190 Who are You?

The investigators then led the team for the search for Verdan Zhou.

Earlier, with the help of their witness, they had tracked the house where the Young Master was being kept..

Midori held her son close as the bumpy road to the small town required them to ride a local jeep right after alighting their boat.

Aoi Xiu and Vanessa Zhou tried to share her burden of protecting Dmitri throughout the long journey, but she insisted on caring for her son because of her guilt of neglecting him.

After hours of travel, they arrived in the small village near the sea.

A man in an all-black attire, despite the suffocatingly hot weather, approached Vanessa Zhou.

"Miss, the Young Master was seen to have come out and into that house." He pointed to a nipa hut surrounded by bushes and shrubs.

Vanessa Zhou nodded. She took a deep breath, then she started walking towards the small house.

Before she could arrive at the door, the towering figure with the face of her brother came out from the makeshift front door.

"Verdan..." she whispered, more to herself than to call out to him.

This was muffled by a shout.

"Dan!" Midori Xiu bolted to the man who just came out and hugged him tightly, as if she would not let go.

It was a good thing that Aoi Xiu had taken her grandson from her daughter when they arrived at the place.

All eyes to the man were wide.

A month ago, they had held a funeral for him, but now, he is clearly still alive.

"Dan..." Midori kept her tight embrace as she started crying.

The towering man before her looked baffled. He eyed the people surrounding them.

"Who...who are you?" he asked, confused.

A tear dropped down Vanessa Zhou's cheek. Her brother seemed to have lost his memory.

Midori stopped sobbing and gasped. "Dan, it's me, Midori!" Her tone was laced with pleading.

"I...I don't..." He shook his head as he gently pushed the fragile-looking woman before him.

"Papa?" A little voice called out.

The man managed to push Midori at arm's length from him as the child came out.

"Papa, who are they?" A little girl came out of the house and held onto the man's pants. She looked up to him as she asked.

"Uhm...I...uhm, sweetheart, could you get back inside the house. Papa will just tell these folks some directions."

"Oh...okay." The girl obediently went back into the house.

When he was certain that the girl will not be hearing the conversation, he looked at the people before him with a stern expression.

"I'm sorry. I believe you got the wrong person. I do not know anyone of you. Please leave me and my family alone."

"Dan! How can you say that?! We're married! See, here's my wedding ring, and you..." Midori showed her engagement ring and wedding ring set on her ring finger. However, she stopped as she found a different ring on the ring finger of the man.

"Yes, I'm married, but not to you. Please don't make things difficult for my family. My daughter is young. She could easily misunderstand." The man kept his composure and chose to be civilized.

Vanessa Zhou was about to burst in irritation and anger, but she controlled herself when she noticed Midori's reaction.

Midori heaved a heavy sigh. Then she smiled ever so sweetly.

"Oh, I'm sorry...sir. We might have truly gotten the wrong person. Please excuse my earlier behavior. Please rest assured that we will not bother you and your family...ever again." The last two words were heavy as she almost choked as she blurted them out.

With a tear-jerky expression, she turned around and never turned back. She went straight back into the jeep they rode on the way and never looked back on the direction of the man.

Vanessa Zhou was hesitant, but she just shook her head in regret and followed Midori into the vehicle.

The rest of the search party followed through, and it was not long until the engine started and dust was the only trace of the people who came looking for the man.

After they had gone, the woman called 'Eleanor' came back from the market.

"Luis! Why are you just standing outside in this heat?" She had a worried and tired expression.

She looked towards the direction the man was staring at.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

The man shook his head. "Nothing." He changed his confused expression and smiled at her. "Are you tired? Let me carry that for you." He tried to get the basket from her arm.

"No! You...you're still recovering." She said worriedly as she shook her head.

"It's fine. Your husband is not that weak." He successfully took the basket from her arm and entered the house.

The smile from Eleanor's face disappeared when he turned his back on her. She glanced at the area he was previously staring at before she stepped into the house.