Chapter 120: Did you murder someone
Inside the ice cream parlor, an unusual silence hung over the table.
Mark and Hannah sat across from Clara, both watching her cautiously.
After catching them red-handed kissing...
She hadn’t said a single word.
Instead, she quietly focused on her ice cream, eating it as though it were the most important mission of the night.
Mark leaned toward Hannah and whispered nervously,
"Hannah... why isn’t Madam saying anything?"
His voice was barely audible.
Unfortunately for him, hiding behind Hannah wasn’t exactly possible.
At six feet tall, his broad frame stuck out from behind the five-foot-six woman like a lamppost trying to hide behind a tree.
Hannah shot him an unimpressed look.
"You know I can’t actually hide you, right?"
"I know..." Mark sighed dramatically. "But emotionally, I feel safer back here."
Hannah rolled her eyes.
Even after she had dragged him to the ice cream parlor to calm down, he still looked like a man waiting to hear his death sentence.
Compared to Mark, Hannah had recovered much faster from the initial shock.
What bothered her wasn’t the fact that Clara had caught them.
It was...
The pajamas.
Her gaze slowly traveled over Clara’s fluffy sleepwear.
She had clearly sneaked out.
Which also meant Dominic had absolutely no idea where his wife was.
That thought alone made Hannah suspicious.
Finally, she broke the silence.
"So..." she said carefully. "What do you want us to do, Clara?"
Clara stopped midway through another spoonful of ice cream.
The two women exchanged a knowing look before Clara sighed.
"It’s simple."
She pointed her spoon at them. "My brother—"
"You mean your... brother," Hannah corrected.
"Fine." Clara rolled her eyes. "Your brother must never find out I snuck out tonight."
She paused before pointing the spoon at the couple.
"And your relationship is completely safe with me."
The instant those words left her mouth, Mark looked as though he had been granted a royal pardon.
His eyes sparkled.
"Madam... you are an angel!" He instinctively reached across the table to grab her hands in gratitude.
Halfway there... he froze. A terrifying image of Dominic appeared in his mind.
Mark slowly withdrew his hand.
"...Never mind. I suddenly remembered I enjoy having all ten fingers."
Clara burst into laughter. Hannah pretended not to know him. Then she looked seriously at Clara.
"Now answer my question. Why are you wandering around the city at this hour?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you out causing trouble again?"
Based on past experience... it was a perfectly reasonable question.
Clara looked down at her pajamas before smiling innocently.
"For now... I can honestly say I haven’t caused any trouble." She paused. "...Not intentionally, anyway."
The image of Thomas fainting after being threatened by a "talking ghost cat" flashed through her mind.
He’ll wake up tomorrow. Probably.
Hannah studied her expression before pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I want to believe you. I really do. But somehow... I just can’t."
Clara simply shrugged and continued eating her ice cream as if nothing had happened.
Across the table, Mark and Hannah exchanged helpless smiles. At least Clara hadn’t interrogated them.
If Jonathan, Grace, or worse... if Dominic found out about their relationship, they certainly wouldn’t escape this easily.
After finishing their ice cream, the three left the parlor together before going their separate ways.
Each of them carried a secret home that night. The only difference was... Clara was carrying more than one.
***
As soon as Hannah’s car came to a stop outside the Pearl Mansion, she noticed Clara staring at her phone with unusual concentration.
"Clara?"
The sudden call snapped Clara out of her thoughts. She blinked before looking down at the phone in her hand.
"...Never mind." Without another word, she slipped it back into her pocket and turned to Hannah with a bright smile.
Hannah couldn’t help letting out a helpless sigh.
"Clara... are you sure I shouldn’t be worried?"
She folded her arms. "Because the calmer you look, the more nervous I become."
The old Clara would have exploded by now. She would have stormed into battle without leaving a single stone unturned.
But this version of Clara... the one who smiled sweetly while looking suspiciously innocent... terrified Hannah far more.
Clara looked at her in confusion. "What exactly do you want to know?"
"The truth."
Hannah answered without hesitation. "I want to hear that you haven’t caused any problems tonight."
She gestured toward Clara’s pajamas.
"I had no idea you were staying at the Pearl Mansion. And I definitely don’t believe you snuck out in pajamas just because you suddenly wanted ice cream."
Clara smiled awkwardly.
"...Fair."
There was a brief silence before she looked at Hannah thoughtfully.
"Random question."
Hannah instantly became alert. "What?"
"What are the chances of a drunk man remembering he saw a ghost after he wakes up tomorrow?"
"..."
Hannah stared at her. Then at Clara’s muddy pajamas. Then back at Clara.
Her expression slowly changed from confusion... to horror.
"Clara...did you kill someone and bury the body?"
Clara nearly choked.
"What?!"
Hannah pointed dramatically at the mud covering Clara’s clothes.
"Don’t lie to me. That dirt didn’t get there from buying ice cream."
She took one cautious step backward.
"You disappeared in the middle of the night... You came back covered in mud... And now you’re asking whether a witness will remember seeing a ghost."
She gasped loudly. "Oh my God...you murdered someone!"
Clara’s lips twitched.
For one terrifying second, she genuinely considered knocking some sense into Hannah. Instead, she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I did not murder anyone. I can’t even kill a fly." She paused.
"Actually... that’s a lie. I’ve accidentally killed a few mosquitoes."
Hannah remained silent.
"...That isn’t helping your case."
Clara sighed dramatically. "I promise no one died tonight."
Hannah studied her for several long seconds. Looking at Clara’s relaxed expression, most of her panic slowly faded.
"...Fine. I’ll believe you."
"Good."
Clara smiled. "Now remember our deal. My secret stays with you and your relationship stays with me."
Hannah nodded.
"Deal."
The two got out of the car and quietly walked into the mansion.
Hannah was still silently wondering whether Clara had secretly traumatized some poor stranger...
While Clara was looking forward to nothing more than crawling into bed and sleeping until noon.
Unfortunately... the moment they stepped inside the living room, both women froze.
A familiar man was sitting calmly on the sofa with his arms crossed. His expression was unreadable.
Hannah’s face instantly lost all color.
"B-Brother... what are you doing here?"