Under the Veil of Night

After leaving the mansion, Sheila clenched her phone with rage. She felt that she always lost when she was facing off against Kanae. Not even once could she pay that girl back for all the humiliation that she suffered.

She made a call. "Sir, the siblings are truly the ones living in the mansion."

The one at the other end of the call, Frank Nali, was rather annoyed when he heard the news. He had sold the mansion to some random person. Who would have thought that this man had a connection with the two siblings? After all he did to make sure that they wouldn't get it, it was all for naught.

"Get them to report it to the family!"

"Sir, it's not possible. The mansion doesn't belong to them, but to another person. They only received it through some means."

Frank nearly smashed the phone he was holding. If it was not because they still held the name of Nali, he wouldn't hesitate to use any means to bring them down. Right now, he couldn't do it.

If he tried to frame them, the name of Nali Family would go down the drain. If he tried to take the mansion from them forcefully, the scene would make the media hungry for more. If he tried to spread news about them, the name of the Nali Family would be tarnished completely.

He didn't have any viable options at the moment. This rather vexed Frank. If only the mansion belonged to Kanae or Laura again, he could make use of his connections like before. Since the two of them were still underage, it was indeed possible for him to take away the mansion again.

"Sir, is there anything that I can do?" Sheila asked in a concerned tone.

Frank frowned. His brain was working at high speed, yet he didn't know what to say. "Did they say anything to you?"

"They told me that the Nali Family should never come again, or they will file charges to the police," Sheila answered. She made sure to emphasize the words 'Nali Family.' This would surely make Frank extremely pissed off. After all, this man always cared about the family's face too much.

What she guessed truly happened. Frank was beyond angry when he heard what Kanae said. This was the second time this has happened. The first time happened when they compromised for Kanae to live behind the mansion. She threatened them with the threat of trespassing too if they were to intrude into her space.

Now, she repeated it once again. Facing this girl, Frank felt his patience thinning.

'A few more months, I just need to wait for a few more months.'

Soon, it would be Kanae's birthday. When that time came, he would make a grand announcement that Kanae was not part of his family anymore. This would be the best way to counter this girl.

"You can return back, Sheila. Your job is finished."

"Thank you, Sir."

Sheila put down her phone with a smile on her face. It seemed that Frank was not so hard to handle compared with her in-laws. This would make her time in the Nali Family become more interesting. She couldn't wait for more entertaining events to happen.

…

Kale Company

"Neo, what do you want to tell me?" Kevin asked when they returned back to his office. Mike was also following from behind and made the coffee for Kevin as usual.

Neo took out his laptop and handed it to Kevin. "Boss, I conducted a thorough search on Kanae and her past."

Hearing the name 'Kanae', the room's temperature dropped immediately. Looking intently at Neo with his dark irises, Kevin was feeling displeased. He didn't want to pry too much into the lives of other people, especially Kanae.

However, Neo paid no heed to the suffocating atmosphere. "I found out that the Nali Family has been hiding the information of their members in any incidents that they get involved in."

Feeling that something was off, Mike put the cup down on Kevin's table as he looked towards Neo with bewilderment. "What do you mean by incident?"

"Exactly what it means," Neo answered carefully. "Boss, do you remember the incident that happened three years ago on the 31st of December?"

Three years ago on the 31st of December…

It was a date that Kevin would never forget in his entire life. It was the day he lost his father, one day right before his 15th birthday. That day that changed his entire life as he had to step up to become the clan head and confront those who wanted to take his life.

Kevin nodded. "What is it?"

Neo carefully paid attention to Kevin's expression as he continued. "That incident also involved Kanae. She lost her parents in that incident."

By the time his words reached this point, he couldn't speak further. The consequences of what he said were as clear as day.

If not for that incident, Kanae would have a complete family.

If not for that incident, there was no need for the girl to work so hard day and night.

If not for that incident, she wouldn't have to confront the entire Nali Family who wished for nothing but her death.

All that started from the one incident.

Kevin was extremely surprised to hear that. Finally, he understood Neo's reason for his troubled face. If Kanae knew that he was the one who made her life miserable, would she still accept him? Every logical person would know that the answer would be a resounding 'no.'

Like before, he felt very conflicted. He knew his life was dangerous, but he wanted to have her in his life. He always battled himself internally for having these thoughts. Now that he knew how his presence and his clan made her suffer and live this kind of life, could he let himself bring her closer to him?

He couldn't bring himself to see her sad and live a difficult life. At this moment, he knew that he realized this too late. He already fell hard for her to the point of no return.

"I see. It's my fault," Kevin's voice cracked. His usual calmness has disappeared. It was replaced with self-condemnation, deep regret, and endless longing.

Neo noticed the change in Kevin's voice, but he couldn't say anything. What could he possibly say? It was not your fault? It was impossible for him to say it. The three of them knew very well that the incident was caused by their clan.

No, not their clan; it was specifically because of Kevin.

With Kanae losing her parents in that incident, it was the same as telling Kevin that he murdered her parents. At the same time, he was also the one who drove her to live a life full of hardship for the past three years.

Kevin's eyes looked at the laptop as a complicated feeling surfaced. What a joke. He was the one who caused her pain, yet he wanted to be the one who made her happy. How ridiculous was that?

He felt that Heaven must hate him so much to play a joke on him, to make him yearn for her so much...

Her, someone he wronged so badly in the past.

Even he was not sure what Kanae's attitude was of that incident. Whether that girl wanted revenge on her parents' murderer was also unclear as he never tried to find out.

"Why didn't her name appear on the list?" Kevin asked. After the incident, he made sure to compensate the family members of the citizens who got involved. At that time, he had to see their condemning and despairing faces. It was a memory he wanted to erase and also the biggest reason he never wanted to involve the citizens ever again.

He didn't want to break any families and see their broken hearts anymore.

"The Nali Family hid her name from the list. As they're one of the big families, they don't want anyone to know that they got involved in the incident even as victims," Neo answered. He tried to make sure that his voice was as calm as possible.

"It's just like them," Kevin was not surprised about their attitude. It was known that the four big families cared about their face too much. Too much that they didn't even care for their members' well-being.

Mike hesitated. "Boss, what will you do now?"

"Nothing," Kevin answered. He couldn't possibly push her away because of his guilt. All he wanted was for her to be happy and content. Even if he couldn't stay with her, he wished for nothing more than her well-being. Right now, there was nothing he could do except slowly distancing himself from her.

He had to forget about her and just watch over her from afar. It was not his place to stay by her side and pain her with the past that she never told anyone.

Confronting her about this incident was also a big no. He didn't want to make her remember her past again. After her struggle to fight the Nali Family, he didn't want to be the one to remind her of the painful past again.

"I won't do anything."

"Boss…"

Neo saw the complicated gaze in Kevin's eyes and chose to stay quiet. This was the first time he saw Kevin with such complicated feelings. Unfortunately, there was simply nothing he could do.. He could only stand quietly as Kevin calmed himself down and accepted the fact, the horrible fact that no one wished had happened.