Chapter 109
That evening, despite his reluctance, Richard drove me back to my apartment, not at ease until he had. Downstairs, he had his driver bring a bag of my favorite snacks to my door. “I’ve cut out snacks,” I said with a forced smile, tugging at the corner of my mouth.
Richard seemed pained by my words, gently patting my head as he said, “You should cut down, anyway. I don’t want you getting cavities and complaining about toothaches, forcing me to take you to the dentist p>
As a kid, I was notorious for my sweet tooth, always winding up with cavities. I started getting fillings as young as five or six. Richard always took me to the dentist, cheering me up and giving me courage. I couldn’t believe he still remembered that. “Tracie was the real sweet tooth, Richard. You’ve had me looking for her all these years, and I still haven’t found her,” I said, recalling the task he had given me before his stint in jail.
Tracie was an older girl from the orphanage who got adopted. However, her adoption records were faked, leaving no clues about her whereabouts.
Richard had built his empire from scratch, driven by his ambition for success and the hope of finding Tracie because she was his first love. “It’s okay. I’ll keep looking for Tracie. I’ll never stop, not ever.” he reassured me.
I nodded, turning to enter the elevator. As the doors opened, I saw Max leaning against the wall inside, eyes closed as if exhausted.
When the doors opened wide, he straightened up and opened his eyes, only to fix his gaze not on me but on Richard standing behind me.
His expression was calm, yet he didn’t greet Richard. That was typical of Max, who wouldn’t say a word unless he wanted to, no matter who tried to coax him.
But as Richard saw him, the bag of snacks he was about to hand me froze in his grip.
As I was about to ask if he knew Max, Max spoke first, “Out already p>
Richard straightened up and bowed respectfully, saying, “Yes p>
It was the first time I had seen Richard show such respect to anyone. His lean frame seemed to channel all its energy into that single bow.
“Aren’t you coming in?” Max didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, he shot me a look, signaling me to go ahead.
Taking the snacks from Richard’s hand, I felt his worry subside at that moment.
“So, you guys are neighbors? That puts me at ease. Go on up,” Richard said, ruffling my hair.
I nodded and stepped into the elevator. But Max’s expression seemed even grimmer than before.
As the elevator doors closed, I curiously asked, “Do you know Richard p>
“Barely,” Max replied coolly.
But how did he know about
Richard’s imprisonment if he barely knew Richard? Before I could press further, the elevator jolted violently, lights flickering on and off.
I grabbed Max’s arm to prevent falling if the elevator were to drop Then, with a loud crash, the elevator plummeted, and reacting quickly, Max grabbed my hand and pulled me into his embrace.
Dust rained from above, and he from covered my head with his hand, shielding me from the debris. We both faced the elevator failure with a calm that seemed to have faced life-and-death situations. Fear was absent from our reactions.
Holding me with one arm, he stretched out the other to press the emergency button, but to no avail. When checking his phone, he found no signal.
Trying to lighten the mood, I joked, “Well, at least Richard left us plenty of snacks. It should be enough to last us a few days p>