Chapter 177: Didn’t I Have You Beside Me?

Nathan’s brow furrowed. He looked at Crystal and said, “How is it that you’re afraid of me, but you weren’t afraid of the old Davis? He had a gun pointed at your head, but you didn’t even blink! I don’t even know if that was bravery or stupidity!”

Crystal gave him an innocent look, smiled, and said, “Didn’t I have you beside me?” Naturally, Nathan didn’t know why Crystal was smiling or what she was talking about. He knitted his eyebrows and complained: “Be serious!”

“I am being serious,” Crystal said. “If you weren’t there with me, I would have ignored him and said nothing.”

Nathan’s face lit up when he heard that. “You see!” he exclaimed. “You need me. Life would be impossible for you if I weren’t by your side, so you had better stick by my side!”

To some extent, Crystal thought that Nathan was talking out of his ass, but he wasn’t. She was in danger. He had seen the old Davis cut more than one human’s heads off and dig their heart out. Now things are worse than ever. The old man had sunk to a new low when he’d used Helen to play a dirty trick on him. Of course, Nathan had to show him a certain amount of respect, but, in his heart, he thought he was vile, dirty, and mean.

Naturally, the old Davis had done something to protect his informer, but Nathan was confident that he could find the truth.

****

By the time Nathan and Crystal arrived in the living room, Vic had gathered everyone who lived in the villa, as well as everyone that worked there. There were two rows of people, and everyone was standing, except for Helen. She was sitting on the sofa, and she was nervously rubbing the hem of her sleeve.

Nathan stood with arms akimbo in a position of power in front of them with a grave expression on his face. “I’ll give you one chance,” he said. “If you are the informer, admit it now, and I’ll give you a lenient punishment.”

Helen sat quietly, and her grip tightened on her shirt. Her nose was oozing sweat.

“No?” Nathan put his hands behind his back. He smiled and said, “All right! Since no one is willing to fess up, from today on, no one will eat. This forced fast will be enforced until someone freely admits to being the old man’s rat.”

Everyone gulped, and they all wondered - Does this punishment include Helen? However, no one dared to ask. They were afraid to offend the demon further and be punished more seriously.

Once he was finished speaking, Nathan hugged Crystal and said, “Let’s have dinner.”

Nathan, Crystal, and Helen sat at the table, and all of the others stood at the side to watch. When a servant laid three plates down, Nathan gave her a dirty look. “Who said Helen could eat?” he growled.

The servant gasped and hurriedly took back Helen’s plate. In her haste, though, the plate slipped from her hands, and it shattered when it hit the ground.

“I’m sorry,” the servant said, and she knelt to pick up the pieces.

Crystal looked at Helen sympathetically and then at Nathan. “You can’t starve her,” she whispered. “She’s pregnant...”

Nathan frowned and said, “I am not starving her. The rat is starving her, and Helen will be allowed to eat the minute that foul creature comes forward. Now don’t worry about it, okay. Just eat.”

Helen bowed her head and bit her lower lip. Her stomach growled, and her face turned pale as she watched the couple eat. She couldn’t believe how much everything had changed over the last three years. It wasn’t that long ago that Nathan had been her man.... Watching him with Crystal made her almost wish that her suicide had been a success. Nathan no longer seemed like the cold, distant man she’d once known, and she felt lonelier than ever. She wondered if Crystal was the reason for the change in Nathan - Is it because he loves her...? It seemed like he would give his life for her. When she thought about this, she couldn’t contain her tears.

The tears ran down her face, smearing her mascara. When Elma saw this, her heart broke. She wanted to rush over, but she was held back by the servant next to her.

Elma had been with Helen since she was born, and she looked at her as a daughter. Thus, she could not handle watching her suffer.

Meanwhile, Nathan had a spoonful of soup in his hand, and he was trying to feed Crystal.

“I can eat it myself.” Crystal turned her head away and said, “I’m not a child.”

“Open your mouth!” Nathan ordered. His aura was strong and horrible, and Crystal respected him. Thus, she could not let him lose face in front of the servants, so she opened her mouth and let him feed her.

Elma saw what they were doing, and the more intimately they behaved, the more heartsick she felt. I can’t let this continue - she realized. After a moment of hesitation, she turned to Nathan and said, “Master Davis, it’s me... I’m the informer.”

Nathan looked up at her, but he did not stop feeding Crystal. “Do you know what the punishment will be?” he asked.

Elma knelt and said, “I’m willing to accept the consequences for my actions.”

Nathan opened his mouth to tell her what the punishment would be, but Helen stood up before he could. “No!” she cried. “It was not Elma. It was me! I secretly called Grandpa. Elma knew nothing about my actions.”

Nathan frowned as he looked from Helen to Elma and then back to Helen. “Who did it?” he asked. “No more bullshit. Bear in mind that I could punish you both, so you may as well tell me the truth!”

Helen bit her lips and did not speak, while Elma insisted that she was the guilty party. “It’s me,” she cried. “So, punish me. Please...”

Nathan nodded. “If you say so,” he said. Then he called to Vic: “Vic! Bring out the whip and give this rat a hundred strikes on her bareback, ass, and thighs.”

“But I confessed!” cried Elma. “I thought you said you’d be lenient if the person confessed...”

Nathan chuckled and said, “That was before. That ship sailed the minute I began to enforce the fast!”

When everyone heard that, they all gasped.