Chapter 81: Stay
Luna shook her head in silent protest, she was already twenty-four years old, but her brother still managed to treat her like a child at times. She felt as if he would sometimes forget that she was already a well noted psychoanalyst despite her young age. In fact, she had made several significant contributions to the world of business psychology that her brother used daily. Still she did not object to his suggestion. Anyway, she was lonely at the Lee family estate with her parents gone, and if not for her nan being around recently, Luna would have truly been on her own in that giant house.
While Luna was successful in her career, she was lacking in her personal life. In actuality, Lisa had been her only real friend, but their friendship dissolved when Lisa claimed to be too busy to meet with Luna at her most vulnerable point. Luna did not know that during that time, Lisa was too busy with trying to acquire Ian's flight details so she could 'accidentally' run into him during his business trip abroad. Zane was aware of this though, and it was one of the reasons he did not like Lisa.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Zane doted on Luna like a true little sister, so when Ian brought up her moving in, he wholeheartedly agreed. He did not want to see anything bad happen to Luna as he credited her for saving his mother's life. When Zane's mother was not doing well, it was Luna who suggested for him to introduce her to a hobby. Now, Zane's mother took pleasure in knitting warm hats and scarves for orphans and premature children. The hobby gave her a sense of presence and it gave her the warmth that she had been lacking. At one-point Zane pitied himself for being in no way shape or form attracted to Luna and vice versa. Otherwise, she would have been a great prospect for a wife.
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Luna told her brother that she would make the arrangements to move into his home by the end of the day, then she remembered something important that they had yet to discuss.
"What do you plan on doing with Mina?" she asked. Without hesitation Ian answered.
"She can stay here." Luna was visibly taken aback by her brother's response.
"Ian, do you plan on keeping her locked in that room? For how long?" Ian calmly looked at his sister and addressed her worry directly.
"No. She will stay in a guest room." Luna thought it was a bad idea but before she could voice her objections, Zane cut in.
"Have you never heard of lay and wait?" he asked, and Luna was immediately placated. If her brother wanted to use Mina in this way it was fine, but she remembered what Mina had been wearing when she came earlier and how her brother looked at her, she felt uncomfortable. She did not voice her opinion though. She knew that once Ian's mind was made up, his decision was set. Even if she disagreed with using the innocent woman as bait, it was the only viable plan at the moment.
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Standing in front of the guest room, Ian asked the others to wait behind. He wanted to speak to Mina alone for a few minutes, no one objected. Both Zane and Luna knew that that what occurred between the two parties was intimate and embarrassing to at least one of them. Ian opened the huge double doors to find the girl sitting on the window ledge with her head against the glass. She did not look peaceful though. Instead her face looked pensive and depressed. Ian realized that she was probably thinking about how she was going to die. She only noticed someone had entered the room when Ian was just a few feet away.
Mina's immediate response when she saw him was to stand up with a resentful expression on her face. The bitterness and revulsion in her gaze were on full display. It was clear from her guarded stance that she did not want him to come any closer. When he stopped walking, Mina tilted her head to the side, trying to avoid looking at the man. Ian could tell that her eyes were not focused on anything in particular, she just did not want to look at him. Ian did not really know how to start the conversation, so he brought up her lie detector results.
President Lee told Mina that she told the truth on all but two questions. Of course, she already knew this. He then told her that Mr. Mike and Adley had been killed in a traffic accident and Mina scoffed. It seemed that she was not satisfied with the way they died, and she alluded to this by saying 'how fortunate.' The comment should not have taken Ian by surprise, but it seemed much more vicious coming from a woman with such delicate features. Her eyes had regained some of their luster and although she did not let him look at her face, her side profile was no less charming. Mental images of her smiling crossed Ian's mind, and he could not help but to feel guilty on two ends. She was in this state because of him, but she was also put in this position because of Ian's inability to take over where his father left off. If for no other reason, Ian would make sure that the person who masterminded this plot would suffer in the end. Either by his hands or Mina's.
There was a long pause before Ian spoke again, he wanted to broach the topic carefully. He was almost positive that Mina would have a negative reaction to his next set of sentences.
"Mina, I cannot let you go," he finally said. The girl did not respond, she already knew that. "I cannot let you go, but I will not kill you," he continued. At that, Mina's head jerked up.
"What do you mean?" she asked, and for the first time since he locked her up, she was looking at him with an expression other than hatred; except this expression was no better, she was looking at him with the same fear she wore on her face when he attacked her back in that now completely blocked off hotel room.
"Mina, from now on, you will live here." The girl laughed nervously. It was probably her body's natural response to the words she was hearing, but when she realized President Lee was not joking, she panicked.
"Oh, no, no, no, that was not the deal that we worked out," she said. "You said you were going to kill me. I am not going back into that room. Just kill me or take me to a high enough place and I'll jump," Mina demanded.
"That is not an option," Ian said. He took a step forward and Mina sprang past him. She was heading towards the door.