Chapter 382 To Save or Not to Save
The secretary snuck a glance into the rearview mirror, the question hanging in the air, "Mr. Bourbon, shall we escort Miss Abella to her campus first, or...?""Home,"
Phillipe declared."My school," Abella interjected simultaneously.Their voices clashed, and they turned to face each other."The intentions of that group remain nebulous. You attending school could potentially endanger your classmates," Phillipe argued earnestly. "It would be safer if you stayed with me. I can protect you."
Abella pondered, 'Right, who was the protector just a moment ago?'"Do we have any leads from our interrogation?" Phillipe cast a questioning look at the secretary in the driver's seat."None at present... But fear not, once they are in our custody, even the most tight-lipped will sing."
"I've found something." Abella, having infiltrated the backend of the bounty website, had traced the poster's IP address. "The bounty was posted at eleven last night from Deer Hill, with a reward of fifty million."She hadn't anticipated her high-profile persona to be valued at a mere fifty million.
The secretary's eyes widened in disbelief, stealing a quick glance at Abella in the rearview mirror.'Had Abella cracked the case already?How much time had passed?Less than a minute, surely?'
The secretary was astounded.Phillipe's gaze intensified as he studied the young woman, admiration for her escalating abilities evident in his eyes."
Deer Hill is situated on the border between Newark and New York. It's desolate. The steep cliffs with a sheer 90-degree drop and lack of footholds deter any hikers. Consequently, there's no surveillance."
"Three highways surround it, and after 11 pm last night, a total of eleven cars passed by Deer Hill."
"Tracing the routes of these eleven cars, I found nothing suspicious. They were merely cruising, making no efforts to avoid any cameras," Abella reported.Her slender fingers tapped the screen once more, zooming in on the surveillance footage. "However, observe this. Among these eleven vehicles, a large truck and a Toyota passed beneath a bridge from opposite directions.
But when they emerged, a Mercedes, previously absent, appeared."'This implied that the truck and the Toyota crossed beneath the bridge, and suddenly, a Mercedes materialized.Where had this Mercedes originated from?' they pondered.
"So, you suspect the Mercedes emerged from the back of the truck? Implying both the truck and the Mercedes are involved?" Phillipe queried, turning to his young accomplice.
"Exactly," Abella confirmed. She checked the truck's subsequent route and found that it had driven to a junkyard before it exploded.Next, she traced the Mercedes and discovered it had driven from the bridge to a lake, where it vanished without a trace.Where could the occupants have escaped?
As Abella delved deeper into her investigation, Phillipe admired her intense profile, the corner of his lips curling up involuntarily.His girl was indeed captivating.
"The truck driver is dead. He left a suicide note stating he was overwhelmed by debt and no longer wished to live, labeling it a self-immolation. No other individuals were discovered on the truck."Abella relayed the information, "And the Mercedes driver was reportedly drunk driving, crashed into the guardrail, and plummeted into the lake.
They retrieved the car the next day, but it was completely destroyed, and the driver was dead. However, there is another detail.""What is it?" Phillipe urged."That Mercedes... it was driven flawlessly the entire time... It didn't seem like the work of a drunk driver."
Abella pondered, then after a moment, she realized something they had overlooked and quickly started searching on her phone."Have you found a lead?"
"Yes, we've neglected the Toyota. If my intuition serves me right, both the truck and Mercedes were mere decoys created by the puppet master behind the scenes. Their purpose? To mislead us, to derail our investigation. The real focus should be on the Toyota. If my hunch is correct, the person who posted the bounty might be inside it!"
Abella scrutinized the surveillance footage, her eyes trailing the Toyota as it navigated its way to a deserted factory, only to depart shortly thereafter.
In its wake, a Porsche emerged from the shadows of the abandoned structure.A realization dawned on Abella; the occupant of the Toyota must have transitioned into the Porsche...Pursuing this lead, Abella traced the Porsche's trajectory until it halted at a specific destination.
"Summer Villa," she declared.Phillipe's gaze intensified at her words. "That's the Allen family's property," he noted.The driver, who also served as Abella's secretary, gasped.
"Could it be a member of the Allen family behind this attempt to harm Abella?" The thought was shocking. In less than ten minutes, Abella had unmasked the puppeteer.But the Allen family? It seemed inconceivable.
The Allens and the Bourbons were intertwined by deep-seated bonds. Furthermore, they were well aware that Abella was engaged to Mr. Bourbon.
Nobody, no matter how audacious, would dare to harm Abella.As Abella delved deeper into the mystery, she discovered that Calla had indeed returned home at midnight the previous night, escorted by Lucine.Armed with this irrefutable proof, Abella turned to Phillipe and questioned him bluntly, "Are you shielding them?" After all, Mr. Allen had once saved Phillipe's father's life.
Had he not intervened at the crucial moment, Phillipe's father would have perished in the swimming pool, never to marry, have children, or bring Phillipe into existence.
Such a debt was immeasurable, Abella mused.A myriad of emotions flickered in Phillipe's eyes before he finally admitted, "Yes.""All right."If he chose to defend them, Abella wasn't going to create unnecessary difficulties.
"Let's ensure their family crumbles."
'How dare they harm my baby? Merely stripping them of their wealth is too lenient. Only through the utter chaos of their lives can they atone for their audacious scheme,' he ruminated.Abella had assumed Phillipe sought to preserve the Allen family's tranquility, but she hadn't anticipated his fury.
"You handle it. I'll manage the aftermath," Phillipe offered quietly."Okay." Without further delay, Abella forwarded the evidence to the police. Soon, several squad cars roared down the streets, their sirens piercing the silence as they sped towards the Allen family's residence.
Fiona and Grayson were dumbfounded, unable to comprehend their daughter's involvement in a murder conspiracy.
They watched, disbelief etched on their faces, as their daughter and niece were escorted away. In their desperation, they sought Mr. Allen's assistance.Upon realizing the situation implicated Abella, Mr. Allen immediately reached out to Phillipe.
However, without her contact information, he was forced to directly confront Mr. Bourbon. He stormed into the Bourbon residence, his voice laced with urgency."Mr. Bourbon, there must be some misunderstanding. How could Lucine and Calla possibly be implicated in such a heinous act? They've always been compassionate, even refusing to harm an ant. This must be a mistake."
Mr. Allen's distress was palpable as he implored Mr. Bourbon, his hands clasping the latter's in a desperate plea.
"Please, contact your Abella. Have them released. Lucine and Calla have never endured such hardship. Isn't this damaging the harmony between our families?"Mr. Bourbon had harbored reservations about the Allen family since the Go incident.
Yet, even faced with allegations of murder solicitation, he queried, "What exactly transpired?"As Mr. Allen relayed the circumstances to Mr. Bourbon, the latter withdrew his hand and retorted icily, "Abella couldn't possibly be mistaken about this. If she asserts that your granddaughters conspired to murder her, then they must indeed be guilty of such a despicable act!"
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