That day, Branden lost control of himself and cried in his room helplessly. His father, a vicious drunkard, wanted to beat him but was pushed to the ground by Branden. This was the first and last time that Branden resisted.
He picked up the beer bottle and smashed it on his father's forehead. Then, he dragged the rod his father used to beat him with to beat his father fiercely. Only when his father pleaded for mercy did Branden stop gradually.
He wanted revenge, for Winnie.
However, before he could take action, that group of hooligans had been arrested. It was Winnie's parents who went to the police. Back then, Branden hid outside of the village for a few days in fear that those hooligans would pass the buck to him. By the time he returned to the village, the dust had settled.
He paid a furtive visit to Winnie's house. When there was no one in the house, he sneaked in and stole a picture.
Instead of those rooms inside, Branden knocked into a room beside the kitchen. There was only a bed, a chair, and a mirror in the room. Two books were on the desk beside the bed, as well as a picture of Winnie. He picked up the picture and ran out in a hurry.
That room still lingered in his mind in these past years.
The owner of that room was not a child but the butler's son.
Branden often wondered if that boy also had a secret crush on Winnie. 'Every day, they saw each other a lot, in the morning, at night, and even ... whether Winnie had ever entered that room.'
The memory of Winne haunted Branden to the extent that he would still think of her in his midnight dreams, though he became a boss of a flour mill and provided for a family in the big city.
One day, he met a girl, who looked like Winnie, by accident.
At that moment, the demon in his heart was awakened.
The image of that little Branden who was poor, weak, and trampled down by others was a nightmare for Branden, so he pretended to be that boy, who was the son of the butler and lived beside the kitchen. He set up his room in the same way as that room beside the kitchen and then invited the fake Winnie there.
The fake Winnie was asked to dress up like a student, including a white shirt, a black skirt, white socks, and long black hair. Then, she had to read a book beside the bed, silently.
Again and again, Branden tried to restart his acquaintance, interaction, and all the others with 'Winnie'. He was anxious and eager to get rid of the pains left that night.
'Winnie' dreaded him, so he failed again and again.
His gentleness always frightened 'Winnie', just like that night more than 30 years ago. Until not long ago, he found a 'Winnie' who was not afraid of him.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with that 'Winnie', so he was preparing to divorce his wife. Before that, he went to the GY Temple to pray for the real Winnie who had been dead for a long time. However, from that day onwards, trouble came and ensued.
"Go check the list of missing children, starting from eighteen years ago. This child in the photo should be one of them. Send a few more colleagues to go with Joe. He already got the address of the escaped Merinda from Ferne."
Joe was that one Ferne mentioned.
"Yes!"
Captain Randy went straight to the director's office with Branden's confession, "Branden already acknowledged his crimes."
The director heaved a sigh of relief. He took the statement, read it carefully, and then repeated Ferne's conjecture to Captain Randy. He tapped the desk and asked, "What happened to the children from the GY Temple and House of Hope? What about Leon? He hasn't confessed yet?"
"Nikhil already opened his mouth but didn't mention the GY Temple."
"How did Ferne get the address? Try his way."
Captain Randy shot a glance at the director and asked hesitantly, "Kidnapped his daughter?"
The director opened the blinds and said, "I didn't hear anything."
Captain Randy got the hints and left with the documents on the desk. Nikhil was in the hospital. At the sight of Captain Randy, a policeman rushed over and greeted, "Captain Randy!"
"What is wrong?"
"Someone left this at the door, and I sent it over immediately." The policeman pulled a thick stack of documents out of the file pocket.
"What is it?"
Captain Randy leaned over to check, and the contents made his eyes wide-open all of a sudden.
"It seems to be ... a report from the hospital, about those children from the GY Temple." The policeman saw a piece of paper, and on it was the short introduction.
"Go, re-interrogate that old bald donkey from the GY Temple!" Captain Randy gritted his teeth.
The policeman was shocked by the sudden ferocious aura around Captain Randy and saluted, "Yes!"
On his way back to the police station, Captain Randy grabbed one colleague and instructed, "Send two men to interrogate Nikhil in the hospital! Keep playing the video of his crying daughter if he doesn't say anything!"
"Yes!"
Then, Captain Randy walked into the interrogation room, where Jamie was, coldly. Before his entry, he said to the policeman standing at the door, "Bring the abbot of the GY Temple here, outside the glass door, and let him see for himself!"
"Yes!"
Jamie's mouth was shut like a clam at first but the light in his eyes went out when Captain Randy produced Branden's confession and the report about those children.
Jamie made his first pot of gold with the help of Branden. Later, he hooked up with a wealthy woman with his charms and then ascended to the position of Dean step by step. He was always grateful to Branden. After Branden started his business, Jamie became the one who wiped his butt--collecting the corpse.
Branden would kill those panic-stricken fake Winnies eventually. This was the only way how he stopped "Winnie" from committing suicide. He morbidly believed that "Winnie" did not commit suicide or was raped. She died in his hands peacefully, without any pains.
Gradually, Jamie came into contact with that group of men, who helped Branden kidnap girls, after knowing Branden. House of Hope was not their den because Branden, out of vanity, did not allow those dirty things to happen in his territory. Thus, the GY Temple was chosen to be the den. It was desolate at night, and the children would fall in sound sleeps at the daytime, therefore, nobody should find out their trick.
However, Noah noticed their dirty deal because of a locator.
As a result, one careless move lost the whole game.
The abbot did not change his expression. Even if all his crimes were exposed in public, and even if the police held all the evidence against him, he still sat upright like a bell.
Captain Randy walked up to him, bent down slightly, and whispered in his ear, "We got from the body of one child your..." Captain Randy's voice was low, and no one else heard what he said, except for the abbot.
The expressionless abbot changed his expression suddenly.
Captain Randy sneered and threw the documents on the desk, "The abbot of the GY Temple is suspected of raping a young girl. We get the proofs here! Take him into custody! Wait for the court to announce his crimes!"
Nikhil, who was lying on his sickbed, saw his daughter crying in the video and collapsed instantly, "Please let her go .... I confess, I'll confess!"