What Separates Me and You

Chapter 1 We Should Go

Caroline felt utterly ashamed.

Being occupied with work for the past five years, she hadn’t paid much attention to her children.

As a result, she didn’t even know they had social network accounts.

ubbing her nose, Caroline asked, “enny , are you friends with Ty?”

“Yes,” enny replied, pulling out his phone and showing T yler’s chat history before handing it to

Caroline.

Caroline sent a message Where are you, Ty? eply Mommy if you see this!

After sending the message, Caroline grabbed her car keys.

She looked at Lily, who seemed guilty and anxious, and said reassuringly, “I’m going to the police

station, Ms. Smith. Don’t worry.”

Lily’s eyes were red with tears. “It’s my fault for not watching the two children, Carol.”

“It’s not your fault, Ms. Smith,” Caroline said. “The children have minds of their own. I’ll just check

on their location.”

Then, without wasting any more time, he slapped her across the face with the back of his hand.

A crisp sound rang across the room as Josephine fell heavily to the ground. Her cheeks were numb, a

buzzing sound ringing in her ears. Dark specks filled her vision, and her mouth filled with the faint,

metallic tang of blood.

She sprawled on the ground for a long time before her vision cleared.

Then, as she raised her head and looked in Seth’s direction, she felt blood dripping from the corner of

her mouth. She winced. Half of her face was entirely numb.

Seth’s eyes

radiated coldness as he yanked her up by her collar.

There was a sneer on his lips. “Why? What happened to obeying my every command?”

Tears glistened in Josephine’s eyes, her gaze flickering with a mix of emotions.

“Lewis doesn’t want you anymore, yet you still want to save yourself for him? God, have some self-

respect. You’re pathetic.”

His fingers caressed the side of her face that was swollen, his voice incredibly gentle. There were even

traces of pity in his tone as he spoke as if he hadn’t been the one to slap her in the first place.

Seth released her and sat back down on his chair. From where he sat, he towered over her, radiating

superiority when he looked down at her and spoke. “Come here.”

Josephine paused. She was just about to push herself up from the ground when he said, “Crawl

to me.”

Her pupils shrank, and she looked at him in disbelief.

Seth tilted his head slightly, his wavy hair cascading down all over his face. With a crown on his head, a

smile on his lips, and that white suit adorning his figure, he resembled a prince brought to life from an

oil painting.

His angelic face that concealed the darkest and most violent demons underneath was, undoubtedly,

the most truthful embodiment of the fact that looks were deceiving.

“Come here, Josephine,” he shouted at her.

Josephine clutched at her sleeves, unwilling to budge an inch. Humiliation spread within her heart and

leaked from her eyes in the form of tears.

“Is that all you can handle?” Seth taunted.

“If you don’t obey me at once, I’ll sell you to Mynor. You can see for yourself, then, how they torment

little girls like you.”

Josephine lowered her head, her tears falling uncontrollably. She stared at the brazier. She had the

wildest urge to dive headfirst into it.

Seeing as she remained unmoving, Seth did not seem particularly angry. He retrieved a tablet from

behind him and dragged his finger across the screen multiple times.

“Is this her?”

Josephine lifted her head and looked at the tablet. Displayed on the screen was an image of Mrs.

Jinkins lying on a hospital bed. It seemed that she had already awakened and was propped against the

headboard, conversing with a nurse by her side.

The clip had no audio. Josephine could not make out what she was saying.

She clenched her fists, her gaze shifting from the tablet to Seth’s face. Josephine saw that arrogant,

domineering look he maintained as he waited for her reaction.

Biting her lip, after much internal turmoil, her gaze lowered, her lashes hiding the tumultuous emotions

within her

eyes.

Supporting her body weight with both hands, Josephine knelt and crawled toward Seth slowly.

The chains on her ankles dragged against the floor, its clatter distinct and crisp.

Finally, she knelt in front of Seth and looked up at him.

Seth leaned down, lifting her chin. He smiled. “That’s it. Not that difficult to do what you’re told, is it?”

Josephine bowed her head, her tears trickling down her chin. One by one, they dripped onto

his hand.

Seth stared at her for a long moment before suddenly releasing his grasp on her. “The next time you

see Lewis, don’t forget to tell him you don’t want to return to him.”

Having said that, he stood to leave.

It was only when she heard the sound of the door closing that Josephine slumped onto the ground, her

energy spent.

Later, Seth never returned. Josephine lay on the couch, her head spinning from the full force of the slap

she had endured earlier. Without realizing it, she slipped into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Conrad received a text message from a stranger. It was an attachment file, which he

initially thought was junk.

He casually clicked on it before its contents startled him out of his wits. His phone flew out of his hands

and clattered on the ground about six feet from where he stood.

Conrad wiped away the sweat oozing from his forehead. At that time, he was still in the living room of

Styx Mansion. Fumbling on his phone, he couldn’t help but peer upstairs. “President Alvarez must still

be awake, right?” he asked himself.

Conrad pondered about it for a moment before rushing upstairs.

He was just about to knock when the door of the study opened. Lewis stood by the entrance,

his face grim.

“What?”

Conrad clutched his phone and stammered. “President-President Alvarez. I-I ju-just received

a video.”

He shakily handed his phone over as he spoke.

Instead of looking at the video, Lewis sidestepped him and rushed downstairs, grabbing a coat from the

couch and leaving the mansion.

Conrad raced after him immediately.

“President Alvarez, where are you going at this hour of the night?

“That video, it’s Mrs. Alvarez-”

Lewis ignored Conrad’s words. Instead, he opened the car door, started the engine, and sped into the

night.

“President-”

Conrad stood dumbfounded, watching as the Maybach disappeared into the night, leaving nothing but

a trail of dust behind it.

Conrad wondered, “Where is he going, and what did he plan on doing?”

Conrad glanced left and right, feeling a sudden wave of uncertainty wash over him, leaving him unsure

of what exactly he had to do.

Amid her daze, Josephine thought she felt someone stroking her cheek, a chilly gust and an itchy

sensation interrupting her slumber.

Her lashes trembled. She strained to force her heavy eyelids open, but all she could see was a hazy

blur in front of her eyes.

A chill swept over her, and she finally jolted awake.

She was still on the couch, and no one else was in the room.

The fire fueled by the coals in the brazier had long since gone out, leaving the building engulfed in a

bone-chilling coldness. The frigid air permeated the space, causing Josephine’s

limbs to become frozen and numb.

Suddenly, as if she’d just realized something, Josephine raised her arms and touched her

cheek. It was smooth and slippery, with an indescribable tightness to it.

She then placed her fingertips in front of her nose and sniffed. They smelled faintly fragrant

until she realized they were the aromatic scent of medicinal herbs.