My Mute Bride - Season 1 Episode 86

Nod or Shake

Rachel stared at Justin in disbelief. That’s not what I meant.

“No? Then why were you explaining?”

I… Justin looked at her coldly. “You should know the real reason people actually respect you now. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Justin’s insult tore her to shreds, but a part of it was her fault. She tried to be frank with him, but there was always a possibility of disaster, and knowing Justin, that possibility was high.

“If there’s nothing else, you may leave now. And keep your head down.”

Rachel wanted to stay, but when she met his indifferent gaze, she had no choice but to leave. Right after she left, she bumped into Julian.

“What’s the matter? You look pale.”

Indeed, she was pale. I’m fine.

“Is it about something Justin said to you?”

Rachel shook her head, but she looked crestfallen. Her forlorn look made Julian uncomfortable for some reason, and he frowned.

Early the next morning, Rachel woke up to make breakfast.

“Good morning, Master Justin.” A servant greeted Justin, then she served him a cup of coffee.

“Madam has made breakfast for you.”

“I don’t have time for that,” he answered curtly. With that, Justin left without even looking at Rachel.

As Justin drove away to work, Rachel was left alone, sad and despondent. Justin’s sudden attitude change caught her by surprise.

That afternoon, Rachel went to the restaurant near the library to have lunch with Hans. Since the fake death plan was ruined, they set everything aside for now.

Janice said, “Burton Group closed their research center.”

Why?

“Not sure. Probably because I told Justin about the investigation. He’s a cautious man, so you can relax for now. He should be stopping everything related to the recipe for now.”

“That’s for the best.” Hans heaved a sigh of relief. “We’ll have some time to prepare. Faking your death is too risky. After all, you can’t just live your whole life with a different identity.”

Janice continued, “And there’s one more thing. It’s about your mother.”

Rachel was surprised. She did tell Janice about the secret room before, but Janice reacted weirdly back then. She said she wanted to look into it.

“If I’m correct, Jefferey will visit your mother’s grave on Ancestors’ Day.”

Why?

Janice dipped her finger in water and drew a complex shape on the table. “Is this the talisman you saw back in Jefferey’s secret chamber?”

Rachel took a look and nodded hesitantly. The memory was too vague, so she could only make out the rough shape.

“As long as it’s similar. According to your description, only wronged souls are targeted by the soul locking array and talisman. It’s similar to a case three years ago, so I recognize this talisman.”

“Can you speak English?” Hans was confused, so he urged, “Make it simple.”

“In other words, this array is locking an innocent soul. The guy who did this is probably scared that his murder victims would haunt him, so he made a secret chamber to make a tribute to appease their spirits.”

You’re saying Jefferey murdered my mother?

“You can say so for now. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this kind of case.”

Rachel froze. Even though she had suspected Jefferey for a long time now, Janice’s explanation served to deepen her guess more.

“Shame you don’t know who your mother was, or it would have been an easier case.”

Rachel looked pale. You said he’s going to visit her grave on Ancestors’ Day?

“Yes. Anyone who makes this array has to pay a tribute every Ancestors’ Day. Since he believes in the occult, I’m sure he’ll do the same.”

“Wait, that leaves us with…” Hans counted the days. “A few days to work with. Ancestors’ Day is next week.”

“If we’re right, the grave he’ll be visiting on that day is your mother’s.”

Rachel’s heart sank when she heard that.

A short while later, she left the restaurant. As they sent Rachel off, Hans started to worry. “You should have told only me, Janice. I can just get this matter investigated on my own. This is just going to pile up on her. Now she won’t leave the city before she gets to the bottom of this.”

Janice looked at him calmly. “Didn’t you feel it? She’s not in a hurry to leave.”

Hans was surprised to hear that.

As dusk descended upon the city, the neon lights drowned the skies out with its blaring blaze. The traffic, as usual, was congested.

Justin had just gotten out of a dinner appointment, a stack of documents on his lap. When he was halfway through it, the car screeched to a halt, and he was thrusted forward, causing his documents to fall.

“What happened?” Frankie held the back of his seat.

“A bike just ran across,” the driver answered fearfully. “Are you alright, Mr. Burton?”

“I’m fine.”

“Bikers are crazy.” Frankie sighed before going down to pick the documents up. But suddenly, he saw something that made him freeze.

“Mr. Burton.”

“What is it?”

He pulled out something black from under his seat and handed it to Justin.

It was a black metallic item the size of a nail. If it wasn’t because of Frankie going down to pick the documents up, nobody would have noticed this item under the seat.

Justin’s face darkened. The wind started screaming into the night, calling upon a downpour.

Back at Burton Residence, Rachel was drying her hair after her bath when she heard someone slamming the door, shocking her. Oh, you’re back. Are you done with work?

Justin had just finished a cigarette, and he was in his suit, looking furious. “Do I need to report everything to you?”

That’s not what I meant. Rachel snapped out of it, and she felt worried. Did you have dinner already? Do you want some tea?

“No.” Justin sat down beside the bed, only twenty centimeters away from Rachel. “What have you been doing for the past two days?”

Rachel paused, then she said honestly. Work. And I went to see Grandma.

“Besides that?”

Besides that? Rachel thought of Hans and Janice, and her heart sank.

“Did you see someone you shouldn’t? Or did you do anything you shouldn’t do?”

Rachel was looking more panicked by the second. The moment she shook her head, she took an involuntary step back.

However, Justin caught her hand and asked coldly, “Why do you look so panicked?”

Rachel let out a hoarse moan, but she held in the pain and shook her head. She started tearing up, but that was only a façade to Justin. The very next moment, he flung her onto the bed.

Justin looked at her haughtily. “Look at this. Take a good look at it.” He let the black listening device fall to the ground, and it spun for a while before stopping at the edge of the carpet.

Rachel paled.

Before she could answer, Justin leaned down and held her cheek tightly. “Don’t say anything. Just nod or shake your head, you hear me?”

Rachel was already on the verge of tears from the pain.