"Taxi!" Caitlin shouted.
She couldn't stand her own curiosity any longer—she had to go back to where Daniel had gotten off. It didn’t take long before she arrived at the exact spot. After paying the fare, she quickly hid, making sure Daniel wouldn't see her.
"I hope he hasn’t gone far," she muttered.
Caitlin was determined to find out Daniel’s true identity, and this was her only chance. That car could’ve been his, but he might’ve pretended to borrow it. Or maybe it wasn’t his at all, and he had just borrowed it from a rich friend.
"Argh, this is making my head spin!" Caitlin shook her head rapidly.
Not long after, she spotted Daniel emerging from the other side of the area, now wearing a parachute-material jacket. His outfit was much more casual than before. When had he even changed? This man was completely unpredictable. Caitlin trailed after him from a safe distance, wondering if the clothes he had worn earlier were borrowed as well.
"Where is he even going?"
She continued following him all the way to the city’s subway station. Oddly enough, he took a much longer route than necessary when there was a much faster walking path. The long walk made Caitlin wince from time to time—her feet were starting to ache. She was still wearing high heels.
So far, Daniel hadn’t looked back even once, which meant she hadn’t been caught yet. As they passed through a busy neighborhood, Caitlin noticed a convenience store on the left side of the road. Watching people munching on bread made her realize she was hungry. If only she hadn’t run into her ex, tonight could have been a romantic date.
"Focus, Caitlin, focus." She lightly slapped her cheeks to snap out of her thoughts.
They were almost there, just a few steps down the staircase. Now, the distance between them had shrunk considerably. People bustled past, coming and going, and suddenly, Daniel stopped, glancing around. Caitlin quickly sat down among the newly arrived passengers, using her hair to shield her face as she observed him. "What is he doing?"
Daniel crouched down, seemingly tying his shoelaces, but from where she sat, Caitlin could see that he was actually picking up a coin he had stepped on earlier. He looked strangely happy about it. Even from a distance, she could tell he was smiling widely.
"What the hell is he doing?" Caitlin frowned in confusion.
Given Daniel’s obsession with money, this shouldn’t have been surprising. But wasn’t that reaction a little over the top? Caitlin resumed following him as he walked further into the station, not realizing how much worse the pain in her feet had become.
She pressed herself against the side of a subway station building, knowing that if Daniel had been more observant of his surroundings, he would have caught her by now. But so far, he seemed relaxed, walking straight ahead.
He suddenly stopped in front of a vending machine. Taking out what seemed to be the coin he had just found, he carefully selected a drink after pondering for a few moments. Then, he crossed his arms and waited for the bottle to drop.
Unexpectedly, a man appeared out of nowhere and patted Daniel on the back. They seemed familiar with each other. If Caitlin wasn’t mistaken, the man who had approached Daniel had a pair of handcuffs hooked onto the back of his jeans.
"A cop? An undercover cop?"
Caitlin stiffened, her mind racing with possibilities. Was Daniel some kind of drug dealer? Was this man about to arrest him? But then why did they look so friendly? Caitlin’s headache worsened. The newcomer suddenly put Daniel in a playful headlock, and instead of resisting, Daniel just laughed and pretended to struggle. A moment later, the man left, while Daniel stayed behind, sipping his drink absentmindedly.
"For the love of God, is he not going home?" Caitlin squinted, trying to read the label on the bottle.
"Coffee?" she muttered, nodding to herself.
No wonder he was taking his time drinking it. Caitlin jumped when her phone suddenly rang. She rummaged through her bag, annoyed at whoever was calling her at this hour. But her irritation quickly turned into anger when she saw the name on the screen. For a moment, she hesitated. Should she answer it or not? She stole a glance at Daniel, who was still sitting by the vending machine, seemingly lost in thought. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt, she sighed and picked up the call.
"Fine, I’ll answer it," she muttered sadly.
"Caitlin, can you hear me?"
Her mother’s cold voice made Caitlin’s expression harden. She already knew why the woman was calling—she wanted money. Their relationship had never been good ever since Caitlin left home. She hadn’t gone back even once in the past two years since moving here for work. To her, home was hell, and no matter what, she refused to return.
"What is it?" Caitlin asked flatly.
"The electricity bill this month is through the roof. You haven’t sent the rest of last month’s salary."
"Dad has a job too, Mom. Why do you always ask me for money? I need to eat so I can work, and I also have to pay off my student loans."
Caitlin gritted her teeth, clutching her own hair in frustration. A few people passing by gave her odd looks, but she couldn’t care less.
"You should be grateful I even gave birth to you! I should have just aborted you back then! Do you think raising a child is cheap? Now that you have a job, you should at least help support your family!" her mother snapped.
Caitlin wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she was still in a public place. Every time she refused to send money, her mother would say the same thing—bringing up how hard it was to raise her, making Caitlin feel guilty and powerless to argue.
It wasn’t that Caitlin didn’t want to help the people who had raised her, but she also wanted to live a normal life. She wanted to send money whenever she had extra, not because she was forced to. But the reality was different. Caitlin had her own bills to pay.
"I’ll send it tomorrow, Mom. I’m hanging up."
She took a deep breath, puffing out her cheeks. Her chest ached at the thought of her parents. Why couldn’t they be like other people’s parents? She lowered her head, staring at her feet. She wanted to cry but chose not to. Instead, she shoved her phone back into her bag, hoping this melancholic feeling would pass soon.
"Where is he now?" Caitlin glanced around frantically.
She cursed under her breath—she had lost Daniel in just a matter of minutes. She should’ve ignored her mother’s call and just sent the money tomorrow.
"Are you following me?" Daniel’s voice suddenly came from behind.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Caitlin yelped.
His voice had startled her so much she nearly had a heart attack. She let out an awkward smile, knowing she had been caught. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, her heart pounding. She needed to act natural, maybe even flash her sweetest smile—who knows, he might just go easy on her.
"Hi." She raised a hand in greeting before clearing her throat. "What a coincidence running into you here! Uh, I had some errands to run, you know…."
Caitlin did her best to sound casual, but inside, she was terrified. Daniel simply smirked at her, tilting his head slightly as he observed her. His gaze locked onto hers, and in that moment, she could tell—he had found his next target to mess with.