CHapter 173


    Tandy nced at Noe, a faint smirk ying on his lips. “Look, I’ve got no clue what you’re


    jabbering about. Neverid eyes on you before. And as for Vincent, well, we barely crossed


    paths.


    Xavier fumed at Tandy’s unyielding demeanor.


    Tandy had been in Lockhart Prison quite a while, and even Xavier couldn’t always get a straight


    answer out of him. Yet the secrets Tandy held were so numerous, Xavier couldn’t bear to just off


    him with a bullet.


    With a stride, Xavier marched over and yanked Tandy off the cot as if he were picking up a sack of


    potatoes, “You gonna talk or not? Don’t think I’m doing you any favors keeping you breathing!”


    Tandy coughed violently, his face ashen, but managed a wry smile. “Xavier, honestly, I got no idea


    what she’s on about. What do you want me to say?”


    Noe interjected coolly, “Thorpe’s on his way here. Looks like he’s nning a prison break.”


    Tandy’s eyes bulged in shock!


    That idiot! Why would he even think of busting into Lockhart Prison!


    Xavier dropped Tandy back on the cot, his knuckles white with tension. “I’ve never heard of anyone


    dumb enough to break into Lockhart Prison. Interesting!”


    Palmer chuckled softly. “Xavier, hadn’t there been a few attempts at prison breaks before?”


    = × 5 ￡ ￡ ￡ *


    Xavier whirled around, snarling, “Zip it!”


    He wanted to y the grand protector in front of Noe, and here was Palmer, eager to burst his


    bubble.


    Xavier smirked at Tandy. “Those who tried to break out before–you know what happened to them?


    My throne’s cushioned with their heads!”


    Xavier’s throne was studded with jewels, the life’s worth of those would–be escapees!


    Noemented ndly, “It’s ugly. Your taste is trash.”


    If anyone else had dissed Xavier’s stuff, they’d likely end up ground into dust to stuff his throne, but


    Noe got away with it, and Xavier just beamed.


    “Heh, your grandma always said I had no taste. You’re right, kiddo, spot on.”


    Noe’s gaze settled on Tandy. Her eyes were clear, ice–cold, unsettling even to someone like


    Tandy, who lived life on the edge.


    Noe tilted her chin, eyeing Tandy. “You don’t want to die.”


    No one nning to die would bother reading in a cell, especially not Tandy, with sses missing a


    lens and barely holding together. This wasn’t a man who wanted to end it all.


    Tandy chuckled lightly. “Miss, nobody wants to die, but having found my way to Lockhart Prison, I


    never expected to walk out alive.”


    “Indeed. Thorpe seems to value Hollis greatly, so I made him to bring Hollis along when he came


    to rescue you. How touching to have all three brothers die together–family should stick together,


    right?”


    Tandy’s fists clenched on his knees. “What the hell do you want? Thorpe and Hollis are innocent!


    They know nothing about what you’re asking!”


    Noe snapped her fingers. “Simple. Tell me who ordered you to swap me out. Whose baby was it


    that took


    11:43


    any ce?


    She nced at her wristwatch. “Oh, and to save your brothers the trouble of finding your cell, I’ve


    shared the coordinates with them. What do you think you’ll see? A rescue or a ughter?”


    Tandy stared in disbelief at Noe. Hisposure hinged on the belief that Thorpe couldn’t


    locate him,


    “Are you the devil? Why are you doing this?”


    Noe shrugged nonchntly, “Their lives are in your hands now, not mine.”


    Tandy was silent for a moment, wiped his sses, and hesitantly put them back on.


    He closed his eyes, his voice quivering. “I can’t spill the beans. If I do, I’m a dead man. Truth is, I


    feel safer inside Lockhart Prison. So, I was willingly arrested.”


    For Tandy, the prison was a havenpared to the dangers outside!


    Noe regarded Tandy intently. “I can cure your sickness.”


    Tandy turned to her, his brow furrowed.


    “I can even cure Hollis’s illness, so yours is the same. Tell me the truth, and I’ll let you live.”


    The offer was too tempting to resist!


    Xavier looked at Noe, surprised, “Noe, you sure this guy ain’t faking his sickness?”


    Noe ignored him, her eyes fixed on Tandy. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve got a severe blood


    disorder. Bulging eyes with greenish turnors, erged lymph nodes, bruises on your arms, and


    you’re always in bed because of joint pain, right?”


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    Tandy was battling acute leukemia!


    Xavier eximed in shock, “What? I didn’t notice!”


    He had thought Tandy was just bruised from the beatings, resting up in his cell, spitting blood.


    Wasn’t that how it went for every con in Lockhart Prison?


    Noe cast him a fleeting nce. “That’s ‘cause you’re not bright enough to see it.”


    “Bullsh… I mean, you are right. Lucky you caught on!”


    Palmer couldn’t help butugh at the sight–Xavier, the fierce overlord, brought down a peg by this


    littledy! Noe stared at Tandy, “With acute leukemia, you haven’t got long. If you’re keen on


    dying, you don’t have to wait–it’sing.”


    She stood up, yawning. “If you’re not willing to talk, I’ll go entertain your brothers.”


    As Noe moved to leave, Tandy’s resolve crumbled. He blurted out, “Wait! I can give you part of


    the story. You’re smart; you’ll figure out the rest.


    Noe turned around and sat back down.


    “Can you really cure my disease? And what about my brothers?”


    “Rest assured, if what you tell me satisfies, you’ll keep breathing!”


    Tandy licked his chapped lips and began to talk.


    honestly don’t know you, but since you mentioned Vincent, you must be the kid from the Schnabel


    family. Years back, I got an order saying that a daughter–inw from the Schnabel family was


    coming to my hospital to give birth. They told me to make sure she gets transferred to the Heartfelt


    Orphanage.


    1 set a fire at Tandy Hospital, wrecked a bunch of equipment. On the day the young Mrs.


    Schnabel was due to deliver, I handed over the Schnabel baby to Vincent’s wife. She had no


    clue about the baby’s real identity, and her child wasn’t Vincent’s, but i promised to keep her


    secret and gave her a cool two hundred grand.”


    Tandy was lost in the past for a moment.


    “As for the child Mrs. Schnabel took, that kid was just an orphan from Heartfelt Orphanage. I don’t


    know her story, either. The kid was a few days older than Mrs. Schnabel’s baby. Newborns all


    look pretty much the same, and no one caught on to the switch. Years ago, when the Schnabel


    family brought the girl in for a paternity test, I handed them fake results.”


    Tandy let out a heavy sigh.


    “And about Vincent, he only came to me wanting to know what really went down that year. He


    must’ve figured out you weren’t his kid by then, so I just told him there was a mix–up at the


    hospital.”


    Noe looked at Tandy, a wry smile ying on her lips.


    “You’re lying. If you don’t know the identity of that child, and Heartfelt Orphanage is swarming with


    orphans, why on earth would you pick her out? I don’t buy any ‘coincidences‘ in your story!”