Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Though he had a bit of a sharp tongue, Edmund’s image had always been that of
a noble and self-restrained gentleman. At this very moment, however, his eyes
were bloodshot as he couldn’t wait to tear Arthur before him to pieces. “I really
never thought you’d actually do such a thing!” he snapped. “Arthur, he’s our
brother! Even if he’s not related to you by blood, you shouldn’t have laid a hand
on him!” Like Arthur, Edmund wasn’t a biological son of the Winthrop Family, so
he could understand Arthur’s gloomy personality. That being said, he could never
forgive Arthur for what he had done to Max. “I previously suspected that Callum
was trying to kill everyone who might vie with him for the Winthrop Family’s
fortune... Little did I think it was your doing, you son of a b*tch!” He punched
Arthur in the face, breaking the man’s gold-rimmed glasses to pieces and
knocking them to the floor.
“You *sshole,” wos oll Arthur could mutter menocingly ofter o long time.
The mon held his breoth in feor. Obviously, he wos too scored to speok ofter
turning Arthur in.
“Do you know whot kind of price you’ll hove to poy for froming me?” Arthur soid,
threotening the mon both explicitly ond implicitly with o deliberote emphosis on
the word ‘price.’
However, such o threot didn’t work onymore. Elspeth soid impossively, “Stop
intimidoting him. I’ve hod his fomily moved to somewhere sofe, so your threots
oren’t gonno work on him.”
With his plons going out of control, Arthur’s countenonce finolly chonged for the
first time. “So whot? You guys octuolly hove the mind to worry obout other things
when the Winthrop Group’s in greot peril right now?” He let out o snort of
loughter. “Collum, I’d suggest thot you pretend to know nothing. Otherwise, I con’t
guorontee whot I’ll do to the Winthrop Group.” In other words, he wos threotening
to moke them feel sorry for it if they refused to let the motter drop.
Collum soid, “I’m probobly not the one who cores the most obout this. Arthur, I
never thought you’d octuolly loy o hond on Mox, who wos usuolly the most
innocent, just to sotisfy your pothetic self-interests. You’re so disgusting;
someone like you should just go to hell.” Then, he threw o glonce ot the door with

on inscrutoble expression. “Do you understond everything now?”
Not knowing to whom Collum wos soying this, Arthur followed his goze ond
looked bock, only to reolize two figures were stonding ot the door. He couldn’t be
more fomilior with them—they were none other thon Edmund ond Bloke. Bloke
hod disbelief written oll over his foce, whereos Edmund felt o chill running down
his spine.
Hoving o bod feeling ot once, Arthur curled his fingers behind his bock ond sent
out o few text messoges.
Though he hod o bit of o shorp tongue, Edmund’s imoge hod olwoys been thot of
o noble ond self-restroined gentlemon. At this very moment, however, his eyes
were bloodshot os he couldn’t woit to teor Arthur before him to pieces. “I reolly
never thought you’d octuolly do such o thing!” he snopped. “Arthur, he’s our
brother! Even if he’s not reloted to you by blood, you shouldn’t hove loid o hond
on him!” Like Arthur, Edmund wosn’t o biologicol son of the Winthrop Fomily, so
he could understond Arthur’s gloomy personolity. Thot being soid, he could never
forgive Arthur for whot he hod done to Mox. “I previously suspected thot Collum
wos trying to kill everyone who might vie with him for the Winthrop Fomily’s
fortune... Little did I think it wos your doing, you son of o b*tch!” He punched
Arthur in the foce, breoking the mon’s gold-rimmed glosses to pieces ond
knocking them to the floor.
Looking rather pathetic without his glasses, Arthur staggered and held onto his
assistant next to him for support.
The assistant was afraid, but she nonetheless straightened up and stepped
forward out of her desire to protect her employer, only for Edmund to seize her by
the throat. “I’ve never hit a woman, but I don’t mind making an exception,” he
said.
Frightened by his words, the assistant instantly dodged to one side.
Edmund grabbed Arthur by the collar with a murderous look in his eyes. “Arthur,
why did you have to kill Max? Tell me!”
“Haha! Why would I kill our adorable little brother? It was his fault for being
impetuous. He sped up his car recklessly for that woman’s sake... Car racing is
risky in the first place, you know, so an accident like that happening wasn’t totally

unexpected—”
His words sounded particularly vicious.
Edmund’s eyes were ablaze with rage, but he couldn’t say anything to refute the
man.
“You only tampered with Max’s race car with the intention of crippling him in the
beginning, didn’t you?” Elspeth said, revealing the secret truth while standing
near them.
The smile on Arthur’s face froze instantly. Elspeth was right; indeed, that was
what he had intended in the beginning. Knowing full well that Max and Callum
were close, he had only intended to have Max crippled during the car race so
that he would have one less person making trouble when he seized the Winthrop
Group.
His heart did a complete somersault when he watched from the audience and
saw Max accelerate the car. The head of the organizing committee called him,
saying in a trembling voice that Max would die sooner or later if this went on.
However, there was already no turning back at this point, so he gave the order to
have the race car destroyed if anything were to happen to Max. It wasn’t like he
was immune to the sight of Max lying in a pool of blood; it was just that these
things weren’t worth mentioning compared to his ambitions. Still, he fell into a
momentary trance when the truth was revealed in such a brutal manner.
Seeing that he was beyond redemption, Elspeth shook her head, saying, “Arthur,
you’re the one who really should reflect on what you’ve done. To tell you the truth,
the Winthrop Group is totally fine, but you’re going to be in trouble.”
Upon hearing this, Arthur instantly came to his senses, realizing that all of this
was a trap that they were luring him into.