Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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54.
“Why is your clothes soaked…….”
Hee-ju, who had been gazing absently at her own hands, froze. Even in the dim corridor, she could see clearly what it was. No—the metallic reek of blood stung her nostrils, impossible to ignore.
The color drained from Hee-ju’s face. She rolled only her eyes to look at Liam.
He rose slowly, glancing at his left shoulder with an unbothered expression.
“I should probably stop the bleeding.”
“From back there……?”
“It’s nothing. Just a graze from a bullet.”
With that, Liam shrugged off the Jacket he’d been wearing. His left forearm was soaked crimson. He’d kissed her with that mangled arm, apparently.
Hee-ju’s eyes flew wide. She couldn’t help herself—she shouted.
“You’re insane!”
Liam’s eyes widened in surprise.
***
Hee-ju found medicine and a Bandage in the kitchen and began disinfecting and wrapping the wound.
Liam, watching her, laughed like a punctured balloon—soft, helpless chuckles.
“Insane. You think I’m insane.”
“…….”
Hee-ju exercised her Right to Silence. Her face was sullen, her lower lip jutting out petulantly, but her hands were infinitely tender as they worked.
Liam asked with a drowsy smile.
“Is that really what you think of me normally? That I’m insane?”
His voice was honey-sweet, and she nearly lost her mind—she’d almost nodded along with him. Keep your wits about you. They say even if a tiger bites you, you’ll survive if you stay sharp. As long as you don’t fall for a handsome face.
Hee-ju sharpened her focus and invoked her Right to Silence again.
“Do I seem insane to you?”
Oh, she’d almost nodded just now. A man who chases after someone he’s never laid eyes on—flying from England to Korea to the United States—what else could he be but insane?
Of course, she was reaping the benefits of his madness handsomely right now. But that didn’t make him any less mad.
Hee-ju affixed the final piece of tape and asked, “There. It’s not too tight or too loose, is it?”
“It’s perfect. Actually.”
His languid voice carried a faint undertone of amusement.
“Are you prepared to accept this madman’s sincerity?”
“Well, roughly.”
Once she’d put away the remaining medicine and Bandages, Hee-ju turned away quietly. Then she powered on her Cell Phone and dialed Peter’s number.
“I’ll have to destroy this after I talk to Peter. The CIA is definitely tracking it.”
The ringing didn’t last long. Peter answered, and Hee-ju asked casually.
“Everything’s cleaned up on this end, Peter. How’s Margaret?”
Hee-ju’s face gradually hardened as she listened. Liam, watching her expression shift, picked up the Jacket he’d removed and put it back on.
“I’ll be right there. Wait for me.”
After hanging up, Hee-ju bit down on her lower lip. Liam reached out and gently pulled it free with his finger.
“Careful. You’ll wound it. Why hurt yourself when those bastards couldn’t? Don’t torment yourself like that.”
“…….”
His shameless remark sent Hee-ju’s face flushing crimson. Yet the man who’d said it wore an expression utterly unchanged from moments before.
Shame is losing.
“What did Peter say?”
Only then did Hee-ju recall the call. She spoke in a grave tone.
“Margaret and Emma aren’t at Peter’s house. At first he thought they’d just stepped out briefly, but there’s no sign anyone’s been inside at all. He checked Emma’s place too—completely empty.”
She paused, swallowing hard. Liam, lost in thought, murmured with suspicion.
“Did James realize things went wrong and send an associate?”
“No.”
Her response was firm, and Liam lifted his head. Hee-ju spoke with measured calm.
“It’s Emma.”
“Emma?”
“Not James. Emma.”
Liam nodded for her to continue, and Hee-ju furrowed her brow as she went on.
“Earlier, when Margaret mentioned something, it bothered me. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I think I understand.”
“What was it?”
“That James switched out Margaret’s medication.”
“…….”
“Peter’s been keeping watch like a hawk. Could James really have slipped inside, switched Margaret’s pills—all while avoiding both Peter’s notice and Emma’s? Could that even be possible?”
“Are you saying Emma’s James’s accomplice?”
Hee-ju shook her head firmly.
“I don’t know if they’re working together or separate. But Emma’s clearly been coveting Margaret’s estate as well.”
“Let’s meet up with Peter then.”
At Liam’s words, Hee-ju gathered her things with a grim expression.
Shortly after, the two of them drove into the thick darkness, leaving the blood-soaked Estate behind.
***
“Signal’s picked up. The phone’s been turned on.”
At Hunter’s words, Anthony, who’d been lying in bed, moved toward the table. Studying the screen, he furrowed his brow.
“Where is that?”
“Beats me. Good news is it’s not far from here. Looks like the two of them are still in the city.”
“They’re moving?”
“Damn it.”
Hunter swore, uncharacteristically. The red dot that had been moving on the screen vanished in an instant.
Anthony scratched his head.
“Turned it off, I suppose.”
“We’ll need to check the call logs. They might’ve switched the phone on to contact someone.”
Hunter stood and threw on his outer coat. Anthony heaved a long sigh.
“Where are you going?”
“To where the Signal was picked up. Get ready quick.”
“They’ve already left that spot. You saw the Signal moving yourself.”
“Protocol’s protocol. Check for clues.”
“That damned protocol again.”
Anthony rose and threw on his coat, grumbling as he went.
“You and your rigid sense of duty—that’s the problem. Time to bend the rules a little, if you ask me.”
“Hurry up and come on.”
“Even the Russian Mafia guys are getting their sleep. Lucky them.”
Anthony found small comfort in the fact that he wasn’t the only one working in the dead of night, and smirked wickedly as he moved.
***
“There it is.”
Hee-ju pointed to a figure standing by the roadside. When Liam stopped the car, she rolled down the passenger window.
“Get in quick, Peter.”
“Ah, Hee-ju.”
Peter, who’d been anxiously rubbing his palms together, quickly climbed into the back seat. Half-turning in her seat, Hee-ju got straight to the point.
“Is there somewhere Emma might go?”
“Somewhere Emma might go?”
“I think Emma’s kidnapped Margaret.”
“That’s nonsense!”
Peter rejected the reality outright, as if struck by lightning. He shook his head over and over, muttering, “Emma would never do that.”
Hee-ju posed her next question with composure but firmness.
“Has Margaret ever had her medication switched?”
“That was James…….”
“Could James have entered the Estate without you knowing, switched Margaret’s pills while evading both your notice and Emma’s? Did he even know where you kept them in the first place?”
“That…….”
“If it were James, he wouldn’t have bothered switching anything—he’d have just stolen money from Margaret’s bedroom and run.”
“My God, I…….”
Peter buried his face in his hands and groaned. Accepting the reality bit by bit, he writhed with guilt.
“I trusted Margaret to Emma’s care.”
“It’s not your fault, Peter. None of us saw through Emma’s intentions. But is there somewhere she might go? You’re the only one who’d know.”
Liam, who’d been silent until now, added in a dry tone.
“Somewhere remote. But somewhere familiar to Emma.”
Peter, who’d been sitting quietly, suddenly lifted his head.
“She mentioned once—in passing—that her father had a Warehouse he used for fishing. After his death, it became hers, but she said it had no monetary value. She even grumbled that it was useless, even after death.”
“Where is it?”
As Peter gave the location, Hee-ju entered the address into the GPS Navigation. Liam immediately started the car.
Peter couldn’t sit still. He rubbed his palms, shifted his hips, trying to calm his anxious fidgeting.
After driving for a while, the car turned onto a desolate road. When a large Lake came into view, Liam turned off the headlights.
Nothing was visible ahead. The car slowed. At the whispering sound, startled, one might glance out to see reeds brushing past the vehicle’s body.
The car lurched up and down as it hit a muddy patch. The GPS Navigation couldn’t get a fix on the location, and the darkness only grew thicker.
Hee-ju looked back at Liam with an uneasy face.
“Did we take a wrong turn……?”
“Over there, I think.”
Liam pointed with his chin at something in the distance. At first, nothing was visible. Only after the car advanced further did a faint light appear.
Liam turned off the engine.
“From here we walk. With nothing around us, the engine sound would carry too far.”
“Understood.”
The three of them exited the car in turn. The moon overhead cast a dim, pale light across the darkness.
Liam took the lead, followed by Hee-ju, with Peter last. They advanced slowly, watching their footing carefully.
“Ugh.”
Peter’s foot plunged deep as he stepped into a hollow. Hee-ju offered him her hand.
“Are you all right?”
“Thank you.”
Peter, offering an embarrassed smile, looked ahead again.
Liam, who had paused for a moment, resumed his careful advance. The other two followed in his wake.
At one point, Liam crouched low and raised his palm. It was a Signal to stop. Hee-ju and Peter held their breath behind him.
The Cabin was no more than twenty meters away. Through Liam’s shoulder, Hee-ju surveyed the surroundings.
An old Cabin and Warehouse loomed into view. Beyond them stretched perfect darkness, casting no shadow. It was the Lake.
An old, dilapidated boat, tethered to a wooden dock, bobbed gently with the current.
“Wait here.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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