Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

In the distance, I saw a familiar figure slowly making his way over.

"Faris!"

The group that had been chatting and laughing earlier all stood up one by one.

The moonlight was pretty dim tonight, so I couldn't really make out Faris's expression. All I could see was the red glow from the cigarette in his mouth.

He stopped in front of them and pointed at each one with his finger.

Without a word, they all looked a bit scared.

Then, Faris shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards us.

"Faris, what brings you here?" The guy with the crew cut grinned nervously at him.

Faris walked up and, without a word, gave him a hard kick.

The guy didn't dare fight back, not even making a sound.

"Who told you to act on your own?" Faris took the cigarette out of his mouth and asked coldly.

None of them dared to speak. Finally, the crew-cut guy, who had just been kicked, cautiously explained, "Faris, we all know Ethan did it. You've been busy, and with your grandma passing, we know you're not feeling great, so we decided to help you get revenge. We've already investigated. These two women, one is his wife and the other is said to be his mistress. To be safe, we brought both of them here. One of them must be important to him."

Faris suddenly threw down his cigarette and kicked him several more times.

The crew-cut guy kept retreating while being beaten, begging for mercy. "Faris, please, I was wrong."

He backed into the group of men, who also stepped back, afraid of getting involved.

Faris kicked over a beer bottle on the ground, making a loud clanging noise.

One of the men wanted to step forward to clean up the scattered beer bottles, but Faris suddenly picked up a bottle and smashed it against a rock.

The man who had just bent down was so scared he fell to the ground.

Faris picked up beer bottles one after another, smashing both the full and empty ones to pieces. Beer foam and glass shards flew everywhere, and the continuous smashing sounds were deafening. The men didn't dare get close or retreat too far. They stood at a distance, heads lowered, letting the shards splash on them.

Finally, when there were no more bottles to smash and he had vented enough, Faris bent slightly forward, his shoulders rising and falling slowly and heavily.

For some reason, I felt that this frenzied figure was filled with sadness.

The crew-cut guy mentioned Faris's grandma's passing. Was he talking about Cindy?

But I remember the last time Faris took me to see her, she looked so lively and healthy. On New Year's Eve, he even invited me to have a reunion dinner with her. How could this be? Faris stood there for what felt like forever, like he had no energy left to move.

After a bit, the crew-cut guy finally got the guts to step forward and cautiously said, "Faris, if you think it's not right, we can just send them back."

"Send them back, my ass!" Faris snapped.

The crew-cut guy looked confused, then heard Faris say, "Call Ethan."

My heart skipped a beat.

The guy was stunned for a few seconds before he got it. He forgot about the beating he just took and nodded excitedly. "Alright, I'll call him right away."

He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Ethan, your wife and mistress are with us. If you want them alive, come alone. Remember, alone. Don't try any tricks. If you call the cops, we'll throw their bodies off the cliff."

I didn't know what Ethan said on the phone, but the crew-cut guy snorted. "Money? Faris doesn't need money."

The crew-cut guy gave the address and hung up.

Faris slowly turned around and we locked eyes.

He was expressionless, but I could feel the cold radiating from him, colder than the night air.

I didn't want my eyes to give away too much-helplessness, fear, or pleading.

I looked away, staring into the distance.

From up here on the mountaintop, you could see far, but everything was pitch black.

The deep sky looked like a massive black hole, slowly sucking away hope, leaving only despair.

I didn't know what would happen tonight. Honestly, I really didn't want Ethan to show up. Even if I'd be disappointed if he didn't, even if I might end up at the bottom of the cliff, I didn't want him to come. I didn't want him to be in danger or under threat.

No wonder Victor never liked me as his daughter-in-law. Not only could I not help Ethan, but I always ended up being a burden.

When I looked back from the distant horizon, Faris was already sitting on a large boulder at the edge of the cliff.

The rock was right at the cliff's edge, like it could tumble off at any moment.

But Faris sat on it calmly, seemingly unaware of the danger.

He faced the cliff, silently smoking.

Most of the time, he didn't even smoke; he just let the cigarette burn to the end.

When one cigarette was about to burn out, he'd light another with the nearly burnt-out butt, then toss the butt off the cliff and put the new one in his mouth, repeating the process.

It was freezing up on the cliff. I shivered a few times, and I saw Faye trembling too.

But Faris sat on the rock against the wind, seemingly oblivious.

The other guys either sat or stood, all waiting in silence.

I didn't know how long it had been before I faintly heard the sound of an engine. This faint noise heightened all my senses, and I immediately perked up to listen carefully.

A car was coming up. Was it him?

Before long, headlights cut through the darkness on the mountaintop. That car, which I knew so well, sped up and came to a halt.

Seeing the familiar figure get out of the car, my heart skipped a beat.

When Faye saw Ethan appear, she made excited, muffled sounds.

"Faris, he's here," the crew-cut guy shouted.

Faris didn't move. I think he already knew it was Ethan.

Ethan's eyes locked on me first. Then he walked towards me with firm, steady steps.

When he was about 10 feet away from me, a skinny guy blocked his path.

"Ethan, you got here pretty fast," the skinny guy mocked.

Ethan got straight to the point. "What do you want?"

A light laugh came from nearby, and Faris jumped down from the rock.

"I want your woman," he said, trying to sound casual.

Hearing Faris say this, the other men seemed encouraged, and their unruly nature resurfaced.

Two men walked towards us with lecherous grins, one heading towards Faye, the other towards me.

One man grabbed my chin, forcing me to lift my head.

"Ethan, you better behave, or we'll play them to death."

Ethan's expression stayed the same. He remained calm and composed, saying, "No way!"

Faris suddenly seemed to fly into a rage, throwing the half-smoked cigarette at Ethan's feet.

"Ethan, what are you so arrogant about? I have yet to settle accounts with your family from back then, and now you owe the Melville family a life. Making the Windsor family fall apart isn't enough!" These words made me shiver with fear.

Facing Faris's accusations, Ethan remained calm. "I didn't do the cemetery thing."

The crew-cut guy suddenly picked up a thick stick and struck Ethan's knee hard.

The blow was loud, and Ethan, caught off guard, knelt on the ground.

The crew-cut guy cursed, "You're fucking lying! Do you think we're idiots? If it wasn't you, why did you show up there at that exact moment? Don't tell me you were out taking a midnight stroll." The blow must have been brutal. Ethan knelt on one knee, head bowed, looking like he wanted to stand up but couldn't for the moment. Seeing this broke my heart.

Faye was also anxious, but she couldn't speak, only making fragmented sounds.

Ethan was actually a proud man, the kind who would rather bleed than bow his head.

At this moment, if it weren't for Faye and me, I think he would have fought them until death.

After about a minute, he finally supported himself on his knee and slowly stood up.

He stood straight and tall.

"Give me two days, and I will find out the truth and give you an explanation," Ethan said, looking at Faris.

To stay so calm after being hit was already a compromise.

The crew-cut guy snorted, rhythmically tapping the thick stick in his hand. "Do you think you can stall for time? Why should we believe you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Faris said, "Alright, I'll give you two days."

The crew-cut guy and the others looked at Faris in surprise, as if they thought he had agreed too easily and there was something wrong.

But then, Faris gave a sinister smile. "However, you can only take one woman. As for the other one, I'll throw her off this cliff so she can accompany the Melville family in death."

Faris's seemingly casual words were like a voice from hell.

Faye began to cry, all her sounds muffled in her throat, but her fear was obvious.

"I'll be the one to accompany them," Ethan stated.

I widened my eyes and shook my head vigorously.

Faris snorted. "It won't be any fun if you die. This game isn't over yet. We still have to keep playing."

Then, Faris turned around and pointed at Faye and me, signaling to the two men standing beside us. "Give them each a minute to plead for their lives."

The two men understood and immediately tore the tape off our mouths.

Faye's cries and pleas erupted instantly. "Ethan, I don't want to die. I don't want to die like my sister. Ethan, save me! You must save me!"

Faye was young. It was normal for her to be this scared in the face of death.

I was also afraid of dying. But hearing Faye's pleas made me suddenly not want to say anything at all.

In the end, I bit my lip hard and didn't make a sound.

But Faye kept crying and begging, afraid that Ethan wouldn't choose her, fearful of being shattered to pieces.

My silence made Faris narrow his eyes. He stared at me for a while. Then he turned back and smirked coldly at Ethan.

"So, have you decided who to take?"