181: 180 Finally, he pulled out the question that had been circling in his mind all along. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand. What method had these bastards used? Dane couldn't contain his impatience and continued questioning. "Why did Greyson obediently let himself be kidnapped? I can't understand it at all. If he had made up his mind, all those bastards at that time…" Could have been killed right there. Dane barely swallowed the last words. After parting with Greyson Miller that way, he had suddenly thought of this question. What had started small gradually grew larger, eventually becoming an unsolvable mystery, tormenting Dane constantly like a splinter under his nail that couldn't be pulled out. Why? For what reason? He couldn't ask Greyson about it now. The only person who could tell Dane the reason was the man sitting in front of him. At his expression that now seemed almost desperate, Ezra showed a somewhat surprised look but soon became dejected and lowered his head. "It was because of me." "What?" At the unexpected answer, Dane could only frown and ask back. But Ezra still answered in a subdued voice, perhaps trembling somewhat due to guilt. "It was because of me. I begged him… Please go along with those people obediently. Otherwise, me and my entire family would die." Dane blinked blankly. He had come this far thinking his questions would be answered, but instead an even bigger question arose. Ridiculous – just because of those words, that guy had quietly been dragged away and even tortured? For Ezra and his family? "…That's all?" At Dane's question, still disbelieving, Ezra nodded. "That's everything." At the repeated answer, Dane said nothing. He just silently stared at Ezra. Whether the silence was uncomfortable, or whether he thought more explanation was needed, Ezra spoke again. "At first, he seemed to find it absurd. But when I said I desperately needed money, that I had no choice, that I was sorry… When I begged and cried, maybe because of that…" Ezra let out a big sigh. "Honestly, I don't know either. At first, Miller seemed to be mocking me. No matter how much I begged, he didn't seem to listen, but suddenly…" At his face suffering with regret, Dane still remained silent. Ezra's words kept circling in his head. Dane, who had been dazed as if picturing that day's events before his eyes, opened his mouth. But his lips, which soon closed again, hardly opened afterward. No way. Dane vaguely thought. No way, really. He couldn't think of any other reason. He had tried to deny it until now, but he couldn't anymore. Because the answer ultimately came down to one thing. The reason Greyson's attitude changed, the reason he obediently let himself be dragged away by those guys was precisely… Because of me. Finally, after a few more seconds of silence, a slow but deep, deep sigh flowed out between his lips. "That bastard…" Dane's expression as he put one hand to his forehead looked somehow very tormented. Ezra thought he had noticed something, but Dane didn't bother to explain and said something else. "I understand, thanks for telling me." "Yeah…" Actually, the one receiving thanks felt more embarrassed. It wasn't much of a story, he thought, and Ezra, who had bitterly lowered his gaze, carefully asked. "Um, that… How is Miller doing? I wanted to apologize and say I was sorry, but I couldn't meet him…" "I don't know, I haven't seen him in a long time either." At Dane's businesslike tone, Ezra was flustered but could only say "I see." Just then, the guard waiting behind signaled that visiting time was almost over. Ezra, who had glanced back, looked at Dane and offered a farewell. "It was good to see your face after so long. Thanks for coming." "Yeah… Take care." At the conventional farewell, Dane also said the prescribed words. Just as he was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly stopped moving. At the unexpected action, Ezra also stopped trying to hang up, so Dane brought the phone back to his face and opened his mouth. "One more thing I'm curious about." "Yeah. What is it?" Though time was almost up, Ezra asked back without concern. Only then did Dane voice the question he had forgotten. "Why didn't you sell that necklace? When you were in such desperate need." At Dane's question, Ezra blinked as if puzzled. "Necklace…? What?" Seeing him completely unaware of what he was talking about, Dane explained. "The necklace that bear doll was wearing. They said it would be worth about 400,000 dollars." Ezra, who seemed to be searching his memory for a moment, soon turned pale as if shocked. Unable to make a sound with his mouth open, after several attempts he asked in a completely cracked voice. "4, 400,000?" "Yeah. Didn't you know?" When Dane asked again, Ezra muttered as if completely out of his mind. "That wasn't fake…?" Seeing his reaction of having no idea of its value, Dane immediately became suspicious. "How did you get it? That necklace." At the cold voice, Ezra, who seemed to come to his senses and was startled, soon lowered his head with a dejected face. "Miller." In a completely choked voice, he muttered. "Miller gave it to me, as a birthday present for my child." Dane wasn't surprised. Though he found it strange himself, perhaps he had been expecting it inwardly. Ezra was soon sobbing as he continued. "He even told me to look into the necklace, he did, but…" The sobbing soon turned to crying. Why didn't I check it earlier? Belated regret overwhelmed him. He knew the answer. Because he didn't want to admit it. Even while rationalizing himself saying it was for his family, for Sandra, that he had no choice, not checking it until the end was all because of his own cowardice. Because the moment he confirmed that fact, he would have had to pay a harsh price for what he had done. His cowardly self who had the courage to push a complete stranger near death for his family, but lacked the courage to have his rationalization denied. "Ugh, ughhh, huhhhhh…" Ezra began crying out loud. The watching guard grabbed his arm, announcing that the visit was over. "Get up, let's go." Led by the guard, Ezra stood up. As he walked unsteadily and approached the door, he suddenly shook off the guard's hand and began banging his head against the wall. The guard inside tried to grab and stop him, but Ezra cried and continued banging his head against the wall. Soon watching the blood stains spread on the wall, Dane silently turned around and left the visiting room. When he came outside, the world was still bright and the sky spread out bright blue. Dane, who had looked up at the distant cloudless sky with a frowning face, let out a low sigh. "Stupid bastard." He couldn't tell himself who the curse was directed at. Was it for Ezra who had made nothing but wrong choices to the end, or… What occupied his mind wasn't the image of Ezra who had just been tormented by guilt while bleeding from his head. With a deep breath close to a sigh, he spat out his complicated feelings in a low voice. "In that situation, you should have hit Ezra first." Wasn't that obvious? To be dragged away without protest at such ridiculous threats – it would be better to beat Ezra until he came to his senses and find a solution together. But the reason that guy made such an absurd choice was obvious. "Damn bastard, you really don't know anything about me." Dane kicked the car tire in pointless venting. After parting that way at Disneyland that day, Greyson really hadn't contacted him even once. He couldn't even know how he was doing. Even though the season was already passing. Thank you for everything. I won't forget. Those were Greyson's last words. He had smiled with a face swollen from crying. Faintly, like a flower that had bloomed brightly was now fading. Goodbye. The memory of standing there watching his car disappear still remained vivid in his mind like yesterday, refusing to be erased. Finally, Dane irritably ruffled his hair and muttered. "I was the one who said to stop first. What do you mean let's break up? When did we ever agree to meet again…" Even grumbling to himself, there was still no response. After slowly looking around once, Dane confirmed he was alone and soon bitterly closed his mouth. What is that guy doing? Unable to shake off the sudden thought, he stood there for a long time. Alone, as he had always been, with no one there. But somehow, Dane felt that fact more keenly than ever. * * * Opening the window and going out, there was a direct connection to a wide balcony, below which a huge park could be seen. On good weather days, sitting at the tea table surrounded by a small garden made on the balcony, having simple meals or drinking tea while looking down at the park was one of Koi's favorite activities. This was precisely why he hadn't disposed of this penthouse earlier. Thanks to this, when Koi's children had business staying on the East Coast, they often stayed here. When Koi heard that one of his sons was here, he dropped everything and rushed there first. "Hello, Niles-san." "Hello, Benjamin." Koi, who warmly greeted the doorman at the entrance, generously tipped him after he pressed the private elevator button, then headed up. The closer he got to the top floor, the faster his heart beat. His face quickly turned pink, and as soon as the elevator door opened, he immediately rushed into the entrance. Then the name he had kept in his heart all along burst out. "Greyson!"