The Manipulated Villainess

Aston instantly shut his mouth when he realized what he said! He quickly glanced at his sister to see her reaction. Bewilderment was written all over Shara\'s face. What was her brother talking about?!

Leon Jung was no different. He couldn\'t hide his amazement and he glanced at Aston with a stupefied face! His father killed who?!

"What are you talking about, Aston Min?" Shara uttered. She glanced at her brother, demanding an answer.

Aston could felt his throat running dry! What was he supposed to do at this moment?

"What did my father do?" Leon promptly asked when Aston didn\'t say anything. His father again. How will he live on at this rate?! Even now, the burden was already more than he could carry.

"I don\'t know the reason but... the Prime Minister was the one who ordered someone to kill our father. I have some evidence which contains the statement of several witnesses." Aston finally said in a low voice. "The ones who did the work were the members of a gang but I can\'t reveal the name of their gang." He added.

"How did you know that?" Shara immediately asked him. An undeniable rage was forming in her eyes!

"Someone told me but I can\'t reveal the identity. I promise to keep it a secret." Aston responded but he noticed that his sister was already staring at Leon.

Leon narrowed his eyes and nervously clenched his fingers. If this happened a day or two ago, he would surely argue. He would say that his father won\'t do such a thing. However, after hearing him telling Shara to kill Lester Yun last night, he knew that his father won\'t hesitate to kill anyone who stood in his way! The revelation tore his heart and shredded it to a thousand pieces!

He lifted his head and looked at Shara who was already staring at him. For the first time, he felt too ashamed to meet her gaze. As such, he quickly turned away again.

"Leon," Shara uttered as she understood what he was thinking. She knew how hard it would be for him.

Despite being born into a wealthy family, Leon Jung\'s life was full of hardships though he let a seemingly rosy life that others would envy. However, he was always far from happy all thanks to his abusive father who tried to control his every move. Father? Peter Jung wasn\'t even his father! If only Leon knew this, he won\'t have to feel this ashamed!

When Leon thought of last night, he forced himself to hardened his heart once again. "I already cut ties with my father and this is about our organization. Here, nothing is possible without my permission." He firmly said, looking at the twins. Each word that he spoke gave him pain that one could never imagine!

"Leon Jung -"

"Shara will stay here until I allow her to leave." Leon declared, interrupting Aston from speaking. Then he turned around and walked out of the secret room. Aston tried to stop him but...

"Let him be."

He halted when he heard Shara\'s voice. Feeling confused, he turned around and looked at his sister. She was locked up and chained here! Why did she still speak up for him? He couldn\'t understand!

"Aria, are you blinded by your feelings? Why can\'t you see anything clear?" He asked. He tried his best to keep his voice low. He never wanted to be disrespectful towards his older twin sister.

"Don\'t blame Leon, Aston. He is innocent." Shara calmly said and sat again on the floor.

Aston glanced down at her with disbelief written all over his face. "I was angry and I had a slip of tongue, Aria. I believe that a child mustn\'t bear the sins of their parents. However, I objected to you being locked up here." He paused when a question crossed his mind. "Give me an answer now, Aria. What connection do you have with Lester Yun? Why did he said that you are one of them from the very beginning? Were you threatened?"

Shara thought of Peter Jung and with the revelation that Aston made, she couldn\'t tell him the truth! How could she possibly tell him that she was working for the man who killed their father? Just like Leon, she was too ashamed of herself!

"I can\'t tell you that." She said, refusing to meet his gaze.

Aston bent his knees to match Aria who was still sitting. "I\'m your brother, Aria. Why can\'t you tell me? Even if you are afraid, I can protect you. You can count on me."

"It\'s not just about me, Aston. You should understand me. Everything I do have a reason but... I can\'t say it for now." Shara said. The desperateness in her voice pained Aston to a great extent!

"Aria -"

"I promise you that I will make the Prime Minister pay for what he did. I won\'t forgive him for destroying our family. So please trust in me, Aston." Shara pleaded. "You misunderstood Leon. He did this to protect me. I\'m not the one who is in pain right now but him. Don\'t hate him too much."

"If you don\'t explain, how will I understand you? Will you be able to stay put if you are in my position right now?" Aston muttered. Why was everything so complicated?! Somehow, he started to think that both his sister and Leon were acting strange! Just what did happened?

When Shara fell silent, Aston sighed in defeat and stood up. "I won\'t wait for long, Aria. If you didn\'t come out soon or if anything happened to you while you are here, I won\'t spare anyone who is involved." He firmly said. Turning his back at her, he left the room before Shara could say anything.

Shara stared at the disappearing form of her brother. Once again, she finds herself alone in this room. Thinking of Peter Jung, she clenched her fist. She will surely make him pay for everything he did and... she was also willing to get punished for the things she did to aid the Prime Minister in his misdeeds!

*

Leon was still standing on the stairs when Aston came out. He walked forward when he saw the actor but the latter walked past him. Then he stood still, narrowing his eyes at the floor until...

"I will retreat for now. However, I won\'t be still if anything happened to my sister during her stay here."

He quickly turned around when he saw Aston\'s voice but the latter already walked up the stairs and in no time, he was out of his sight.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nicole was in the main mansion of her family. She rushed there as soon as she received a call from Garcia Han. The Minister of Justice didn\'t answer her call for a while and now that she finally meet her, Nicole really wished to know what she had on mind.

"It\'s hard to reach you these days." She said to her stepmother who was sitting on the single couch in her right.

"When did you start caring about that?" Garcia Han simply said which made Nicole let out a sigh.

"Things are different now, Mother. You also know that." Nicole said, turning to Garcia Han who was simply glancing straight at the front.

After remaining silent for a while, Garcia Han finally turned to Nicole. "What do you want from me?" She asked.

"Help me in exposing the one who hid behind the curtains all this time. I\'m sure that what Colin Park aimed at is Yang Group. I want to stop him at all costs. Yang Group is the result of my father\'s hard work for a lifetime. I won\'t let anyone take it away from me." Nicole firmly said.

"Don\'t you know that it\'s the same as digging my own grave?" Garcia Han asked.

Nicole nodded. "I know. But Mother, even if he exposes you and your past, he won\'t get what he wants as long as I deny it."

"What are you trying to say?" Garcia Han asked again with a confused face.

"You have nothing to do with my father\'s death, so... " Nicole paused and squeezed the clutch which she holds in her hand. "Everything is a misunderstanding. I\'m willing to let it go."

Her words made Garcia Han raised a brow. She made her lived in hell for 15 years and now... she was willing to let go?! She even thought that Nicole had lost her mind! "Do you even know what you\'re saying?"

"Don\'t misunderstand me," Nicole said right away. "I won\'t forgive you but I\'m willing to put aside the feud between us and join hands to take down the same enemy." She paused and met her stepmother\'s gaze which she didn\'t do it often.

"I know the pain of losing a loved one, Mother. So, I understand your vengeance and the bitterness that you felt towards me and my father. If I were in your shoes, I can\'t say that I won\'t make the same choice." She added.