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"What?" Laurence asked, his voice cracked.

The glimmer of hope a minute ago waned, replaced by the dark fog of despair that was intent on burning his insides.

For the first time since he'd left the church, he found himself offering a silent prayer. He begged that he'd heard the name wrong—the name which had come off like a blast that threw his head into a whirl and left his ears ringing.

Or, if this entire scenario was a nightmare, he pleaded to be woken up from it.

"Hey, stop this if you're pranking me." Laurence sprang from the bed and glared at the young boss. "This ain't funny, Ice."

And yet, nothing in Isaac's firm expression and silence suggested that all he'd told him were a mere joke.

Laurence shook his head, his face warping with so much denial. His tone, as well as his gaze at the younger man, grew sharper. "No. That's a lie. Didn't we just talk about this the other week? Grey was not found guilty, right? So what are you saying now?"

Isaac contemplated Laurence as if gauging the latter's emotions. He leaned away from the window. He took a few steps, acting like he would go near Laurence, but then he paused midway and glanced to the side.

In a regretful voice, the young boss said, "Grey Calma was clever enough to get rid of all the proofs of his crime last year, and it only shows how much he'd premeditated it. The authorities deduced that the person who'd issued him the direction to kill you, your old body, helped map out a scheme to hide all the tangible evidence and give him a solid alibi. But he has no excuse this time since he was caught in action. Aside from that, they found recent calls and messages from an unknown number on his phone. It was a similar number, which had sent a text to Kian Fajardo a couple of hours before the car you were in had crashed."

The more details Isaac disclosed, the harsher the wrench in Laurence's gut became. He hated every word he was hearing, but he could not find it in him to stop the younger man from talking, could not refuse himself the truth.

"One of the messages was a threat to reveal the fact that he was the real perpetrator in Laurence Villegas's murder if he did not follow the instruction of taking out Florence Villena this time. It sounded like Grey Calma had tried to reject that latest order to him, but he had no choice but to do it in the end because the mastermind had dirt on him that could ruin his life."

Laurence plumped back down on the side of the hospital bed, unable to stand the gravity of the news any longer. His shoulders slumped as he fixed the ground with an empty look. There were a lot of jumbled thoughts he required clarifications to, but one came on top of the welter of questions.

"Then, Kian... What about him? Why did he... He confessed it was his fault I died, didn't he?" He raised his round, probing eye to Isaac. "So why'd he say that? Why exactly did he keep apologizing if he wasn't the one who killed me? You were there during the legal proceedings for his case, yeah? Did he... even try to defend himself? What had he been thinking when he took the blame for a crime he didn't do? I don't understand what's happening anymore."

Isaac walked to him and joined him in sitting on the edge of the bed. The moment the young boss touched his upper arm in a placating manner, Laurence suspected more unpleasant information was about to roll in.

And Isaac might have guessed he needed the caring gestures to calm down.

"I haven't received that many reports related to Kian, and we don't have definite answers to those yet. All I have been filled in so far was the brief interrogation of him after Grey Calma's arrest," the young CEO said, stroking Laurence's shoulder. "According to the officer in charge of cross-examining him, Kian had a vehement reaction when he was informed of his best friend's capture, and he insisted that... that Grey had nothing to do with it. He maintained everything was his fault."

"But why would he..."

"We can only infer that Kian might be aware of the real culprit, although it is not yet certain if he found out before or after the car crash incident. Based on his behavior toward the news of Grey's arrest, it is possible that he has been trying to protect your friend. At any rate, even if he was not an active participant of the felony, he could still be considered an accessory, and he might be charged with obstruction of justice or concealment of the crime, if not both."

Laurence shut his uninjured eye. He swallowed to get rid of the tightness in his throat.

This was the worst. The bruise left by the attacker on the side of his stomach could never compare to the pain in his chest caused by the revelation of that said attacker's identity.

"I'm sorry," Isaac murmured, gently squeezing the other man's arm.

"Why are you sorry?" Laurence laughed, quiet, his words dripping with bile. "You ain't even at fault here. Are you freaking pitying me? I don't need it, Ice."

He rubbed his palm against his face. He knew he shouldn't be taking his temper out on the young boss—or anyone innocent, for that matter. But there was no other way to prevent himself from exploding than to let some of his rage go.

Laurence permitted himself a few minutes to cool down, to organize his thoughts, so he could bring up the speculation he'd had in mind for some time.

"I've been wondering for a while now about the motive of killing me. I mean, I had nothing worth for people to steal from my old life, so I was confused. What would any bastard gain from my death?"

A dry smirk crept across Laurence's lips. "Things might have started to make sense a bit since the few attempts to harm me in this current body, though everything's still just a guess. That previous Laurence Villegas, and this present me who's living as Florence Villena. I can now see the common denominator in these two lives, a significant one at that." He gazed straight into Isaac's eyes. "Be honest, you've figured it out, no? The actual target... it's you, ain't it?"

Another brief silence ticked past. Wordless, Isaac cupped Laurence's cheek, concern coating his faint smile.

The young boss didn't appear too keen on replying. It was only when Laurence frowned at him did he speak, "Have a rest for now, senior. I promise I'll try to share everything I know once you're in the right headspace for the discussion. We might also be able to find out all the answers soon since we'll have to attend Grey Calma's inquest."

"But I have to—"

Isaac pressed a thumb against Laurence's lips. "I want you to be prepared and save your energy until that day. I'm aware this might be difficult to do, but don't stress yourself too much for now. Our priority in the meantime is for you to get well as soon as possible."

Isaac shifted away and stood from the bed.

Laurence lost the chance to argue with his former junior because Camila walked in, carrying the two six-liter bottles of distilled water.

Upon noticing the older woman, Isaac approached and lent her a hand, which she accepted with a smile.

Camila made small talk with the young conglomerate leader. She even invited him to join them for dinner if he hadn't had one already, but Isaac told her he had to go back home early because he had to complete some written report that was due tomorrow morning.

A few minutes later, his statement regarding work earned him a reminder from the other man to not overdo it.

The young CEO did not stay for too long. He left the hospital, but not before sneaking a kiss on Laurence's forehead while Camila was not paying attention to them.

Laurence managed to distract himself the whole time he was with Florence's mother. He interacted with her as if nothing distressing had occurred in his day.

But once he was alone in the middle of the darkness and silence of his room, the unpleasant revelations from earlier came weighing on him again.

He gripped the front of his shirt as he lay on the hospital bed. The idea of being murdered by someone he'd treated like a brother was unbearable. And this was worse than when he'd seen Kian behind the bars.

In Kian's situation, Laurence had good reasons to doubt the veracity of the judgment against his friend. But there was no escaping the reality with Grey's case when solid evidence had been discovered.

Laurence stewed over the issue throughout the night, despite Isaac's advice not to. No matter how much he wrestled with his thoughts, he could not determine how to deal with the stifling truth.

He could not fathom why all these horrible things kept arising. What the hell was it with his life that convinced the universe he deserved all the betrayals from people around him?

The high school mates he'd once considered as friends. The parishioners he'd trusted to be there with him after the loss of his family. Kian. And now Grey.

Who was next? The blade had been thrust deep into his heart; who else was waiting for the opportunity to twist it?