Chapter 242: The Dark Moon
"So what is it that you want to know about the incidents that you and your... husbands... have been trying to investigate for such a long time," Esme asked as he took a seat on the chair that was sitting a little bit away from the bed where Annalise was perched in a corner with her hands wrapped around her legs and her gaze set on the man.
She didn’t miss to notice the way he mentioned her husbands or how he literally mocked them over their investigation of the Portal Hall incidents. Still, she ignored all of that and just focused on the main matter at hand while replying, "Everything. I want to know what exactly happened in those attacks and if possible... who was behind these attacks."
Esme immediately shook his head but it was not in denial to answer her questions and his next words cleared it. "You are really asking for a lot... especially with that later part."
Annalise couldn’t help herself from getting excited and even more hopeful as the wheels inside her brain started turning. He didn’t refuse to help her even after knowing what she wanted to find out and despite his words, he didn’t say that he had no clue about the identity of the attackers.
"You know about them, don’t you? The attackers... you know who they are..." She found herself saying the words softly and watched as his gaze once again read her in silence for a while before he finally responded, "I do but you are asking a lot from me, especially about that identity issue. Telling you the identity of the attackers won’t do me anything good, it’s almost like me digging a grave for myself. Give me a reason for still helping you."
Annalise tried to understand the hi#den meaning behind his words. Why would revealing the identity of those attackers would be a problem for him? She couldn’t really come up with a conclusion without her mind thinking of the worst-case scenarios.
"Then you tell me... Why telling me about the attackers is a loss for you?" She asked after thinking for a while. The current situation needed her to trade with caution so that she would not be at a loss in this so-called deal of theirs to help each other with the things they needed to know the most at the moment.
"Are we going to play the game to questions? If that’s the case, I want to have equal rights in this. On question each and the other needs to answer truthfully. What do you say?" Esme suddenly suggested, seeming way too excited about the idea all of a sudden.
"I thought you know everything about me." Annalise retorted and watched the man shaking his head before he answered, "I know all the important things but there’s still a lot I would like to know just for passing the time."
Annalise took in a deep breath as she tried to not feel offended by his words. In the end, she ended up agreeing with his idea. "Alright, let’s do that. So, now you need to answer my question." She didn’t forget to remind him that she had already asked her a question that he hadn’t answered yet.
Esme didn’t waste any more time and just answered while shrugging his shoulders, "Well, the reason is that those so-called attackers are people I know very well. Telling you about them is like me betraying them which makes it a clear loss for me."