Chapter 549 Francis, Are You Crazy?
Even though Stanley made a call using the car's Bluetooth, their tech guys confirmed he never actually went to Northfield. He was pulling the strings from afar, like some puppet master.
Victor had a hunch that the explosives and Stanley's sudden appearance at the Serene Haven Hotel were all tied to Francis's plans.
The intel center chimed in, "There's something else you need to know."
"Spill it."
"Stanley's wife, Aria, died after coming to Northfield."
Victor was confused, "Why'd she come to Northfield?"
"Aria's grandma had some Dreamlandia blood in her. She came back to visit family, and Aria tagged along."
Victor's frown deepened; things were starting to click. Aria's death was probably a setup to get Stanley all riled up for revenge. Could Francis be behind this? What was he aiming for?
Victor started to think maybe Francis did it because of Stanley's hit list.
After hanging up, Joshua suddenly said, "I know about Aria."
Victor turned, "How do you know?"
"My grandpa was from Emerald Isle, and my dad came to Dreamlandia for work and met my mom."
Joshua loved a good family story and couldn't help himself. Victor cut him off, "Get to the point."
Joshua cleared his throat, "Everyone working for the Charles family in Emerald Isle knew Stanley liked Aria because she was just as ruthless and cold-blooded as him. She'd beat servants until they bled or even skin them alive. She was infamous for her cruelty. If she died, the servants at Stanley's place would probably throw a party."
Victor's frown deepened; the Charles family was seriously messed up.
Victor tried calling Wesley again but couldn't get through. Wesley must already be heading back to Dreamlandia.
Victor's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to break this news to Francis. But he was still drawing a blank.
Half an hour earlier, inside Serene Haven Hotel.
In the swanky venue, it was just Francis and Audrey. Their faces made the beautiful setting feel creepy. One was scheming, the other was ice-cold.
Audrey made one last plea, "Francis, you have to believe I love you and would never hurt you. After the wedding, I'll do everything to find the antidote for you. I'll give you the secret medicine first to hold off your symptoms. You have to trust me."
"Audrey, cut the act. Don't you get it? This wedding never had a groom, just you."
Audrey's eyes went wide, totally baffled by what Francis just said. A wedding without a groom? What kind of nonsense was that?
Francis looked at her and said slowly, "Isn't this the wedding you wanted? I made it happen for you. Now, it's all over."
Audrey was still lost. "Francis, what do you mean?"
Francis explained, "Do you know why I insisted on having this wedding? Because it would draw out your old friend."
Audrey's fear grew. "What old friend? What are you talking about?"
Francis hinted, "The friend you teamed up with five years ago when Harper fell off the bridge."
Audrey's face went pale instantly. Francis knew it was her!
"You mean..." Audrey almost let it slip but caught herself. She couldn't admit it!
But she also knew Francis wouldn't say this without solid proof.
Yet, even if he had evidence, so what? Five years had passed. Would Stanley risk everything to testify for Francis? Unless she confessed, no one could prove she did it.
Most of the dirty work back then was done by Jonathan. Audrey's only mistake was contacting Stanley. Stanley had a thing; he didn't take jobs for money—he had plenty. He did it for the thrill. He wanted the employer to tell him a story about why they wanted someone dead. If he liked the story, he'd take the job. If not, he might kill the employer instead.
So meeting Stanley was risky, but luckily, Audrey's uncle Arthur had close ties with the Charles family. After dropping Arthur's name, Stanley promised not to harm Audrey, so she went to tell her story.
Audrey knew Stanley hated liars, so she told him the true story of a grand and dark love affair. Stanley was hooked when he heard how Audrey manipulated three women to kill each other for the man she loved while she stayed clean.
When Stanley heard that Audrey wanted him to kill the man's most beloved woman, he liked her even more. He was drawn to people as twisted as he was.
Killing someone for some grand reason bored Stanley. It had to come from personal desire, from the dark side of oneself. So they struck a deal.
Audrey pretended to be hurt and said, "I don't get what you're saying, Francis. You think too badly of me. We grew up together. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
"I never really knew you, Audrey. Whenever you showed up at the Getty Mansion, I avoided you. We saw each other maybe once a year. Is that what you call growing up together? You have quite the imagination."
Francis's words made Audrey's face go pale inch by inch. Francis was right. Many times, she was hiding in the shadows, watching him. From the moment Audrey could remember, Francis's every move was in her eyes. How could that not count as growing up together?
"No matter what you say, I didn't do it." Audrey was scared Francis might be recording or filming, so she stuck to her denial.
"After Chloe's trusted servant had an 'accident,' you trained a new one to get close to her, then had that servant whisper ideas to Chloe to stir up Amelia against Harper. Once Amelia was out of the picture, you backed Chloe to frame Harper. And when you squeezed the last bit of use out of those two idiots, do I need to spell out what you did next?"
Francis's cold sarcasm hit Audrey like a ton of bricks. How did he know everything, like he had been watching her the whole time?
Sure, Audrey had been sneaky, but once Francis got wind of her schemes, he started digging. He mapped out every incident involving Harper on a blackboard, tackling each one step by step. He unraveled all the connections, exposing Audrey's obsessive, terrifying, and dark side.
At that moment, Francis realized that as long as Audrey was alive, she would never stop and Harper would always be in danger.
Francis's logical deductions showed that because Audrey had framed Jonathan, she could easily dodge punishment. So, Francis planned the wedding that Audrey wanted.
Just now, he had still given Audrey a chance to confess, to accept legal punishment in Northfield. If she had been willing to come clean, Francis wouldn't have gone ahead with his next plan. But clearly, Audrey would never admit her guilt, even if it killed her.
In just a few minutes, a storm of emotions surged within Audrey. "You're slandering me!" she shouted. She had worn her mask for so long that she would never take it off, so she would never admit it.
Francis, however, kept pushing, his voice icy. "You and Ryan, along with Keith, kidnapped Agnes and my mother. You arranged for a car to try to kill them, and you secretly had Logan dealt with. You even caused the loss of my and Harper's first child."
Francis cornered Audrey against the door, his eyes filled with a bloodthirsty intent. "Audrey, your sins are unforgivable."
Audrey screamed, "You're crazy!"
She turned and desperately tried to turn the doorknob, but the door was already locked. Turning back, she saw Francis's murderous eyes.
Audrey screamed in terror, "Let me out! I'm telling you, if you kill me, you won't get away with it. Why do this, Francis?"
Francis took a step back and said, "You think I want to kill you?"
He sneered, "Your blood is filthy; I don't want to dirty my hands."
Audrey pleaded, "Then let me out."
She knelt on the ground, trying to grab Francis's pant leg, begging, "Francis, please, let me out."
Francis felt a wave of nausea as she touched his pant leg, his face showing a murderous intent. He kicked her hand away without mercy.
Audrey wailed, clutching her hand and rolling on the ground.
"There's no way out, Audrey." Francis told her the harsh truth, "This hotel is already surrounded by your friend's men."
"Surrounded?" Audrey knelt on the ground, her face filled with terror and disbelief. "What kind of joke is this? How could you get Stanley to come?"
Audrey finally let Stanley's name slip, admitting she knew him. She didn't believe Stanley would come to Northfield just because of a few words from Francis.
As far as she knew, Stanley had rarely set foot in Northfield since he got on the police's wanted list five years ago. After all, he chased thrills worldwide and had no particular obsession with Northfield.
Francis kindly told Audrey, "He came because his most beloved wife died."
"His wife died, so why is he surrounding this place? I didn't kill his..." Audrey stopped mid-sentence, her eyes filled with terror as she looked at Francis, stammering, "Was it you?"
Francis's thin lips curled into a mocking smile, his silence confirming her suspicion.
In reality, it wasn't Francis who did it. Stanley had many enemies, and Aria was ambushed and killed by one of them on her way to Northfield. After learning about it, Francis manipulated events to make Stanley believe he was responsible for Aria's death.
Francis did this to lure Stanley to Dreamlandia. He knew his time was running out. As long as Stanley was alive, he couldn't rest easy. And with Aria dead, Stanley, with his vengeful nature, would surely want to kill the person his enemy loved most to vent his anger.
So Francis announced his marriage to Audrey, fabricating a beautiful love story: After much maneuvering, Francis finally realized that Audrey, who had always been by his side, was the best. He deeply fell in love with her and decided to marry her.
He tirelessly promoted their love story, making it the hottest news domestically and internationally. He calculated the timing and set up this plan. Once Stanley arrived at the Serene Haven Hotel, he notified the police, stating he would fully cooperate in capturing Stanley. This time, he was willing to risk his life to ensure Stanley wouldn't escape.
However, Francis underestimated Stanley's power. Stanley had secretly planted many explosives in the Serene Haven Hotel. Fortunately, Francis had the foresight to secretly evacuate everyone in the building before Stanley arrived. Now, the building was an empty shell, with only Francis and Audrey remaining.
Francis had prepared for the worst. If Stanley tried to escape, he would stay in the room with him, ready to die together.
"Francis, are you crazy?" Audrey's face turned as pale as if she had been stabbed.
She clearly understood Francis's plan and knew Stanley's character well. If Stanley believed that Francis had killed Aria, Audrey, the woman Francis claimed to love the most, would be the first to be tortured to death by Stanley. At this point, Stanley wouldn't care about Arthur's face and would not spare Audrey.
Audrey deeply regretted the story she told Stanley. Coupled with Francis's recent publicity, Stanley would undoubtedly believe that Audrey was the woman Francis loved most. Even if she explained, Stanley wouldn't listen. He would rather kill the wrong person than let anyone go.
Audrey's face turned ashen with despair.
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