Chapter 109

Chapter 109

I didn’t know how I managed to walk out of that office.

This meeting felt like a lifetime ago; everything had changed.

He was my father, after all, and he had done so much for me. I couldn’t bring myself to curse him, nor could I say anything more hurtful.

He asked me to give him two days. Without saying another word, I turned and walked out.

In two days, he would settle his affairs and turn himself in. That was already set in stone.

Back in the car, Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan were both staring at me.

“I’ve laid my cards on the table. He asked for two days, and after that, he’ll turn himself in…”

After I spoke, Meng Yifan let out a long sigh but remained silent.

Song Xiaotian didn’t say anything either, lost in thought.

Fearing he might be upset, I quickly added, “I’m not sure if he’ll try to run. Maybe we should call the police now and tell them he’s planning to surrender…”

Song Xiaotian grabbed my hand and shook his head. “Forget it. He won’t be able to run even if he wanted to. Let’s give him two days. Your grandfather is getting on in years, and if your father is caught, it’ll definitely be the death penalty. Even if there’s no physical evidence or witnesses for what happened fifteen years ago, he’ll get life at the very least. He won’t be seeing the outside world again. Let him have those two days.”

A sharp pang of pain shot through my heart.

My grandfather was so old, and our family consisted only of the three of us. If my father was arrested and I ended up dead, what would happen to the old man all by himself…?

“Chen Mo, do you think your grandfather was involved too?” Meng Yifan asked suddenly.

I froze as a wave of intense unease washed over me.

I had almost forgotten-my grandfather had lied for my father at least twice.

The first time was when my father sabotaged the Soul Summoning ritual. His leg had been injured, and when I went home later, I found him sitting on the sofa, never once standing up.

I had suspected him even then and even tried to test him by asking him to walk me downstairs.

But just as my father stood up to walk to the door, my grandfather stopped him.

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but looking back now, my grandfather’s behavior was incredibly suspicious…

The second time was just a few days ago when I discovered my father’s Seal was missing and had been replaced with a new one. I had suspected him again then.

But he claimed my grandfather had lost it. When I called my grandfather to ask, he lied for him once more.

“My grandfather was involved too…”

At that thought, I couldn’t stop my body from trembling.

Does that mean… my grandfather will have to go to prison as well?

“Not necessarily.”

Song Xiaotian spoke expressionlessly. “Your grandfather might just be an accessory after the fact who helped your father lie. They love you too much; that’s why they did everything they did and told all those lies.”

“You can tell from what happened fifteen years ago that your father is very clever. Even the police couldn’t find him out. If it weren’t for Xiaoman’s death and your relentless pursuit, combined with him starting to panic, you might never have traced it back to him.”

Song Xiaotian was right. My father was indeed very smart.

If it hadn’t been for Fang Man’s death, we wouldn’t have had a single clue about him.

It was Fang Man’s death that spurred me on. I wanted to find her killer more than anything in the world. Now that I finally had, I was the one who personally sent my father to the gallows.

After leaving the factory, Song Xiaotian said he had things to take care of and got out of the car.

I felt that he probably just didn’t want to look at me.

After all, it was my father who had killed Fang Man.

And Song Xiaotian was a righteous man, full of a sense of justice. In his eyes, my father was a monster.

“Don’t overthink it. Brother Tian isn’t the type to be unreasonable. You are you, and your father is your father.”

After Song Xiaotian left, Meng Yifan sat in the car and tried to comfort me.

“But my father did all those things for me.”

I looked at Meng Yifan, my eyes turning red again. “In two days, he’s going to turn himself in. He killed so many people and even hired someone to run over Fang Man. He’s finished this time.”
Meng Yifan smoked one cigarette after another, his face grim. “Take your dad and your grandfather and leave,” he said. “Go as far as you can and find a place to hide for a while.”

I was stunned. “What are you saying…”

He looked at me. “That’s your father. No matter how much of a bastard he is, he did all of this for you. Anyone else could send him to prison, but you can’t. If you send your own father to the chopping block, will you ever be able to live with yourself?”

I lowered my head in silence. Meng Yifan’s words sparked a sudden, violent struggle within me.

Did I really have to send my father to his death?

“Go back and think it over. Leave with your father as soon as possible. I have some money here, and if it’s not enough, I’ll go back and ask my dad for more.”

Meng Yifan squeezed my shoulder and sighed. “Don’t think about some noble act of sacrificing family for justice. Knowing you, if you actually turned him in, your life would be over anyway.”

“Leave early. I have the USB. I’ll destroy it. As long as Du Ruhai doesn’t report it, Brother Tian won’t have any evidence. There’s no proof of what happened fifteen years ago either. Once that hit-and-run driver dies, there will be no witnesses left for anything. Wang Shujun’s death will be even harder to prove.”

I stared at Meng Yifan in disbelief.

To be honest, I was actually swayed by his words.

Only he would choose loyalty over logic and consider things entirely from my perspective.

He knew that if I sent my father to the gallows, I would never be able to live a normal life again.

Seeing that I remained silent, he didn’t say anything more. He drove me to my rented apartment and pulled up downstairs.

“Think carefully about what I said. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

After letting me out of the car, Meng Yifan hesitated for a moment before tossing the USB to me. “You decide.”

With that, he drove away.

I stood there frozen, holding the USB. This was likely the most difficult decision I would ever make in my life.

If I reported my father, I was a monster.

If I didn’t report him, I was also a monster.

No matter what I did, I wasn’t a decent human being anymore.

I went back inside, wanting to use alcohol to numb myself. As long as I was sober, every second was agony.

I drank alone at home, bottle after bottle, straight through until evening.

Once the world started spinning, hallucinations began to surface. I saw several blood-drenched figures standing before me-young and old, men and women.

There was the deceased Wang Shujun; there was Li Xiumei, whose tongue had been cut out; and there was Du Yuwei, holding a child, her eyes filled with poisonous resentment. They all stared at me with faces full of hatred.

“The one who truly deserves to die is you!”

“We all died because of you!”

“You don’t deserve to live at all! Why aren’t you dead yet? You and your father both deserve to die!”

I curled up in a corner, staring at them in terror.

I was like a criminal standing trial before these victims.

If I took my father and left, pretending nothing had happened, I would have to face their judgment every single day and every single night for the rest of my life.

They were right. Both my father and I deserved to die.

I took the USB and tucked it under the pillow in my bedroom. Then, I took out my phone and sent a text to Brother Tian.

“Brother Tian, the USB is at my place, under the pillow in the bedroom. If my father hasn’t turned himself in two days from now, take the USB and report him.”

I didn’t have the courage to watch my father go to prison and be executed.

And I didn’t have the courage to live in this world any longer.

I decided to die. Right now.