Chapter 525 The Child Was Forced to Die After a long beat, Kyran finally found his voice. âAnd Steven?â
âFled.â Declan took another sharp inhale of smoke.
âHe is a smart man who knows you all too well. He foresaw things going south way ahead and withdrew his savings before disappearing. Itâs impossible to find him.â
Kyranâs eyes were nailed to the document. A maelstrom was kicking up in his chest, pressing itself agai nst the inside of his chest and stinging him so much that his face turned white.
It took him a while to recover. Exhaling a few breaths, he said, âHe had no motive. He wouldnât even ha ve gained anything from it.â
Declan flashed him a smile. âThat much is obvious. What could he possibly gain from doing all of this to Deirdre? Nothing. As such, someone else must have ordered him to. Now, I donât have any solid proof
yet, but Iâm sure who that mastermind could be. Question is⦠Do you want to hear it?â
Kyran did not even blink. âCharlene.â
âHuh? Right on the first strike. Only two people could have gained from this whole thing: you and Charl ene McKinney. Deirdre was pregnant with your kid after two years of marriage, so her emotional motive was transparent.â
Kyran sank into silence, his eyes misty. He could not stop his mind from returning to that dayâ
the fire, the woman and her blurry features, and the nearâ
suicidal, altruistic determination to save him from the inferno.
Never had he expected that same angel to become a demon capable of the most wretched things behi nd his back.
Declan could see the mental anguish playing out in Kyranâs mind. Snuffing out his cigarette, he exhaled . â Brendan, the past is the past. People can be unrecognizably changed even after a year, let alone tw o years shy of a decade.
âCharlene is no longer the same woman who saved you from the fire. She has changed. I told you back when the woman and I first met
that this is a woman whoâs motivated by avarice. You were so in love with her that you wouldnât listen w hen I told you, and thatâs okay. I get it. But what other excuses can you come up with now?â
âIâm not even going to excuse her.â Kyran thought of the trials Deirdre had gone through and felt a chill
sweeping across his heart. âI was just thinking, whoâs the bigger sinner? Me or Charlene?â
After Deirdre was finally released from the prison and was given a chance to live, Brendan swooped ba ck in like the Devil, chained her to his side, and proceeded to rain hellfire on her, humiliate her, abuse her, and endlessly torment her.
âNo wonder Deirdreâs love turned into hate.â 2 Declan sidestepped the question with a much more practical one of his own, âWhat now?â
âDeirdre has stated that the culprit behind her abduction is Charlene.â Kyran shut the document. âItâs hi gh time she reaps what she sowed.â
He handed the document back to Declan. âCome inside with me. Deirdreâs busy in the kitchen. Itâs not safe to leave her alone.â
He took two steps forward until Declan, climbing down his car, stopped him. âBrendan.â
CHIOAN as Faced to Le The man stopped.
âYouâre not going to like what Iâm about to tell you. The child the two of you had? Miss McKinnon never w Kyranâs back was as straight and erect as ever, but one could see his entire frame shaking.
Deirdre heard the sound of the door opening and stopped her work. Rubbing her hands clean, she calle Declanâs wellâpracticed smile had returned.
âFalse alarm! I wasnât drinking to heal my broken heart. My clients basically forced me.â
âWell, thatâs a relief,â she replied, relaxed.
âI made you soup. Come take it. Hopefully, it will help lessen your hangover on the next day.â
âGee, thanks.â
Deirdre smiled and told him not the worry. Then, turning toward a rather sullen Kyran, who had not spok