CHAPTER 217

Leigh turned to look at Madeline and continued tearfully, "All these years, I went wherever my master went. After he passed, I came to Mansion to take on all kinds of clients and go anywhere they wanted me to just so I could finally track down the people who killed my parents!" She shook her head with a self-mocking expression. "But the world is full of places to hide, and I couldn't find the man no matter where I went or what I did, until now..."

She glanced down at Madeline's family photo, and when she spoke again, her voice was like ice. "The universe pulled through for me, and I guess one can run but only so far, right? I've found the woman who was with the murderer! I've found her at last, and I'm going to kill her!"

She stood up abruptly, and she would have barreled out the door had Madeline not held her back. "Whoa there, Leigh! Let's not be rash about this! Killing someone is a serious offense. I can't have you throw your life away like that!"

"I'm not afraid of dying, Maddie," Leigh replied with a terrifyingly calm voice. "I'm living now just so I can avenge my parents and grandfather. An eye for an eye, and I must kill the murderers with my own hands! I could care less about my own life!"

"Leigh, listen to me," Madeline said, still holding onto the girl. "I just told you that the woman in the picture is my Aunt Holly. My uncle, who is her husband, is only second to my mom in the Taylor Family, and he has power and money. Being his missus means getting around town in a fancy car and an entourage of bodyguards. She's unassailable!" With that, she tugged Leigh back onto the couch and said patiently. "Think about it, Leigh. What if your plan goes awry and you get charged with attempted murder? She would still be able to go around town pretending to be guilt-free, but what about you? You'd be a suspect."

Upon hearing this, Leigh took several deep breaths, and her mind finally cleared. "You're right, Maddie. You're absolutely right. I shouldn't be impulsive and strike without thinking. I've been waiting for this day for over a dozen years, and waiting a while longer wouldn't make a difference. I ought to come up with the perfect plan where I can execute that wretched woman within seconds!"

Madeline gaped at her, and for a while, she wasn't sure how she should respond to her friend's bloodlust. "Uh, Leigh, maybe we should put that plan on hold. In fact, we should forget about any plan that would end up with you being thrown behind bars for taking the law into your hands. How about if we just call the police and tell them what happened? We can find the best lawyers in the city to represent you and re-open the case, okay? The culprits will be sent to prison, and your parents will get the justice they deserved."

"Prison? And then what?" Leigh gave her an incredulous look as she tilted her head to the side. "The case is over a decade old, and any evidence the police collected then would be gone by now. Let's just say for argument's sake that they do find new evidence on the case, what will happen then? We send these crooks to jail for a couple of years even though they literally took the lives of my loved ones? Who knows if they'll be released on good behavior and have their sentences cut short? They'll be out after a few years if they're lucky and 'turn over a new leaf', but what about my parents and grandfather?"

Leigh turned to look at Madeline and continued tearfully, "All these years, I went wherever my master went. After he passed, I came to Mansion to take on all kinds of clients and go anywhere they wanted me to just so I could finally track down the people who killed my parents!" She shook her head with a self-mocking expression. "But the world is full of places to hide, and I couldn't find the man no matter where I went or what I did, until now..."

Leigh was fuming at this point, and the air around her crackled with angry energy. "My parents and my

grandfather will never get their lives back because of those two scoundrels! I lost my family because of them, and I've had to cope with the agony for over a decade. These people ruined my life, Maddie. Do you think it's fair that they can get away with it just by serving a couple of years in jail?"

"You're right! You know what, I'm all for you taking revenge on these *ssholes, but I don't think you should go up to them on your own and kill them. There's no technicality to it, just brute force, and you're better than that," Luke suddenly chimed in. He eyed Leigh steadily and snapped his fingers, saying, "How about if I introduce a top-notch assassin for the job? All you have to do is fork out the payment, and I promise you can have anyone killed."

"Get out of here!" Madeline snapped, crumpling up a piece of tissue and hurling it at him in frustration. "Get out of the office right now!"

He caught the tissue deftly and shot her a wounded look. "Maddie, be reasonable. Don't you think my solution is a lot better than her idea of charging into the fray alone? I mean, do you seriously want her to kill your aunt without backup?"

"Luke. Adams." Madeline glowered at him darkly. She was so furious she could strangle him. "I'm warning you, if I find out that you've been getting up to illegal nonsense, I'll have Logan beat you up! Get out of here! Go and get me juice from Juice Shack. I want you to personally bring me the juice, and if I find out that you had someone else get the juice for me, I swear I'll have Logan drag you back to Capitol tomorrow!"

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay, don't get all snappy about it. I'll go and get the juice if that's what you want, alright? As if I would let somebody else do it. Also, must you threaten me like that? It really hurts my feelings."

She growled, "Go!" She had a feeling that Leigh might kill him first if he didn't leave, though she thought he deserved it for joking around and being so insensitive when the poor girl was clearly in need of comforting.

"Okay, jeez. I'm going!" He rose from the couch and headed out the door. "Don't you worry. I'll be back so fast you'd think I blended the juice along the way! It'll be the freshest juice you'll ever drink!"

"For heaven's sake." Madeline rolled her eyes. "Will you just go? And take your time; the longer, the better."

He scoffed. "You're the only one who whines about my being here. How could you say that to my handsome face, hmm? I question your taste sometimes. Anyone else would have fawned all over me and offered to get me juice instead!"

He was grumbling as he walked away. When he was out of sight, Madeline said soothingly to Leigh, "Don't mind him, Leigh. He's always been a weirdo, and the more attention you give him, the worse he gets."

"It's fine." Leigh waved her hand and added sarcastically, "It's not as if he hurt me or anything, right? Which is more than I can say for those who covered for the murderers. Honestly, Luke's idea is pretty good. I kind of like it."

Madeline gaped at her speechlessly. I ought to drag Luke into the boxing ring and rough him up real good! She made a mental note of that and turned to focus on the problem at hand, which was Leigh's obviously aggravated temper. "Leigh, calm down. We'll figure something out, and we'll avenge your parents and your grandfather, I promise." She wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulders as she added reassuringly, "You're one of my closest friends, Leigh, and I don't want to see you throw

everything away for the sake of vengeance. We have to plan each step very carefully and be more farsighted about this. I'm sure we'll find a way to help you get justice for your loved ones without you risking everything you've worked for, okay?" content.

Leigh fell silent after she heard this, but it was clear to see that she disagreed.

A brief pause later, Madeline went on to say, "See, Holly is just an accomplice, that much we can be sure of, right? The real culprit is the man who was with her at the time, so killing Holly isn't going to help. If you kill her and the police arrests you, then the man who murdered your family will still be out there living his life as if nothing happened. You don't want that, do you?"

Leigh considered this for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You're right, Maddie. I should find out who that man is and kill him before I kill Holly!"

"Well..." Madeline winced. "I was thinking of a different approach that didn't involve spilling blood. I mean, we aren't barbarians, and you wouldn't want to be imprisoned for murder before you could carry out your revenge plans. Let's brainstorm on this for a little bit and try to come up with a foolproof plan, alright?"

"You're totally right, Maddie!" The impulse seemed to have worn off, and Leigh looked like she was seriously strategizing. "We aren't barbarians, and if spilling blood is too brutal, then I'll just have to poison them! I'll find a way to give them the most lethal dosage of poison there is. I'm useless when it comes to combat, and I'd sooner shoot myself in the foot than take anyone on in a physical brawl. There's a higher chance that this plan would work if I stick to what I know best and poison Holly and that man."

That wasn't what I meant by 'foolproof plan'! Madeline wanted to throw her head back and let out a cry

of frustration. "No, Leigh, we have to do this without breaking the law," she emphasized, reaching out to hold the frenetic girl's hands. Subsequently, Madeline added solemnly, "I want to see you live out your best life. I want to see you fall in love and marry into a nice family, then have a few kids of your own. You deserve all the happiness, and even if you escape legal arrest, having blood on your hands is going to taint your bright future."

Leigh snorted. "I'm not afraid!"

"I know you aren't, but I am!" Madeline said sternly. "Before he passed away, my master told me to take care of all of you. I'm supposed to make sure you're all okay, and I can't just have one of you going around, killing people even if it's for a righteous reason. I need all of you to live out your best life, and I'm obligated to keep you safe."

Madeline paused, then suggested, "Okay, how about I talk to Sebastian and see if he can come up with a proper solution? He's born and raised in Elsenburg. Plus, he's seen enough to know what to do. To top it off, he's powerful and has connections to help you with your revenge."