Chapter 25
Jessie froze. “Brandon, were you behind what happened to my parents too?”
Brandon shrugged. “No. That was all Anna. I had nothing to do with it. We’re just working together. She wants those two old fools dead, and I wanted to use them to lure you out. We’re partners.”
“You’re so despicable!”
In Jessie’s memories, Brandon had always been gentle and refined. How had he become like this?
Instead of getting angry, he just sneered, “Yes, I’m despicable, but that’s because I love you too much. Jessie, just wait a bit longer. In half an hour, the helicopter will be here. I bought an island overseas. Once we’re there, it’ll be just the two of us. You used to say all you wanted was a quiet life with me. Now, it’s finally happening.”
Alisha, who had been tossed to the ground earlier, was awake now. As soon as she opened her eyes, all she heard was Brandon’s delusional fantasy.
She spat, “Dream on, you scumbag! Jessie is my sister–in–law! Let us go right now, or when Zane gets here, he’ll tear you apart!”
Brandon’s expression instantly darkened at the mention of Zane’s name.
“Everyone in the Stafford family is annoying as hell. Zane crippled my leg, so I’ll break both of yours as payback.”
He pulled a pistol from his waistband and loaded it with a click.
In the split second before he pulled the trigger, Jessie screamed, “Brandon! If you lay a finger on her, I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself right here!”
Brandon’s finger slipped off the trigger. He stared at Jessie, smiling faintly. “Fine. I won’t shoot. I’ll let her go.”
Jessie barely had time to exhale in relief before someone strutted in on high heels, making her
blood run cold.
“Brandon, are those two old fools dead yet?” Anna walked in on heels, exuding a sharp,
venomous energy.
Jessie clenched her fists. Her voice trembled with fury. “Anna! They treated you so well. How could you do this to them?”
“Treated me well? They were only nice because I knew how to play the victim. Do you really
Chapter 25
think they’d treat an adopted daughter like me so kindly otherwise? They were just two gullible fools, and that’s why they ended up like this. I could’ve gone easy on them, for old times‘ sake.
“But they insisted on marrying me off to Brandon. That’s what pissed me off. But none of this would’ve worked without Brandon’s help. He knew I didn’t love him anymore, and he still agreed to help me. As long as those two are dead and you’re out of the picture, everything in the Hickman family is mine.”
Jessie trembled with fury. She had never met anyone so shameless in her life. But before she could respond, Brandon suddenly lifted his gun and fired a shot straight into Anna’s chest.
Everyone was stunned, especially Anna. Her knees buckled, and she fell straight to the ground. Her eyes widened with shock.
“I thought we were allies. Why?”
Brandon’s lips curled into a chilling smile. He glanced sideways at her and said, “Allies? Do you really think I didn’t know what you were up to overseas? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had to go to such extremes and take Jessie away from home. That’s why you have to die.
“I only got close to you to use you. I never thought you’d be such a gullible fool. You can die now since you’ve done your job.”
Brandon’s voice was so cold and ruthless that even Jessie found him almost unrecognizable. Anna lay sprawled on the floor, trying to crawl toward the door. But before she could make it,
she took her final breath.
Brandon sneered and called in a bodyguard. “Get rid of her body. Feed it to the dogs.”
