NovelBookThat evening, despite his reluctance, Richard droveback to my apartment, not at ease until he had.
Downstairs, he had his driver bring a bag of my favorite snacks to my door. "I've cut out snacks," | said with a
forced smile, tugging at the corner of my mouth.
Richard seemed pained by my words, gently patting my head as he said, "You should cut down, anyway. | don't
want you getting cavities and complaining about toothaches, forcingto take you to the dentist."
As a kid, | was notorious for my sweet tooth, always winding up with cavities. | started getting fillings as young
as five or six. Richard always tookto the dentist, cheeringup and givingcourage. | couldn't believe
he still remembered that. "Tracie was the real sweet tooth, Richard. You've hadlooking for her all these
years, and | still haven't found her," | said, recalling the task he had givenbefore his stint in jail.
Tracie was an older girl from the orphanage who got adopted. However, her adoption records were faked, leaving
no clues about her whereabouts.
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Richard had built his empire from scratch, driven by his ambition for success and the hope of finding Tracie
because she was his first love. "It's okay. I'll keep looking for Tracie. I'll never stop, not ever." he reassured me.
I nodded, turning to enter the elevator. As the doors opened, | saw Max leaning against the wall inside, eyes
closed as if exhausted.
When the doors opened wide, he straightened up and opened his eyes, only to fix his gaze not onbut on
Richard standing behind me.
His expression was calm, yet he didn't greet Richard. That was typical of Max, who wouldn't say a word unless he
wanted to, no matter who tried to coax him.
But as Richard saw him, the bag of snacks he was about to handfroze in his grip.
As | was about to ask if he knew Max, Max spoke first, "Out already?"
Richard straightened up and bowed respectfully, saying, "Yes."
It was the first t| had seen Richard show such respect to anyone. His lean frseemed to channel all its
energy into that single bow.
"Aren't you coming in?" Max didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he shota look, signalingto go
ahead.
Taking the snacks from Richard's hand, | felt his worry subside at that moment.
"So, you guys are neighbors? That putsat ease. Go on up," Richard said, ruffling my hair.
| nodded and stepped into the elevator. But Max's expression seemed even grimmer than before.
As the elevator doors closed, | curiously asked, "Do you know Richard?"
"Barely," Max replied coolly.
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But how did he know about
Richard's imprisonment if he barely knew Richard? Before | could press further, the elevator jolted violently,
lights flickering on and off.
| grabbed Max's arm to prevent falling if the elevator were to drop Then, with a loud crash, the elevator
plummeted, and reacting quickly, Max grabbed my hand and pulledinto his embrace.
Dust rained from above, and he from covered my head with his hand, shieldingfrom the debris. We both
faced the elevator failure with a calm that seemed to have faced life-and-death situations. Fear was absent from
our reactions.
Holdingwith one arm, he stretched out the other to press the emergency button, but to no avail. When
checking his phone, he found no signal.
Trying to lighten the mood, | joked, "Well, at least Richard left us plenty of snacks. It should be enough to last us
a few days."
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