Liam came back to the bakery, subtly injured.
Sera and Mia noticed his wounds and immediately reacted. Mia ran toward him while Sera took a stance in case of an ambush.
"Don't worry, Sera, no one followed me back here," he muttered, clutching his side.
His body was in pain because that was the first time he had done moves like that, and his body wasn't accustomed to it.
"What happened?!" Mia called out, rushing toward him.
"It's nothing much, I'm just having body pains," he responded, trying to hide the truth.
Sera stared at him for a while, then spoke, "You were attacked?"
He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "How did you—?" he asked.
"I was once in the army. I've witnessed stuff like this a lot, so it's easy to decipher what happened," she responded, smirking as she spoke.
"I almost forgot about that," he muttered, settling down on a chair near him.
The bakery was almost closed because it was late in the evening, around 5 p.m. There were fewer customers, so he didn't cause any commotion or interference.
"So, what happened?" Sera asked further, folding her arms together and shifting her weight to the left.
"Yeah, I was ambushed by a couple of thugs," he murmured, stretching his back.
"Oh my!" Mia exclaimed, holding his shoulder. "Random thugs?" she asked.
"I don't think so, but there's no evidence that Carl did it," he responded.
"I see. So where are they currently?" Sera interrupted.
"I called the police, so they're currently in police custody," he said, leaning on the table.
Mia went into the bakery to get hot water and a towel, as well as a medic box.
Meanwhile, Sera continued questioning, "We both know it's Carl and the owner of Maddox Corporation behind this."
"Yeah, but we can't tell her. We'll have to discover it ourselves," he muttered.
"But you do know you'd have to eventually tell her, right?" Sera said, walking closer to him.
"Yeah, but at the right time. She's already been through a lot because of that guy," he said.
Mia walked into the room, and they immediately changed the direction of the topic.
"Did you get their faces?" Sera asked, noticing Mia's presence.
"They were hooded, but the police will be sure to question them. I've kept tags, and I have their contact," he said, responding to Sera.
Mia walked up and knelt before him, opening the medic box and soaking the towel in the water.
She softly cleaned his body, though the bruises stung under the heat. "Ouch!" he screamed as she cleaned him.
"Sorry, I'll be more careful," she said, taking it slower.
He nodded, then stared at Sera, who gave him a sign to inform her about Carl and Maddox Corporation.
Liam swung his head in opposition, but Sera still insisted.
Mia noticed the movements and looked at him. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Liam immediately panicked at her voice and hit his hand on the table. "Arghh!!"
Mia immediately held his hand but still stood by her question.
Liam stared at her, then at Sera, then back at Mia. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you," he concluded.
Mia brought a chair closer to him and sat on it, waiting for his confession.
"You're the one who owns the bakery, so you deserve to know," he began.
Mia sat closer, gesturing she was all ears.
Liam cleared his throat, then said, "We were able to find out who Carl was and who he was working for."
"What?" she said, turning toward Sera, who nodded.
"And you didn't bother to tell me because?" she questioned, her mood changing.
"You were really hurt and I didn't want to hurt you any further," he muttered.
She sighed, "Yeah right," then stood up and walked into the kitchen.
Liam stared at Sera. Then Sera nodded, "I'll go talk to her, just rest up."
Liam watched her walk into the kitchen, then rested on the chair, glancing at the bakery's ceiling.
Sera walked into the kitchen and saw Mia leaning on the U-table, glancing out the window.
"Mia," she said, walking closer.
"Don't come here to lecture me on the good he did. I am literally the owner of this bakery, don't I deserve to know who caused its destruction?" she argued.
"Yes, you do. But at that moment, you were broken and needed time to heal," she said, her voice calm and composed.
"That's the excuse you both are using? It's pathetic," she responded.
"Alright, maybe we did you wrong by not telling you, but it was for your own good. Just try and understand him. He literally invested in your bakery twice and has been close to you ever since. He even protected you during the explosion. Can't you at least do this for him, just this once?" Sera said, tapping her shoulder.
Mia turned to her and looked at her for a while, then she cleaned her face and responded, "Just this once."
Sera nodded in agreement, then they both walked out of the kitchen.
Mia looked at him, then her expression softened. "I'm sorry for how I acted."
Liam, who was still recovering, sat up. "It's alright," he said, slight pain still evident in his voice.
"Don't move so much, so I can fix you up while you tell me everything," she said, walking back to her chair.
He looked at Sera, who gave him a carry-on nod.
"Okay, I'll tell you everything without hiding anything," he muttered, sitting up so Mia could take care of his injury.
"Well, after the explosion that day, Sera and I decided to track down this so-called Carl who was involved in it," he began.
"We placed a tracker on him when we paid his delivery guy to do it on our behalf. It wasn't easy to convince him, though," he said, looking at Sera, then staring back at Mia.
"So we watched his movements, his call tags, and everything about him for that whole week," he cleared his throat, then continued.
"At first it was hard to determine where they were meeting up, but Sera's brains took care of that and she was able to decipher it."
"And how are you sure that this person was indeed involved in the explosion?" Mia asked, adding disinfectant to his bruises.
"Well, because I know this person and I am sure he was the one who paid Carl to do it," he muttered, glancing at the bakery floor tiles.
Mia turned to Sera. "He didn't tell me," she quickly reacted.
Then she turned back to Liam. "And who is this person to you?"
He stared at her with the intent to overshadow the question, but he remembered his promise before he started. "I probably shouldn't have promised that," he thought.
"He's my cousin," he muttered.
The shock on Sera and Mia's faces was so obvious. "Your cousin?" they both asked at the same time.
"Yes. The owner of Maddox Industries is a cousin of mine," he repeated.
Sera stared at him, but she could only see sincerity in his eyes. Then she turned to Mia, "He's not kidding."
"I get why you have so much money to invest now, but why would he want to hurt you or me?" Mia questioned further, her interest now piqued.
"Personal reasons," he responded.
"Like?" she insisted further.
He sighed, then answered, "He wants me dead because of my property."
They both stared at each other, then turned back to him. "So you're Liam Maddox?! The one the news said was dead?"
"Apparently," he laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"No way, you've got to be kidding. How are you still alive??" Sera asked, now interested.
"Things happened, and I was saved," he muttered.
"Why didn't you inform your family about your cousin's actions?" Mia asked.
"You mean the family that also wants me dead or another family?" he questioned.
"Ohh—" she responded, facing down.
"It's alright. Don't overthink it. A lot of people do harsh stuff for money, so it's nothing new," he said, still smiling to hide his pain.
"I thought families were an exception," she said. "So you can't even trust your own family? What has the world become!" she said, her expression sad.
Sera stood by the opposite table, wallowing in shock. "And I thought I faced a lot in the army. My guy, you've been patient," she said. "If I was in your shoes, I'd assassinate them personally, even if I end up in jail."
He smiled, "I use a different method."
"So what are we going to do? He doesn't seem like he'd stop until you're dead," Mia said, looking up to him.
"I have an idea. One that would leave him in shock for a couple of weeks. A warning," he smirked, staring at both of them.