This was abnormal, far too abnormal! This was completely out of character for Thomas Shannon!
Upon returning to the castle, Sophie Sullivan’s first reaction was to go upstairs to her bedroom.
Thomas Shannon followed her at a leisurely pace, like a hunter assured of his catch, watching his prey flee in panic.
Back in the bedroom, Sophie sat on the sofa. She sat for a while, but Thomas Shannon didn’t come in.
She breathed a small sigh of relief. Could her premonition have been wrong?
Thomas Shannon sat in the boss chair, looking through some documents in his hand.
Charlie River stood quietly to the side. "Young Master, so far, this is all we’ve found. What is certain is that the group investigating the ’maniac’ are not her enemies."
Not enemies? So, it’s quite possible they’re connected to her. Relatives, or... lovers?
Thomas Shannon’s lips curved into a faint smile. His fingers, holding a cigarette, twitched slightly as he tapped off the cigarette ash. "Have you done everything as I instructed?"
"Yes, Young Master. We’ve already diverted the clues elsewhere. They’re still on that trail."
He closed the documents, covering the image of the man with a radiant smile on the desk.
Thomas Shannon beckoned. Charlie River stepped forward and leaned in. "Young Master, your orders?"
After Thomas Shannon gave a few instructions, Charlie River nodded in acknowledgment and turned to leave and make preparations.
Sophie had taken a bath and was just about to lie down to sleep when the bedroom door opened.
Thomas Shannon walked in, bringing with him the faint scent of alcohol and a strong smell of cigarette smoke, and stopped at her bedside.
"What are you doing?" Sophie frowned, pushing his approaching body away with one hand. "You stink! Stay away from me."
A stack of A4 paper landed on the silk quilt.
On them were various designs and patterns.
Sophie picked up an A4 paper and looked at it. "What is this?"
"Pick one. Whichever style you like."
Confused, Sophie tilted her head up, looking into his deep, enigmatic eyes. "What do you want?"
"Right here," he declared. "The design you choose will be tattooed here."
Sophie raised the paper in her hand and threw it at his face. "Are you crazy?! When did I ever say I wanted a tattoo?!"
Why would she want to put those strange things on her perfectly good body?
Her chin was suddenly grasped by a powerful hand. Sophie was forced to look up and meet his gaze. Thomas Shannon’s lips curved into a smirk. "This isn’t a request for your consent. I’m informing you."
Informing me? What a way to ’inform’ someone! She knew he was up to no good; all his strange behavior tonight finally made sense. See, here it comes!
Sophie was so furious her chest heaved. Her eyes, though hazy, stared fiercely at him. If looks could kill, Thomas Shannon would have already died a hundred times over.
"Tho-mas Shan-non!" Sophie enunciated each syllable through gritted teeth, every word forced out, laced with her furious, unvented anger.
"You wouldn’t dare!" Sophie was so enraged her body trembled slightly; even her hands were shaking.
"And why wouldn’t I dare?" Thomas Shannon raised his hand; the tooth marks she had left were still visible. "The marks you left on me... don’t you think you should pay a price for them?"
She really wanted to plant two big slaps right on his infuriatingly smug face!