Bullet In The Heart

It was already ten o'clock in the evening when Jessie Lin came home from school. The street was full of noise, as if it were very lively. However, her heart was still depressed.

With her eyes full of sadness, she could not even remember when she had started to become accustomed to live all by herself.

Although she was not physically alone in the house, she still felt like it, and acted like she was alone. She did everything all by herself-eating, sleeping, shopping, and even leisurely watching drama series on her own.

Being like an introvert, it seemed that Jessie Lin had always been alienated and very difficult to get close to.

Meanwhile, when Jessie Lin arrived home, the villa was as dark as usual. However, today was a little bit different for it seemed more unusual than before. When she came home, she saw the Butler, Lucy, waiting at the door.

"Oh, hey, Lucy! Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I'm glad you're back, Miss Jessie. The master is waiting for you in the study upstairs. He asked you to go to him as soon as you came back."

Jessie Lin then looked up at the study on the second floor. She gave Lucy a quick nod and a yes, and then went upstairs.

Rat-tat!

"Come in."

Jessie Lin pushed the door open and stood beside the desk. In a low voice, she began to talk to her father and asked, "Dad, what can I do for you?"

"There you are. Yes, in fact, I have something important to discuss with you. Have a seat." Darren Lin, her father, put down the documents that he was holding, and said with concern, "Jessie, I know that although you are the eldest daughter of our Lin family, I am aware that I have never provided you with much good things. I know that you are going to graduate next year, and you are too innocent for your own good. Which brings me to my decision to arrange your marriage. I want to find a good man for you, so that you will have someone to rely on in the future."

Darren Lin spoke as if he were a good father to her. He felt guilty and wanted to make up for his past mistakes because he very well knew that he had owed her a lot, and for many reasons.

'Innocent, huh?'

Jessie Lin sneered at herself. Ever since she was ten years old, she had already realized and had been in touch with the reality of the world around her.

She knew at an early age that she was basically a dispensable member of the Lin family, except for a little bit of value that she was worth. If she had not disguised herself, then maybe she would have never stayed alive until now!

'Hmm...Rely on?' She knew that she could only rely on herself and no one else. Who else could she rely on?

Her father who only had a brutal heart? Or her mother? But she was very mentally ill that she could not even take care of herself, let alone her own daughter!

Jessie Lin became silent for a while. With purity and innocence, she then looked straight into her father's eyes full of cunning and said, "Thank you for your concern, Dad. But I don't want anything or anyone to rely on. I just want to be with you and mother for all my life."

"Oh, my silly daughter! That would be so unfair to you! Jessie, I am just thinking about you and your future. Your mother and I will leave you on your own one day. And besides, look at your mother's current situation. I hope you understand that we can't just put all of the burden on you alone. You will be very tired if that happens. In any case, you must have heard about the Lan family. I have talked to them several times and they all like you very much. We share the same hope that our two families can be united by marriage one day."

"The Lan family?"

"Yes, you are not mistaken. In fact, the Lan family is a noble and respected family. Although Mark has some disabilities, I'm sure that your life will be secured as long as you marry him. What's a little disability for a life of comfort and security? Aside from that, as long as you are in the Lan family, we will surely have a backer in the future, and our family's business will also be..."

Upon seeing her father's sparkling eyes, Jessie Lin felt so sick of him. Just listening to his controlling demand made her despise him very much.

He said he was doing this for her.

But, she knew well what was behind his sweet words.

Come on, he was asking her to marry a disabled man! Wasn't that equivalent to destroying her whole life?

Really? For her own good? She could take care of herself and she did not need him to worry about her future! He meant well. It might have sounded promising, but in fact, he was just afraid that if she refused to marry the man, then he couldn't do business with the Lan family!

Although Jessie Lin knew about everything and what was going on, she had always worn the same mask in front of the Lin family.

She had to pretend to be docile, considerate, and obedient!

But she also knew that she couldn't be too obedient. After all, she was a person who had her own opinion and own life.

No one would believe that she would listen to every word Darren Lin said, not even herself.

"Dad, I heard that Mr. Mark was disabled and got disfigured because of a car accident. I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry, my dear daughter. I have already met Mark just recently when I went to their family's house. He wore a mask all the time except when sleeping. Don't worry, he won't scare you. Also, you won't be able to see him in the dark when you sleep. Don't be afraid. I'm sure you will be fine."

"Dad, I really don't want to be married into their family. Why don't you just let Ellie get married to Mr. Mark since the Lan family is so wealthy?"

As soon as she finished her words, Darren Lin's big palm hit the desk so hard that it almost made a hole.

But before he could say anything, his kind and guilty face suddenly changed into a malicious and angry one.

"I will be the one who arranges your sister's marriage, not you. You don't need to worry about it. Anyway, I've already set up your marriage. You'll move to the Lan family's villa in half a month. No objections! Now get out of my sight!"

Jessie Lin stood up from her chair, biting her lips. There was a mist in her clear eyes as she felt so hurt by her father's controlling and harsh words.

But just as she turned around and was about to leave, Darren Lin spoke again,

"Jessie, don't pretend to be so obedient and meek every day. I know what's in your mind. If you, by any chance, want to protect your crazy mother and your younger brother, you know what you should do!"

She closed the study's door. Her once pitiful look had long been replaced by coldness and insidiousness as her hands clenched in anger.

She thought to herself, 'One day, Darren, I will make you cry and beg me for mercy!'

Just when Jessie Lin was about to enter her room, she heard a shrill scream coming from upstairs along with the sound of things falling onto the ground.

"Oh damn you, Darren! I hate you. I'm going to kill you..... You son of bitch! Ivy! How dare you seduce my husband! Go to hell!"

The voices and cries only became louder and louder as she walked upstairs.

Jessie Lin couldn't be any more familiar with this voice. As a matter of fact, she was used to those ghostly screams every day during the time when her stepmother joined the family when she was only ten years old.

She got scare of it at first, but soon enough, she gradually adapted to it. And now, she was so used to it that she ignored it whenever she heard that sound.

Slowly, she then gently pushed the door open and saw that the room was a complete mess. The once luxurious curtains had been pulled off and were just hanging in the air. The bed was messy, along with the clothes, cosmetics, and glass pieces that were all over the floor.

Her mother was disheveled and scrunched in a corner, crying, laughing, and talking to herself.

Standing at the door, Jessie Lin looked at Irene Xiao without saying a word. She recalled that her mother was born in a rich family. When her mother was young, she was very beautiful and pleasant. During that time, she was even praised as the woman that any man would want to marry.

Knowing such a background, no one had ever expected that she would turn out to be like this in the future.

But all Jessie wanted was to walk over and hug her mother. After all, she had deeply longed for her comfort and warmth, but at the same time, she also wanted to hug her because she felt sympathy and pity for her own mother. At that moment, she just wanted to hold her mother in her arms, regardless of the reason.

However, no matter how ordinary it seemed to other people, she considered her mother's warmth and love as a luxury.

Jessie's heart throbbed that she was out of breath.

Suddenly, she looked up into Irene Xiao's blank eyes which instantly became vicious with a killing intent. Shrinking her body in horror, Jessie held the doorknob tight, while her heart immediately sank.

"Ivy Jiang, I will kill you! I will kill you!" Irene Xiao sprang up from the corner and raised a knife, rushing towards Jessie at full speed.

Frightened, Jessie then closed the door in a hurry. She held the door handle tight, and leaned against the door. With her heart full of pain, she sank and fell down on the ground.

Meanwhile, the sound of a knife slashing on the door behind her made her heart beat faster and faster by the minute.

"You devil! I will kill you..."

Irene Xiao's scream was as painful and merciless as she hurt Jessie deep in her core.

Right at that moment, Jessie's heart bled as if it were stabbed by a knife!

Tightly gripping the door, her heart beat with fear and anxiety.

At that instant, she was afraid of one thing- that once she let go of the door handle, her mother would rush out and kill her with the sharp knife.

Smiling bitterly, she thought to herself, 'This is my life! What the hell!'

For eleven years, she had no idea on how she had survived with her mother. She had asked herself countless times, but up until that day, she had no answer. Hate and anger had poured into her. She had even questioned her own existence as to why her mother had given birth to her. If she had already known that she was not going to fulfill her duties as a mother, then she should have just strangled Jessie and not give birth to her at all to save her from misery.

Living a life without the care of a father and the love of a mother, Jessie often asked herself what she did to deserve such a life.

Hearing the sound, Lucy came up and immediately lifted Jessie who was trembling on the floor.

"Miss Jessie, are you okay?" Jessie shook her head. To which Lucy replied, "Your mother's attack often happens during midnight. You'd better stay away from her so that you won't get yourself hurt."

Constant devilish screams were heard from the room. With just one look at the door, Jessie's lips trembled once more with fear. Just when Lucy was about to say something, Jessie pushed her away and quickly went downstairs. Suddenly, right after a burst sound of engine, everything went quiet.

Jessie was driving a car so fast on the road. She held the steering wheel as tight as she could while her mind was in a deep mess.

She stepped on the accelerator and put the pedal to the metal. With the piercing scream, the car rushed forward like an arrow.

Bang! The car suddenly came to an abrupt halt after it crashed. After a few seconds of silence, Jessie's senses came back. Dozens of meters away, there was a person lying on the ground. Frightened, Jessie did not know what to do.

Did she hit someone?

Biting her lips in fear, she opened the car door and got out of it. Then, she walked slowly towards the person on the ground.

Squatting down on the ground, her face turned pale out of fright at what she saw.

"Hey, you, wake up!" With her trembling finger, she poked the man who lay unconscious on the ground. Panicking, she picked up the phone and called the police for assistance.

The night was so dark, and the wind was as cold as ice, giving it a creepy vibe similar to that in a horror film.

Jessie squatted beside the person on the ground. Confused, she pat her head constantly.

How could she be so irrational?

Now, she killed a person. What should she do now?

Looking up, a dazzling object in the man's hand caught her attention.

What was he holding? What was happening?

In the woods not so far away, a pair of murderous eyes stared straight ahead of her.

----

Meanwhile, Jessie went to the police station and told them all about the accident again. Generally speaking, she was going to be detained. However, because of the reputation of the Lin family, along with the compensation that they were very much willing to give to the victim, Jessie was released on bail.

When Jessie came into the Lin's house with the lawyer, Darren, Ivy Jiang, and her sister Ellie Lin had been waiting for her in the living room.

Her heart gave a sigh of relief. For the past years, this was the first time that she saw the whole Lin family waiting for her with anticipation, as if she meant something to them.

Not used to this kind of feeling, she could not help but think of today was a blessing in disguise for her.

But before Jessie could say anything, Darren stood up and gave her a hard slap on the face which immediately broke the silence in the whole room.

Jessie kept silent as she didn't say a single word. Biting her lips, she silently endured the burning pain from her red cheek.

After all, she had already expected that this would happen to her.

Since her childhood, Darren always slapped her in her face for no reason, even though she had done nothing wrong. In the end, Darren made sure to let her feel that it was and would always be her fault.

This occurrence happened so often that she had already considered being beaten as a part of her life.

She wanted to explain her side, but she stopped herself for she thought that it was useless.

No one would listen! No one would care!

"Dad, I'm sorry."

Jessie bowed her head to apologize, although she didn't think that she had done anything wrong at all. It happened so frequently that for so many years, this had been her psychological response.

No matter what she did, she must, as always, apologize first and foremost.

"Sorry? Jessie, did you ever think about the Lin family before you went all crazy? Don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you are going to be married into the Lan family! Do you think that I can let this pass without doing anything to you? I'm warning you, Jessie. If you want to protect your mother and brother, you'd better behave yourself and don't cross the line ever again. Otherwise, I won't be nice to you anymore."

Darren was furious as he looked at his daughter in front of him.

If only she weren't useful to him, then he would not even bother to care about her at all. If she were a useless child to him, he wouldn't have had bailed her out, and even look at her, not even if she died on the street.

"You went out in the middle of the night and got us in trouble. I think you should get a psychiatric evaluation in the hospital one of these days. We should make sure that you are not getting mentally ill just like your mother. Otherwise, the Lan family won't let us go that easily." Ivy Jiang snorted, with her eyes full of contempt and disgust.

If Darren didn't insist on keeping Jessie, then Ivy would have kicked her out of the Lin family along with that crazy woman she called mother. She didn't want to see these eyesores in front of her every day!

Meanwhile, Ellie Lin yawned with sleepy eyes.

"Could you stop messing with us? Don't you know that disturbing other people's sleep is equal to murder? I don't waste my time on someone like you. Mommy, Daddy, I'm going to bed. I have to go to school tomorrow."

Darren felt even more annoyed by this. In a low voice, he ordered, "Get back to your room. I will arrange for you to move to the Lan family as soon as possible."

Seeing Jessie going upstairs, Darren immediately asked the lawyer, "So what's the result? Is the man already dead?"

Blake Wu answered, "He is not dead, but he is seriously injured. As we speak, he is now in the intensive care unit. Sir, I think..."

"Well, that's good news. Keep the accident concealed. Don't let the Lan family know anything about it. If news gets out, then I'm afraid that it will affect their marriage. Leave the other matters. Let's deal with them later."

The lawyer looked at Darren, as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated.

"Sir, I think we need a thorough investigation on Miss Jessie's case."

"Investigate?" Darren fixed his eyes on the lawyer, when suddenly, he said, "Don't waste time on her. As long as the man is alive, this should be treated just like any ordinary traffic accident. What can I say? She was just like her mother, always making troubles for me. You can go back now."

Meanwhile, when Blake Wu came out of the villa, Jessie had been waiting for him at the door.

"Jessie, were you waiting for me?" he clarified.

"Blake, was the man dead? I mean, the man that I hit yesterday? Or was he seriously injured?"

Jessie's heart was anxious. The man's situation was really important to her that she would not be able to sleep peacefully without knowing anything about his injuries.

"Don't worry. It wasn't life-threatening at all. He is still in the ICU because of some internal bleeding. I will take good care of the matter and give him a reasonable compensation. After that, everything will be fine."

Despite Blake Wu telling her that there was nothing to worry about, Jessie was still anxious.

In fact, she didn't even know who she should believe in among the Lin family or the Lin Group. As of the moment, she was still valuable to Darren. If he made up his mind to leave her alone, then she would not know what would happen to her mother and her younger brother.

Meanwhile, under the dim lights, Blake Wu looked at Jessie's red and swollen face with worry and a lot of concern.

It seemed that the car accident tonight was just an ordinary one. As he had inquired through an acquaintance in the hospital, he learned that it was true that the internal organs of the injured were ruptured seriously due to external force impact. Besides that, there were other injuries on his body.

Moreover, those said injuries had nothing to do with the car accident.

If it were just a car accident, then it would be easier to deal with. But if there were other things involved in this accident, Jessie would surely be in trouble.

Although Blake Wu wanted to tell Jessie what he was doubtful about, for the sake of Jessie's safety, he thought that it would be better to tell her when things were clear. But on the other hand, Darren didn't take it seriously. !

In the meantime, Blake Wu left as soon as they finished talking.

After washing, Jessie sat on the bed and looked at the jade pendant she took back from the scene of the accident. While she looked at the pendant with utmost focus, she then felt confused.

'Is there anyone else wearing a jade pendant right now?

If so, then why did that man hold it so tight?'

Although she didn't know much about jade pendants, she was sure that it must be something that belonged to a rich family because of the color, the unique pattern, and its style.

Just by looking at it, she was convinced that it must be invaluable.

But, judging from the way the man was dressed, she could tell that it should not be his. And besides, it was a suburb which was at least 70 or 80 kilometers away from the downtown area. The question still stood: what was he doing there in the middle of the night?

Repeatedly, Jessie thought about it, but could not figure out the relationship between the man and the jade pendant that she was holding.

Was there any secret hidden in the pendant?

Meanwhile, early the next morning, Jessie went downstairs with a pair of huge black circles around her eyes. In the dining room, she saw that Darren, Ivy and Ellie were sitting there having their breakfast together. Jessie sneered, and for a second, she felt that they were really a family.

After all, she, along with her crazy mother, and younger brother had never been in the same room for a long while now.

Well, in every sense, they were a true family, for all of them had the same ruthless and vicious character.

Whoever belonged to their family would be the tragedy of the world.

"Jessie, wait!" Darren and Ivy went out of the dining room. Darren said, "We have an appointment with the Lan family tonight. You should go shopping and buy some decent clothes to dress up. Don't be a disgrace to the Lin family."

"Darren, that won't be necessary. Ellie has lots of clothes. They are all international brands. In fact, Ellie had barely worn them. The clothes are all new. I'll pick some for Jessie later."

"Don't worry about the clothes. I can handle them myself. Come on, take it easy. I won't let you down."

---

Meanwhile, inside the Lan family, Mark Lan was standing in front of the French window, enjoying the sunlight on his body through the window.

"Mr. Mark, I have solved the problem, but.... I was not able to find it."

'What?'

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and frowned. His deep and dark eyes immediately turned insidious as he looked somewhere outside of the window. The murderous aura instantly spread all over his body, which almost chilled the air around them!

With a trembling voice, the man behind him was so frightened that he almost stuttered.

"Mr...Mr...Mr. Mark, please forgive me."

Mark Lan didn't say a word, when the people behind him didn't dare make a sound as they were all afraid that they would piss him off again.

Based on their experience, they all knew that whenever Mr. Mark got angry, he would destroy the whole world!

In that moment, Mark Lan looked into the distance, with his brain running fast.

It was his mother's birthday yesterday. He was on his way to the cemetery when all of a sudden, he encountered the killers. From that point, he clearly knew that they were sent by his father, Nelson Lan.

Ever since his mother passed away, Mark Lan had become a thorn in Nelson Lan's flesh. Despite being already 'disabled', Nelson Lan had no intention of letting him go.

After all, among his three sons, Mark Lan was the most ambitious and threatening in the bunch. Which was why in order to protect his 'hard-earned' family business, Nelson Lan had no choice but to get rid of him and take him down.

After a while, Mark Lan ordered, "Take that woman back!"

Raising his head slightly, he looked at the dazzling light with importance. Closing his eyes for a while, an obscure smile then appeared in his lips.

----

Meanwhile, as soon as Jessie just left the house, she received a call from Blake Wu. During their call, he told her that the injured died of organ failure last night. He also asked her to go to the police station immediately and that he would be there waiting for her.

However, just as Jessie got into a taxi, she felt her head spin out of dizziness and then became unconscious.

Confused, she woke up without knowing where she was and what had happened to her.

Right at that moment, she felt that her eyes were covered by something. All she knew was that it was pitch black and that she was half lying on a surface with both of her hands and feet tied up. With her limited senses, all she could only feel was that the space under her body was very narrow, that even moving an inch might cause her to fall to the ground.

Being blindfolded, disoriented, and being tied, her instincts told her that she must have been kidnapped!

With everything that was happening to her, there were still questions bogging her mind-what would they want with her and why was she kidnapped?

From where she lay, she could hear the sound of a car horn, along with its ridiculous velocity. At that point on, she definitely knew that she was inside a speeding car.

But where were they taking her?

Trying to calm herself down, all Jessie could do as of that moment was to take deep breaths.

With both her hands and feet tied up, her first and foremost action should be to untie the ropes that bound her tight.

Luckily, her hands were tied in front of her. Otherwise, it would be much more difficult for her to untie herself.

When Jessie pulled her blindfold away, she was stunned at what she saw.

She was still in the taxi this whole time!

It appeared that the man had just been waiting for her for a long time.

At that point, she could not think of anyone who would have known that she would go out at that time.

Then, hastily, Jessie began to put her hands on her mouth. When she found the knot on the rope, she began to bite it.

Biting and sawing through the knot on the rope, she didn't know how much time it would take her to free herself. After a couple of attempts, she then smelled some blood coupled with a salty taste that seemed to come from too much friction in her lip.

She wanted to go free and escape so much that her blood was all over her hands and the rope.

Jessie had no other choice but to endure the pain as she kept biting the rope that bound her. After a couple of more attempts and more bloodshed, there was a sudden click. All of a sudden, she succeeded-the rope around her wrists was now untied!

Running at full speed, the driver in front of the car seemed to continue driving as he noticed nothing unusual.