Chapter 77 - Confession

Walking inside the luxurious Hotel Regency, one of the most famous 5-star hotels in the capital of Silveren, Brigadier Lexus Jivaro take out his phone to call Gina Larson.

After telling the woman that he had arrived, he stood before the elevator, waiting for it to open. The elevator reached the ground floor in no time and the door was opened, revealing the person inside the elevator.

Brigadier Lexus briefly glanced at the man and walked inside the elevator. When the man walked past him and gets off the elevator, the Brigadier blinked. Suddenly, a bell of realization rang in his mind!

That's him! The man who made the call! His dress, the mask on his face, the cap and his stature; they were exactly the same!

He was never the type to panicked in an emergency like a well-trained soldier he was. He immediately takes out his phone and calls the soldiers outside. "I found the man. He is about to leave this hotel and his dress are exactly the same. Make sure to catch him without drawing attention. I'll be there soon." He commanded.

The Brigadier sighed in relief. In fact, he felt the pressure when he saw the footage of the man. His face was never revealed and it made him wondered how he would catch him.

When he received a report from his subordinates saying that they had finished what he ordered them to, he decided to stick to his plan until... one thing crossed the Brigadier's mind.

What was that man doing in a hotel where Gina was staying? Could it be... No! He shook his head, refusing to believe the possibility that just crossed his mind.

She won't go this far! She was not that type of person! The elevator door opened when he reached the floor where the woman was staying. He tried to ignore the things going on in his mind and get off the elevator but... he couldn't bring himself to do that.

'First, I will prove that what I'm thinking is wrong. Only then I could see her without any worries.' He made up his mind.

Without getting off, he rides back the elevator downwards and left the hotel. He gets inside his car and saw the man unconscious. He glanced at one of the soldiers to know what happened.

"I use an electric baton, sir. He will wake up after a while." One of the Private responded.

"That's good. Let's go to my family house in the West Hill. We will sort things out there."

* * *

In the dim storeroom of a huge mansion which was located in the West Hill of Silveren, one man was binded to a chair.

The storeroom was not so big and with many things stored all around the floor and each corner, the room was a suffocating one. To make things worse, the only two small windows and the door was shut with no place for fresh air to make it's way to the room. Besides, the storeroom was located in the basement of the huge mansion.

The Jivaro's bought this mansion a few years ago when the Peace Treaty was signed between the two countries. But the house was rarely occupied and workers were hired to clean it from time to time.

The man started to gain his consciousness gradually but he realized very soon that he was not in a pleasant situation. His eyes were covered, both his hands were tied to the armrest of the chair and his legs were also tied to the chair. To make sure that the chair won't move no matter how much the man struggled, it was tightly binded to the post.

Struggling to break free for a while, it doesn't seem to work at all and be started to feel the pressure. "Is anyone there?! Please help me! Please help!" He desperately shouted for help but it was more than quiet until... he was startled by a man's voice.

"It won't work. You should save your voice." Brigadier Lexus calmly said to the man. Sitting in an armchair just a few feet away, he keenly observed the man before him.

The man instantly stopped and turned his head around even though his vision was blocked by the cloth that covered his eyes. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I hunt you since last night, starting from the phone booth near that apartmental complex." Lexus hinted. "I find you sooner than I thought." He let out a light chuckle which made the body of the man tense in fear.

"Do you even know who you threatened was? If you know, I doubt that you would take the job no matter how much they pay you. If you do while knowing his identity, then you must be a fool. No... you're courting death." The Brigadier's voice was dreadfully low.

Hearing the words of his abductor, the man shivered in fear. "W -what do you mean?" He could barely ask the question.

The Brigadier ordered the soldiers to remove the piece of cloth that binded the man's eyes and the soldiers instantly do as they were told. Now that all his face was revealed, he seemed to be a very young man, maybe in his early 20s.

The man could finally see and what he first saw was the man sitting before him. Two men were standing behind the Brigadier with guns on their hands which made the man gulped in fear. But they don't wear their uniforms and he didn't know that they were soldiers.

Brigadier Lexus played the audio of the call recorded from last night. When the man heard his own words, his body became stiffer and stiffer.

Lexus paused the recording at a certain part. "Felix Valestra?" A slight smirk appeared on his lips. "It seems like you do know him. And don't bother to deny by saying that you are not the one who makes the call. I can easily prove it by having a forensic test."

"P -please let me go. I don't k -know the person." The young man stuttered. The sin he recently committed was played right before him and with the guns that could point at him anytime, he could barely speak up.

"Do you expect me to believe that? You call him by the name but you say that you didn't know him? What a nonsense!" Lexus scoffed as his sharp eyes were glued to the young man.

"P -please believe me! I'm telling the truth. I swear that I don't know -"

"Then let me tell you who Felix Valestra is. He is the Crown Prince of Edeladon." Lexus leaned forward as he observed the young man and a mockery smile appeared on his lips. "You dare to threaten the future King of our country?!"

The young man's eyes widened and his face turned pale in the blink of an eye! He wanted to say that he had no idea about it but he can't because he was tight-lipped and he was also scared at the same time.

"We are soldiers from Edeladon and we can kill you anytime, gladly on top of that," Lexus added. He was only trying to make the young man more scared. Then he would answer all his questions without reluctance.

"P -please don't kill m -me! I don't know anything about h -him. I only did as I -I was told!" The young man struggled again to break free but it only wears out his energy.

"If we report this to your government, you will be brought to Edeladon to be judged according to the laws of our country and believe me. The ones who mess with the royals never ended in a good note." Lexus deliberately said to cornered the man.

"D -don't, please! I only did be -because I need money." The young man pleaded.

"Then tell me who hired you to do that. If you answer my question, you might be safe from the punishment." Lexus offered him with a nonchalant face. He placed his elbow on the armrest and simply stared at the young man, unfazed by his pleas.

"I don't know. I have never seen her face." The young man hopefully looked at the Brigadier, pleading him to believe him.

"Lies." Brigadier Lexus remarked as he glanced at the man with disgust.

"I'm telling the truth. She never let me see her face!" The young man desperately stated.

"Seems like you're not ready to tell me everything," Lexus muttered and looked at his soldiers. "Interrogate him. Use whatever means necessary."

"Yes, sir!"

Fear was written all over the man's face when he heard the Brigadier's order. He collected all his memories of the one who hired him, trying to find some clues.

When he noticed that the Brigadier had risen from his seat, he gasped, "Wait! There is one thing."

"This must worth my time." Lexus narrowed his eyes at the man and his face was devoid of any expression.

"I was told to collect my pay in that hotel. I don't get to see her face but I know her room number. I meet her at her hotel room." The young man informed him with fear.

"The room number?" Lexus was acting indifferent but he could feel the rapid thumping of his heartbeat. He desperately wished to not hear the room number which appeared on his mind. He could barely hide his nervousness.

"Room number 501."

While the storeroom had become eerily quiet after the young man's confession, all eyes were on the Brigadier who stood still at his place with a face that was impossible to read.....