9
00:05
Raina disappeared three days later. The missing person case was combined with the kidnapping investigati- on, and the consensus was that the kidnapper and Raina had had a falling out.
A few days later, they found the kidnapper’s hideout. There were signs of a struggle. Evidence suggested the kidnapper had been dragged away by an adult male.
Yara thought of Stefan. She went to the Goldberg estate and found him. In just a few days, he had lost a sign- ificant amount of weight. His eyes were sunken. But his expression was unnervingly calm.
“Have you been in contact with Raina or the kidnapper recently?”
“No,” Stefan said.
“Have you been anywhere recently?”
“No.”
Yara stayed with him for two hours, but Stefan’s story was flawless.
Until he received a call from an unknown number. Stefan stood and went into his study.
On the phone, Raina was sobbing. “Stefan, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for Mindy to die. I didn’t know the kidnap- per was a sadist. I just wanted to teach her a lesson. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t love you.”
Stefan stared straight ahead, his voice calm as he spoke to the person on the other end. “Let Raina die the
same way Mindy did.”
“What about the baby in her belly?”
Stefan was silent for a moment. “It’s not born yet. It’s just a piece of flesh. Don’t worry about it.
Raina’s agonized screams came through the phone.
See? That’s how much it hurt. But when Mindy had called him, she had only said two words: “It hurts.”
Stefan listened quietly as her screams faded into silence.
Just then, Yara burst in and grabbed Stefan by the collar. “Where did you take Raina?”
Stefan smiled, unconcerned. “Does it have anything to do with you?”
Yara gritted her teeth. “Doesn’t it? As long as the suspects are at large, Mindy can’t be buried. Do you want
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Chapter 2
her to have no peace, even in death?”
It was as if someone had slapped him. He stood frozen for a long time.
00.05
Finally, he gave them Raina and the kidnapper’s location. By the time the police arrived, they were both cold.
Stefan was on his way back to the police station when he suddenly jumped from the moving car.
He climbed onto a large bridge. The wind whipped through his hair. The sunset painted the sky in brilliant
colors.
Stefan looked at the churning river below and managed a smile. “Mindy, I’m coming to find you. I’ll die with you. You can keep loving me, okay?”
The next second, as everyone watched, Stefan jumped.
