Take My Breath Away

In the years following Melody's death, Napier did nothing but keep a vigil at her tombstone every day.

Evelyn felt sorry for him. She not only gave him money on a regular basis, but also had someone bring him food and drinks every day.

She even had a house built for him. It was erected near the one intended for the cemetery watchman.

Then one day, Napier disappeared from the world and no one saw him again, not in that cemetery or even in Y City.

"Sad tale. Sounds like the guy let his grief consume him. But why kill Evelyn's ex-boyfriends?" Sheffield thought Napier was nuts. Even if he bore a grudge against Evelyn for his girlfriend's death, killing three people to get back at her was a little weird. And apparently he was trying to target the fourth.

Melody had jumped off the building in a red dress. That was the reason why Evelyn didn't like red dresses. He should have known that sooner.

If one thing was clear from Carlos' account, it was that Melody and Evelyn cared for each other deeply.

"Are you sure it's Napier Tao?" Carlos asked.

"Pretty sure. I caught a glimpse of his face when we fought, but he escaped. The police chief's last name is 'Tao, ' too. Do you think there's a connection?" That was the key to the mystery.

Sheffield had started patrolling the streets at night, hoping to draw Napier out.

At last, they had some measure of success. Last night, in the wee hours, Napier popped up near Sheffield's old apartment.

The two of them fought with each other again. However, Napier was nobody's fool. He figured out Sheffield had men waiting to ambush him, and escaped.

Sheffield wanted to catch him, but this guy was too quick. He pulled out a knife and slashed at Sheffield's midsection. The CEO sidestepped it and managed to pull off the man's mask.

The moment the mask was pulled off, he recognized him. It was the man who he had beaten in Evelyn's apartment some time ago.

'Chief Tao...' Carlos pondered. It was a very important question. "Probably," he answered. The cases of Evelyn's murdered exes were unsolved. Napier couldn't have gotten away with it, unless a cop helped him out. This "Chief Tao" could be the one doing it.

"Chief Tao retired a year ago. I'll go see him tomorrow."

"Okay."

In the living room of the Huo family manor, a white piano sat by the window. That night, Sheffield and Gwyn were sitting in front of the piano. The father was gently imparting his musical knowledge, while the child listened carefully.

After he got up that morning, he decided he'd teach Gwyn how to play the piano. "This finger goes here. Now press... Well done! Now put your hand here and press the key with your index finger. That's right! Gwyn, you're amazing."

Evelyn watched the two, a warm feeling in her heart. She knew at this age, Gwyn didn't have the hand size or manual dexterity needed to actually play the piano. But still, that didn't stop her from trying. The proud mother took out her phone and snapped a picture of father and daughter.

Gwyn could play a super-simple melody, using many of the same keys over and over. It sounded okay as long as she maintained the right cadence. But the lyrics to the song were another matter. She made sounds approximating the words.

Sheffield corrected her. "Look at my mouth. Twinkle, twinkle, little star... Can you try? I'll repeat it for you. Twinkle, twinkle, little star..."

After repeating the lyrics several times, the little cutie learned it well enough.

But Sheffield wanted her to show off. He said, "Okay, sweetie. Sing the song that Dad taught you, okay?" Evelyn sat in rapt attention.

"Okay!"

At Sheffield's prompting, Gwyn sat at one end of the piano, dressed in a beautiful yellow dress, with a ribbon tied in her short hair.

He gestured for her to start after adjusting the chair's height. In an instant, the girl put her little hands on the keyboard, and played the opening notes of the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

To Evelyn's surprise, the little girl played it flawlessly. She looked at the beaming Sheffield and asked, "So is it because you're a good teacher, or she's a good student?"

Sheffield winked at her. "Because I'm a good teacher, of course. But our daughter is quite smart too, just like me!"

Evelyn chuckled. "You're so full of yourself, it's not funny!"

"Hey, guys! Time to wash up for dinner!" Debbie helped the housemaid serve the last dish and invited the three of them to dinner.

When she heard dinner was ready, Gwyn slipped down from the chair and ran happily to the dining room. "Grandma, meat."

Following behind the kid with Evelyn on his arm, Sheffield teased, "No, kiddo, you don't eat meat."

The little girl turned around and pouted. "Gwyn meat. Daddy, don't eat."

Her lovely, naughty look made the adults burst into laughter.

Debbie picked up a plate of braised meat. "Sweetie, look, what's this? It's braised meat. I made it special for you."

Gwyn clapped her hands and said, "Thank you, Gramma." "

"You're welcome, my dear."

Evelyn grabbed her hand and said, "Let's go. We need to wash up for dinner."

They entered the bathroom.

Joshua and Terilynn also came back for dinner. Carlos was there, and only Matthew was missing. He was still hard at work.

Thanks to Joshua and Sheffield being quick with a joke, not to mention Gwyn, there was much laughter at the table. It was always enjoyable to have the family around for dinner.

After dinner, Gwyn wanted to go and play some more. So the two couples took the little girl to hang around the manor.

But Gwyn had a fever the next morning. She was tired, and not interested in doing much. Her energy was low.

Sheffield decided to bring down her fever without pills. He fetched a fever cooling patch, made for kids with cute animal designs. He put it on her forehead, and told Evelyn, "Just go to work. Mom and I will take care of Gwyn. I'll call you later."

"Are you sure?" Evelyn was worried.

"Of course. Remember, I used to be a doctor. I'm a professional. Why worry?"

Gwyn lay in the bed, eyes open. Sheffield propped her up in his arms and pressed the cooling patch on her forehead. "Mom's going to work. Come on, see if you can play."

There was indeed some emergency in the company. So Evelyn didn't insist on staying at the manor. Before she left, she said to the father and daughter duo, "Gwyn, do what Daddy tells you. Sheffield, remember to have her drink warm water. Text me about the kiddo." If he didn't let her know what was going on, she wouldn't be able to focus.

"Okay, go ahead. Be careful on the road. Gwyn, say goodbye to Mommy."

The little girl rested her head on Sheffield's shoulder, raised her hand feebly and waved it at Evelyn. "Bye, Mommy!" she said in a low voice.

Feeling sorry for her daughter, Evelyn stroked her cheek lovingly and said, "Be a good girl. If it hurts or you feel weird, let Daddy know. I'm leaving now."

"Okay."

Around lunchtime, Gwyn still didn't seem right. If anything, she was worse.

After Evelyn left, Sheffield tried to play with her. But a while later, she began to feel sleepy again. So he relented, and tucked her into bed.

When she was asleep, Sheffield took her temperature. It was 38.5 degrees Celsius. Sheffield wasn't taking any chances, and brought her to the car. Once she was safely belted into her seat, Sheffield brought her to the hospital.

When they arrived at the pediatric department of First General, the doctor took the girl's temperature. It had jumped to 39.5 degree Celsius. The girl needed to be put on an ibuprofen IV to bring her fever down.

Sheffield filled out all the hospital admission forms, and waited. When she was wheeled into a room and her IV was in place, he called Evelyn.