treated with a lawn mower. All the grass was neat, and there were almost no signs of yellowed or wilted grass.

This overly meticulous grass created an effect akin to snow; every step Ronald took left a dent in the grass, making a clear trail.

However, Ronald didn’t care about these details. All he wanted now was to reach the tool room quickly and rescue his daughter.

To fight for custody of his daughter, he had spent a large sum to hire the best lawyer.

After divorcing his ex-wife, his daughter Antina was his only remaining family in the world. He could not allow any harm to come to her.

…

As he advanced, he carefully watched the house for any signs of someone coming out, mindful of whether he might be discovered.

It had been many years since he attempted this kind of risky endeavor, and he could distinctly feel his heart pounding.

He was very concerned about being caught by the homeowners.

Yet, for once, luck was on his side, and his stealthy approach progressed smoothly until he reached the side of the tool room, still unnoticed.

“Whew~”

Letting out a sigh, Ronald walked a few steps around the side wall of the tool room.

He wanted to look through the window to see what was happening inside.

However, this household seemed very afraid of outside peering, so even the tool room had its curtains drawn.

All their curtains were made of heavy black burlap, impenetrable, and looking inside from the outside only revealed darkness, nothing clear.

“Damn it!”

Seeing that he couldn’t explore the tool room’s interior through the window, Ronald cursed.

This further confirmed to him that this household was problematic—

Which normal person would seal a room for storing tools this tightly unless they had secrets to hide?

…

“Antina, Daddy’s here to rescue you!”

After glancing at the house again, ensuring that nobody would come out for a while, Ronald encouraged himself and approached the tool room door.

Fortunately, the tool room door was old enough that it couldn’t close completely. Even shut, there was a gap about 20cm wide through which Ronald could observe the tool room’s interior.

Pressing his face completely against the gap, Ronald widened his eyes to search for his daughter inside the dimly lit tool room.

His gaze passed over a pile of clutter to land on a large chair fixed in the room’s center.

The chair’s back was facing him, and several ropes were wound around the chair’s back.

From outside, it seemed someone was tied to the chair, but Ronald wasn’t sure if it was Antina because the chair was too large.

Judging by the thickness of the ropes and the width of the backrest, whoever was tied to this chair was probably not a child but almost an adult, and his daughter was clearly not that large.

Though he couldn’t ascertain whether the person bound to the chair was his daughter, this bizarre circumstance made Ronald believe the homeowner had many unspeakable secrets—

People who do bad things usually don’t stop at one bad deed.

If they could kidnap one person in the house, they could possibly kidnap a second.

“Perhaps I should save him first; if my daughter is also imprisoned, he might know some clues.”

With this thought, Ronald grabbed the door lock.

The heavy lock held the door shut with chains, bearing a large keyhole.

Ronald attempted to yank the chain; the door didn’t budge.

Glancing around, finding nothing like stones or hammers on the tidy grass, Ronald had to search the woods for a tool to break the lock.

A moment later, he returned to the tool room carrying a stone, then raised it and struck the lock fiercely.

As the sound of stone meeting metal echoed, the person bound to the chair within the tool room suddenly began to struggle violently.

His mouth seemed to be gagged; he couldn’t speak, only letting out a few roars from his throat.

Accompanied by heart-palpitating beast-like howls, the chair fixed to the ground wobbled from side to side, and within moments, a chair leg as thick as a forearm emitted a crisp snap and broke.

With one leg gone, the chair couldn’t maintain balance, toppling backward due to the person’s intense struggle.

Ronald assumed the person sensed freedom on the horizon and thus struggled mightily, prompting him to strike the lock harder to release the person quickly.

However, when the chair fell completely, revealing the head of the person tied to it, Ronald’s hand gripping the stone froze in place—

It was an unusually horrid face, unhuman-like.

Bulky, bloated, covered in hair, and lacking a nasal bridge, his face had only pustule-like protrusions and two nostrils.

His eyes—one hidden between the pustules, the other misplaced to the other side of his face—were misaligned, and his mouth wasn’t gagged; he just lacked a tongue, rendering him unable to speak.

The light streaming through the tool room door gap sliced through the entire tool room, illuminating this man’s face.

Seeing him, Ronald froze; meanwhile, the person fallen on the ground grinned, revealing a mouthful of jagged teeth and laughed aloud.

The laugh emitted no sound, only exhaling noises and strange clashing sounds caused by the chair colliding with floor tiles.

Ronald saw no sign of his daughter, only this horrific face.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet, raising goosebumps all over him.

“Something’s wrong!

I need to get out!”

Aware that he might have unearthed an even more terrifying secret, Ronald dropped the stone in his hand.

As he turned around, he saw the house’s side door had been opened; a young man was running towards him.

Further away, Brian and Mrs. Brian stood inside their home, staring coldly at Ronald through the window, akin to wax figures.

…

With no time to ponder further, Ronald started sprinting towards the fence.

He was already in his forties and typically would not outrun a young man.

In truth, due to years of comfort and indulgence, Ronald’s physique had become increasingly bloated, and his stamina had diminished significantly. His wife often disparaged him for being inept in bedroom affairs, which was one reason for their divorce.

Just a while ago, climbing over the fence, which was only about 1.5 meters, had cost Ronald considerable strength, making him almost believe he’d be caught by the young man.

Fortunately, the young man seemed more concerned about the person confined in the tool room and did not pursue him vigorously.

Breathing heavily, Ronald climbed over the fence and then continued sprinting towards the outskirts of town, only pausing once he was hidden within a grove.

…

Hah~ hah~ hah…

Running eight to nine hundred meters had left Ronald gasping for breath. Leaning against a tree, bending over, and pressing his hands on his knees, he felt as though he would cough up his lungs.

“Damn it!”

He kept cursing internally, unsure if it was directed at the household or the imprisoned freak, or his own incompetence.

“It’s really time to call the police now.

Even if they’re not the ones who took my daughter, they are certainly not good people either.”

With this thought, Ronald glanced again beyond the grove.

To his surprise, the household hadn’t pursued him, seeming unconcerned about their secret being uncovered.

…

After catching his breath for a while, he finally felt better.

After tidying up his attire, Ronald planned to bypass this street, heading the other way to report the incident.

However, before calling the police, he needed to visit the town’s bank to check and preferably withdraw some money, since having funds would facilitate handling matters.

Additionally, he wanted to send a telegram to his ex-wife.

Despite disliking appearing overly helpless by seeking help in this ordeal, as the situation had developed, the severity indeed had surpassed his control—

His daughter had been missing for more than forty hours, and they still hadn’t found any useful information.

Between his pride and his daughter’s life, Ronald was very clear which mattered more.

Emerging from the other end of the woods, sneakily glancing over the street without seeing any household members, he relaxed a bit.

After crossing another street, Ronald, initially heading towards the police station, inexplicably took a turn and ended up in front of the motel where the homeless man checked in last night.

Emerging from the other end of the woods, sneakily glancing over the street without seeing any household members, he relaxed a bit.

After crossing another street, Ronald, initially heading towards the police station, inexplicably took a turn and ended up in front of the motel where the homeless man checked in last night.