The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 576

Augus' head was knocked so hard it swung sideways like a broken bobblehead. He didn't fight back, just hung his head low like he was done for, letting Brandon go to town on him. He even threw in the towel to Brandon, saying, “Just finish me off, man. I’ll go apologize to Director Yearwood in person. Too bad, I won’t get the chance to drag Marian down with me for a joint funeral.”

His words only added fuel to Brandon’s fire. Grabbing his collar tighter, Brandon landed another savage punch.

Kent quickly stepped in to pull Brandon back, “Mr. Crawley, this guy ain’t worth the prison time.”

Brandon gave him a cold glance and suddenly let go of Augus' collar.

“I’m leaving him to you,” with those chilly words, Brandon turned on his heel and stormed out.

Kent, sensing his change of expression and assuming he might go after Marian, called out in a panic, “Mr. Crawley, where are you off to?”

Brandon didn’t bother to respond, just left him with the sight of his back, quickly swallowed by the night. The winter wind was howling, making his knee-length coat flap wildly.

Kent was freaking out inside but couldn’t just abandon Augus. He whipped out his phone and called Martin, the one who knew where Marian lived, “Mr. Frost, Mr. Crawley might be heading for Marian. Looks like he’s about to flip his lid; you gotta stop him.”

Martin was swamped with work at home but his expression tensed up when he heard the news, “What’s going on with him?”

“No time to explain, just get moving already.” Kent urged, “Mr. Crawley could seriously take Marian out, no joke!”

“I’m on my way,” Martin hung up and dashed downstairs.

Kent then called Don, telling him to get in touch with Martin and hurry over to Marian’s place. He was worried Martin wouldn’t be enough to stop Brandon; hell, he was worried Brandon might take Martin out too. But since Martin was the only one who knew Marian's address, he had no choice but to loop him in.

Don could hear the urgency in Kent’s voice, which spelled out the gravity of the situation. After a quick “I’m on it,” he grabbed his car keys from the coffee table and bolted out the door, not even bothering to change out of his PJs. He just threw on a jacket and some slippers and was out.

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Brandon was indeed on his way to find Marian.

Driving with the windows down, the night air blasting in, his hair a mess, but he didn’t seem to care. His handsome face was dark as thunder, his eyes bloodshot with rage, the agonizing pain in his chest compressed into a roaring hatred.

“She's dead; I saw it with my own eyes,” Augus’ hysterical screams, muddled with the wind, kept echoing in his head, gouging a bloody hole in his chest.

“I saw her hit her head on the pier, blood instantly turning that patch of water crimson; she went into oblivion in an instant.

She got swept away by the strong currents, so fierce, and she had hit her head, out cold, just got washed away without a trace. She stood no chance of saving herself. Plus, it was the dead of night, freezing cold, pouring rain - no one could’ve saved her.”

…

He headed for the elevator, and when the doors slid open, his grip shifted from her neck to her arm. He pulled her into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.

The ground floor came quickly. Exiting the elevator, his grip shifted back to her arm, lifting her like a sack of potatoes to his car, and then with his other hand, he yanked open the back door and shoved Marian inside.

Don and Martin arrived at the same time, both witnessing the scene. They slammed on the brakes, jumped out of their cars, and shouted at Brandon, “Brandon, what the hell are you doing?”

But Brandon acted like he didn't hear a thing. Stone-faced, he stuffed Marian into the car and hopped into the driver's seat. The car zoomed off in a flash.

Don and Martin glanced at each other and hurried back to their car to give chase. But their car couldn't hold a candle to Brandon's speed. He floored it, taking Marian out of the city and onto the highway. The highway to Zion City.

When they spotted the highway signs, Don and Martin's faces tensed up, and they floored it trying to keep up.

But they were never able to catch up with Brandon's breakneck speed. Brandon was driving like he had a death wish, pedal to the metal all the way.

Inside the car, Marian was being tossed around like a rag doll, scared witless, her face as white as a sheet. She desperately wanted to scream for Brandon to stop, to beg him, but feared setting him off and ending up in a twisted heap of metal and flesh on the road.

Amidst this terror, she watched as Brandon exited the highway and continued west. As the scenery outside the window started to look eerily familiar, Marian's face turned even paler.

Brandon was taking her back to the place she came from, the Zenitha-style resort project construction site, right on the overpass where Sophia had her accident.