Chapter 527

Hayden didn’t answer right away, but I could tell he already knew more than he was letting on. “Why won’t you just tell me?” Frustration spilled over, and my hand hit the seat between us.

The car lurched to a stop; his grip white-knuckled the steering wheel, veins popping. I couldn’t stop staring.

“For the money,” he finally said.

I turned, searching his face, but he kept it turned away, giving me nothing. Then, the thought of Yuna’s illness struck me. “Was it… was it to pay for Yuna’s treatment?”

Hayden popped open the glove compartment, pulled out a cigarette, and after a few clicks, lit it. He took a long drag, his voice low. “My father was responsible for your parents’ deaths. That’s a debt—a sin he left behind. So, now, I owe you a life.”

He wasn’t answering my question directly, but he’d given me a truth that stung more. I watched him, distant as he smoked. “And how do you plan to repay that… life debt?”

The cigarette trembled just a bit in his hand, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “What exactly did Thorsten say?”

Avoiding any talk of us wasn’t an option, but I wasn’t ready to press him. So, I repeated what Thorsten had told me.

When I finished, Hayden simply asked, “And what do you think?”

I stared out the window at the empty factory I’d been held in for hours. “I think Thorsten’s trying to kill two birds with one stone.”

“Oh?” His gaze met mine in the rearview mirror.

“He had Sasha bring me here, got in my head with all this… Sure, on the surface, it looked like he wanted me dead. But Sasha turned around and helped me escape. Thorsten wanted me to know the truth—he wants me to hate the Johnstons.”

Hayden’s eyes stayed on me, but I didn’t look back. “Thorsten’s making sure I know that, even if he bribed your dad to go after mine, the real mastermind was still the Johnstons,”

“And hating the Johnstons does… what?” Hayden’s tone was ice. “What could you even do to them?”

I faced him. “Are you trying to push my buttons or just don’t think I have it in me?”

His gaze stayed locked on mine. “If it really was the Johnstons… what would you do?”

The question tightened something in my chest. I’d suspected Matthew’s involvement, but facing what I’d do if it was true? I didn’t know. Go to the police, make him pay, or just confront him, get the answers I deserved, and walk away?

Right now, all I knew was that I needed the truth straight from them.

“Hayden, take me to the Johnston residence.”

He didn’t say a word, just stubbed out his cigarette and started the engine.

When we pulled up to the gates, I stepped out, feeling that sense of finality settle in. To my surprise, Hayden got out too.

“You’re coming in?”

He nodded. “This isn’t just your grudge to settle—it’s my father’s mess, too,” he said, leaving no room to argue.

Together, we walked into the Johnston residence. Isabel’s eyes lit up as she saw me. “Rea, Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are waiting for you.”

My stomach dropped. They already knew I was coming, which meant Thorsten had tipped them off—and if that was true, then everything he’d told me probably was, too.