Chapter 300 - He Would Not Miss

KJ and Mirae drove straight towards N2's hospital and had arrived there by evening. Some of Riggs' men were already there, studying the scene. The hitman's body was taken for autopsy at N2's lab.

Hyun Jung was standing next to the room when he saw KJ and Mirae approaching. He was still wearing the bloodied shirt.

"What happened?" KJ demanded. "He was too traumatized to do anything, right? Then how did he suddenly get the energy to kill himself?"

"We have no idea!" Hyun Jung replied. "N2 and I were standing here, discussing the ways we could make him talk when he suddenly snatched my gun and killed himself."

"Did he say or do anything when you were interrogating him?" Mirae asked.

"No," Hyun Jung shook his head. "Nothing. I told you, he was completely mute! Everything happened so suddenly that we couldn't even act. The man was completely still as a statue, refusing to divulge any information about the Cartel. He was unresponsive for weeks so we were very much shocked when he suddenly lashed out like that."

Mirae frowned. The man was triggered by something, she realized. But what?

"Hyun, tell me exactly what you said to N2," she said. "What were you guys talking about? There was a trigger in your conversation which caused his reaction."

Hyun Jung thought hard. "I spoke about how the President may be involved with the incident during the comeback show," he said. "And also if Ash Park was involved, we could arrest him right away. Then we proceeded to talk about the different treatments when he attacked us."

The President? Ash? Mirae thought. One of them was certainly the trigger.

She looked at KJ who gave her a nod. Both of them were thinking the same thing.

"Get all the information you could from our informers," KJ stated. "And also, keep an eye on Aroma Inc. I'm sure Ash is up to something."

"All our informers are scared," Hyun Jung admitted. "Even with the hitman captured, the Cartel managed to kill many of our spies. The President himself is probably hunting them down."

"Our best bet is Song Tamlin then," Mirae groaned. She really did not want to seek his help anymore because of his dubious nature. There was no way to know what he was planning inside his head.

"We'll have to contact him," KJ sighed. "I don't want him to get more involved than he already is but he's with Aroma Inc. Only he could get us concrete information."

Mirae was in a dilemma but there was no other way. They had to use him.

….

Somewhere in the midst of the city, Ash was staring down at the streets from his high rise apartment. He was quietly sipping wine when he heard footsteps behind him. 

"I didn't expect you to be here, Song Tamlin," he said, turning around to meet the bored gaze of the old man. 

"I wasn't too keen on coming either," Tamlin sighed. "But business is business."

"What do you want?��

Tamlin did not reply but was instead interested in a painting which hung on the wall. It was of a n.a.k.e.d man chained by vines, being flanked by a finely dressed woman while another n.a.k.e.d priestess watched. 

"Nice apartment you have here," he complimented. "And this painting...this is a painting of the Greek character right? What was his name again?"

"Orestes," Ash muttered.

"Right," Tamlin recalled. "Orestes the avenger. The one who had slayed his treacherous mother for killing his mother."

"What do you want, Song Tamlin?" Ash asked warily. "Other than narrating some boring old myth to me?"

"Question is, what do you want Ash Park?" he countered. "And before you say that you want your birthright, I still want to question you. Why? You had everything. Friends who loved you, immeasurable fame, millions of fans and most of all, a woman who had loved you with all her heart. Yet, you gave it all up for something you claim to be your birthright. Do you really want to take over the Cartel? Or is revenge fueling your ambition? The revenge for the killing of your parents?"

Ash stared at him for a while before bursting into a laugh. Song Tamlin raised his eyebrows as Ash kept on laughing at his assumption.

"Revenge? For what?" he snickered. "If you're implying about how my grandfather had my parents killed, I assure you that I have no interest in avenging them. I don't even remember their faces nor did I ever miss them enough to seek revenge. They're strangers to me. But I do know that I am the sole heir to my grandfather's empire and it's mine by birthright. Even he can't take it away from me. Who else is left anyway? Shun? Ziko? Madam Hong? They're all dead. I'm his only option."

"Is the Cartel really more important to you than your friends and lover?" Tamlin questioned him. "Doesn't it bother you? When you see her with Kwon Jiwon? I observed you at my party very closely. Your eyes were on her all the time. You were gazing at her smile and how your hands clenched whenever you saw her happy with her husband. And from what I could sense, they're already in love. He's probably in bed with her right now. Are you sure it doesn't bother you at all?"

CRACK!

Ash had gripped his glass so tightly that he broke it. Blood was oozing from his cut but he did not care.

"She means nothing to me," he claimed but Song Tamlin was not buying it.

"If she meant nothing to you," he said. "You wouldn't have saved her that night. You wouldn't have told me to keep her busy while you dealt with the uninvited guests at the other room. A man who is willing to kill to protect a woman is simply an idiot who is hopelessly in love with her."

"I don't love her!" Ash declared. "She was only a means for me to get information about Abyss."

"Oh really?" Tamlin shot back. "Then why didn't you reveal to the world that the baby she had miscarried was yours and not Kwon Jiwon's? Surely, it would hit her credibility and tarnish her image. You've dated for months and yet, there is no evidence of you two being together? Or is it that you're not releasing it?"

"No, I don't," he said in a firm tone. "My grandfather would not hand me over the empire if he found out about my past with the CEO of Abyss. The last time he frolicked with the enemy, he lost his whole family and his face. I have no intention of letting him find out about my own tryst. You see, I love my life more than any feelings I may have had for a woman."

Song Tamlin shook his head and stood up. "I want to add one more thing before I leave," he said. "The hitman they had captured at the stadium. He shot himself. The CEO of Abyss has just informed me."

Ash's lips curved into a triumphant smile. The man knew very well that he would not be spared from Ash's wrath if he revealed anything. His plan may have failed last time, but he was biding his time for another shot.

And this time, he would not miss.