Page 179 of Lust & Lies

“You’re right,” I agreed, placating him. “He’s definitely not as funny as you, Mr. Limp Sometimes.”

Gertrude burst out laughing.

Aiden glared from her to me. Leaning into him, I kissed his cheek before facing the laptop and pressing play.

Growing serious, Seo-Jin continued. “I don’t know where you are. But I hope you’re safe. I’m assuming you’re with Aiden. Mr. Park suspects that, also, and he has teams trying to prove it. I’m sabotaging their results every chance I get. But it won’t be long before they find you.

I’m sending this through the backdoor channel you set up in case things ever went sideways. I found the leak. There are two. Scope and Viper. With you gone, I had to let Fuse in on what’s happening so he could help me keep an eye on those two.

Scope took a deal from Mr. Park. He was promised a bonus and early retirement in exchange for leaking your mission details to the enemy. Viper, she didn’t do it for money. She did it out of jealousy. She wanted your spot. She also wanted... me.”

I knew it! She betrayed one of her own, all for a man who didn’t want her. Silly bitch.

“Mr. Park promised her if she helped get you out of the picture, she’d be promoted to your spot. But that wasn’t enough for her. She asked for more. She asked for me.”

Next to me, Aiden sighed. “How could she ask for something my grandfather couldn’t possibly give her?”

“He gave you to Ellie,” I pointed out.

“Yeah... but...” Aiden went silent.

“And he tried to force Seo-Jin and I to be together. Now he’s recycling Seo-Jin, giving him to someone else.”

“Damn,” Aiden muttered. “What kind of man raised me?”

“A cruel kind who doesn’t stand for the same values the Watchdogs were created to uphold,” I told him.

Aiden nodded. “Yeah, he has to go.” We resumed watching the video.

In the video, Seo-Jin shook his head. “Mr. Park promised Viper that if she took care of you, he’d make sure I was hers.”

The Leader released a sarcastic chuckle, but I knew him well enough to notice how pissed off he was.

“We mean nothing to him. Just pawns on his board game. He moves us around whenever he wants. By the way, it was Viper who reached out to the Magnolia Gulf client. She’s the one who set you up that night. But that’s not all, she roped in a driver from another team to help her out. I don’t yet know what she has planned for him. In her phone, he’s just listed as Drive. But his real name is Dae-Jeung, and he’s worked on missions that look like hit-and-runs but were actually hits set up by our organization.”

I paused the video to stare over at Aiden. “He’s probably the one who caused the wreck that led to my amnesia.”

“Could be,” Aiden agreed. “I need to find out who he is so I can put an end to him. Wait a minute. I’ve heard that name before.” Aiden turned to Gertrude. “Wasn’t one of the rogues Noe took out named Dae-Jeung?”

“Yes,” Gertrude replied. “And the other guy was her team member, Scope. Both are now dead. And the people you and your team took out that night were members of Dae-Jeung’s team. With them gone, that leaves Viper to deal with. No wonder she’s been looking antsy while she waited in the yard when Seo-Jin visited. It was also her who tried to pressure Seo-Jin into forcing us to release you. Luckily, Aiden’s men are protecting the house, or I think that wench would’ve tried to shoot her way inside to get you.”

“That doesn’t sound like Viper,” I frowned. “She usually never loses her cool. I guess that cool and calm persona was just a facade.” I restarted the video to see if Seo-Jin had any more information for me.

“I’ll do what I can to keep Mr. Park from finding you. Reach out to me when you can. Even if you have no intention of coming back, reach out to let me and Fuse know you’re safe and well. Be careful. Don’t trust the Watchdogs blindly. The ranks aren’t clean. Signing off until I hear from you.”

As soon as the video ended, a screen popped up that read,This video is set to be permanently deleted after viewing.I watched the little shredder icon pop up. And then the video was gone.

I exited out of the site and closed my laptop. Gertrude took it from me and carried it over to the dresser, placing it on top of it as Aiden propped my pillows up behind me and eased me onto them.

Having him and her take care of me brought me joy and also reminded me of everything I had to live for. Family wasn’t always blood. It was the people who cheered for you when you were at your best, and who helped take care of you when you were at your worst.

I had something Mr. Park would never have. I had people who loved me, not because they felt obligated to, but because they genuinely cared for me as much as I cared for them. That was worth more than money, fame, or anything else.

I wanted him to see that. I wanted him to understand that. I wanted him to know that he hadn’t won. I wanted to show him what real victory looked like. All he had to do was look at us to see it. Everyone in this room had been hurt in some way by Mr. Park.

Yet, look at us, smiling together, happy together, while he was hiding away in his mansion, fearing us. Looking at Aiden and Gertrude helped me decide how I wanted to handle Mr. Park and Viper’s bitch asses.

“How do you want to handle this?” Gertrude asked, returning to sit on my side of the bed.