Chapter 55 What if she dies?

"Lily." John's voice finally had a hint of warmth. "Lily Mitchell. She's almost eight years old this year."

Mu Xin nodded, keeping this information in mind.

"Your ex-wife's lover, the partner at that PR firm—what's his name?"

"Alan Blanchard." When John spoke the name, there was no emotion in his voice, but Mu Xin noticed his hand clenching.

"Alan Blanchard. His company is called Blanchard PR, and they have an entire floor of an office building in downtown Columbus."

"Is he still with Catherine now?"

"I don't know." John shook his head. "I stopped paying attention to them after the divorce."

"But as far as I know, Alan didn't divorce his original wife. His wife is the daughter of a judge in Columbus, so he didn't dare."

"So in all likelihood, Catherine is on her own now."

The corner of Mu Xin's mouth twitched upward slightly—not a smile, just a slight movement.

A woman living alone with a daughter who was almost eight, residing in the north side of Columbus.

No husband, no boyfriend, and no one to protect her at night.

"John, if I can help you get custody of Lily back, what can you do for me?"

John looked into Mu Xin's eyes and fell silent for a long time.

He was wondering why someone willing to invest two hundred million dollars in Ohio would need him.

He couldn't figure it out, but he knew Mu Xin had no reason to lie to him.

He had nothing; there was no point in deceiving him.

"I'll do whatever you ask me to do," John said in a low voice.

Mu Xin looked at him and nodded slowly. But what he needed wasn't just "I'll do whatever you ask." What he needed was for John's life to belong to him from now on.

But he couldn't say that now. Saying it now would make it a transaction, not loyalty.

Loyalty wasn't something spoken; it was cultivated through time, mutual benefits, and a common enemy.

He needed John to owe him a lifelong debt of gratitude first. Then, this gratitude would slowly turn into a habit, the habit into dependency, and dependency into loyalty.

And that lifelong debt of gratitude was Lily.

"What grade is Lily in now?" Mu Xin asked.

John stared blankly for a moment, not expecting Mu Xin to ask this. "I... I don't know. She's eight, so she should be in second or third grade."

"What school does she go to?"

"I don't know," John's voice grew even quieter, carrying an unmistakable bitterness and helplessness.

"Is it a public school or a private school?"

"Catherine probably wouldn't send her to a private school. She doesn't have that much money. Although Alan is rich, he wouldn't pay tuition for someone else's child."

Mu Xin tapped his fingers twice on the armrest. A stepfather indeed wouldn't do that.

"If I help you get custody back, I'll take care of Lily's schooling."

"The best private school in Columbus, from elementary school all the way to high school graduation—I'll cover all the expenses."

John's breath caught. He looked at Mu Xin, his lips trembling slightly, wanting to say something, but his throat felt as if it were blocked.

"Not just tuition. Her living expenses, medical bills, and future college expenses—I will cover them all," Mu Xin said calmly.

"You don't need to do anything extra for me. Once you get custody back, you'll work for me, and I'll pay you a salary."

"You use your salary to raise your daughter, and I'll pay for her education. You raise her, and I'll secure her future."

John's tears fell. He turned his head away and wiped his eyes hard with the back of his hand, but the tears wouldn't stop.

Having wandered the streets for over four years, being beaten, cursed at, despised, and ignored, he thought he had forgotten how to cry.

"Mr. Mu..." John's voice was so raspy it was barely audible. "I..."

"Don't thank me," Mu Xin interrupted him. "I'm helping you not because you're pitiful, but because you're useful."

"I need someone like you. But I need you to do something for me. If you succeed, I'll help you get Lily's custody back."

"If you fail, consider everything said today as if it never happened."

Silence fell over the car. Jessica glanced at Mu Xin through the rearview mirror, a trace of complexity in her eyes.

She didn't know what Mu Xin wanted John to do, but she had a vague feeling that it wouldn't be a minor matter.

"Speak," John's voice returned to a calm state.

"It's about your ex-wife," Mu Xin lowered his voice. "It's very difficult to get custody back through normal channels."

"You appealed twice and lost both times. Even if I hire the best lawyers, the outcome might not necessarily be overturned."

"Then what do you want to do?"

Mu Xin looked at him, the corner of his mouth curving upward slightly, with no warmth in that smile.

"What if—and I'm just saying 'what if'—she dies?"

John's pupils constricted sharply.

"I'm not telling you to go commit murder," Mu Xin's tone was as calm as if he were discussing what to have for dinner tonight.

"There are many ways for a person to die: car accidents, sudden illnesses, being accidentally killed during a home invasion..."

"Accidents happen every day in this world. You were a soldier for so many years; you should know this better than I do."

John's hands were shaking, his breathing grew rapid, and a fire burned in his eyes—not of anger, but of struggle.

He hated that woman. He hated her for destroying everything he had, for preventing him from seeing his daughter for over four years, and for turning a man who had bled for his country into a street vagrant.

But to kill her...

"You don't have to answer me right now," Mu Xin said softly. "Go think it through. Once you've thought it through, come find me."

Mu Xin pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it over. There was only a name and a local Oxford Town number on it, which had nothing to do with him personally.

"Keep the card safe."

John took the card, glanced down at it, his fingers trembling slightly.

He clenched the card in his palm, holding it very tightly as if afraid of losing it.

Jessica started the car and set off on the road back to Oxford Town.

Mu Xin leaned back against his seat, watching the night scenery fly past the window, the corner of his mouth curving upward slightly.

John sat in the back row, his head lowered, gripping the card in his hand as if holding onto his last saving straw.

His hands stopped shaking, his breathing steadied, and his entire being was like a rusty blade that had been sharpened once more.

Jessica glanced at him through the rearview mirror. She knew that from this day on, this man would no longer be a vagrant.

But what she didn't know was that from this day on, this man would no longer be an ordinary person either.

Mu Xin closed his eyes. He didn't need John to agree right now, nor did he even need John to actually commit murder.

He only needed John to know that to get his daughter back, he would be willing to do anything.

And Mu Xin was the only person who could help him achieve this.

This kind of dependency was sturdier than any contract.

Outside the car window, the lights of Columbus gradually faded into the night. Mu Xin's phone lit up with a message from Victoria:

"Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, the owner of the building materials company from Cincinnati will arrive in Oxford Town. Don't forget the person you made an appointment with."

Mu Xin took a glance and put the phone back into his pocket.

He had made an appointment with the owner of the building materials company mentioned by the Governor, not because he wanted to do the Governor a favor, but because he needed the Governor to believe he was doing him a favor.

This was part of the deal, and part of the rules of the game.

As for John's matter, there was no rush. For someone who had wandered the streets for so many years, a few days wouldn't make a difference.

Letting him figure out the math himself and steel his heart was more important than anything.