Chapter 318 Danger VII: Finding Evidence
The driver confirmed several times with Cecilia, who was adamant about her destination, before finally driving away.
Cecilia ventured inside, guided only by the beam of her phone's flashlight.
Before her lay a scene of ruins, obviously ravaged by intense fire.
Almost the entire factory was reduced to a mere framework.
Cecilia cautiously stepped inside.
It was past 11 pm.
The fireworks factory was located in a remote rural area, some distance from the city. The surrounding darkness added an eerie and somewhat terrifying atmosphere to the night.
To say she wasn't afraid would be a lie.
Especially considering the numerous lives lost here today...
The thought sent a shiver through Cecilia.
She forced herself to venture deeper, carefully examining the factory.
She reasoned that if this was indeed a drug trafficking base, there must be some clues left; impossible to erase everything.
Cecilia cautiously patrolled the factory.
However, the darkness of the night and the limited reach of her phone's flashlight made it difficult to conduct a thorough investigation.
Moreover, even with a power bank, her phone's battery would eventually run out if she kept using the flashlight.
After some deliberation, she decided to spend the night there and resume her search in daylight.
With this plan, she found a relatively clean spot to sit down.
As soon as she settled, the idleness made the surroundings seem even more eerie.
She thought, 'Sometimes, it's our own imaginations that terrify us the most.'
Cecilia gritted her teeth and reminded herself to persevere.
She thought, 'Just a few more hours'
She sat alone in the factory throughout the night.
Finally, daylight broke.
Cecilia had stayed awake the entire night, unable to sleep due to the eerie atmosphere and the fear of catching a cold. As the sky brightened, she rose from her stiff position and began searching for evidence within the factory.
Cecilia searched diligently.
But the scene was cleaner than she had anticipated.
It seemed that not only had the explosion and fire destroyed much of the evidence, but there had also been deliberate efforts to clean up.
After all, it had been a day since the incident.
Evidence could have been destroyed during the rescue efforts.
Cecilia felt discouraged.
She thought of Alaric, who had risked his life.
She thought, 'If we find nothing...
'No.
'Alaric wouldn't have done something without a plan.
'Could it be that Alaric has already found evidence but hasn't had time to expose it?
'If he has found evidence, where would he hide it?'
Cecilia forced herself to calm down.
She thought, 'Just earlier, Tom mentioned that Alaric was there to find evidence but hadn't managed to retrieve it before being discovered, which led to the explosion that demolished the factory. In such a short time, if Alaric had already secured the evidence, where would he hide it? It's unlikely he'd take it with him—carrying it could risk exposing the truth if something went wrong. To be on the safe side, Alaric probably wouldn't carry it away.
'If he didn't take it with him...'
A sudden realization hit Cecilia.
Alaric's phone had been turned off since the explosion.
Of course, it was possible he turned it off to avoid being tracked by calls. But another possibility crossed Cecilia's mind—could he have stored the evidence on his phone? After all, for people today, phones were the best storage devices.
With this thought in mind, Cecilia hurriedly began searching for the phone. She was almost certain that if Alaric hid anything, it would be here.
He wouldn't have had time to move it elsewhere, and the most dangerous place was often the safest. Nobody would think Alaric would leave evidence at the scene.
If he had hidden the phone, it would likely be buried underground. All she needed to do was search the floor.
Cecilia meticulously combed through the factory for hours, from dawn until dusk.
It wasn't as easy as she'd hoped.
Feeling disheartened and physically exhausted, Cecilia could barely stand straight after spending the whole day hunched over, searching tirelessly.
She thought to herself, 'Maybe my deduction has been too idealistic.
'Things rarely unfold according to one's imagination...'
Just as Cecilia was about to give up, she noticed something under a piece of damaged flooring—a dark object partially exposed.
She rushed over.
With trembling hands, she lifted the board and found, to her relief, a familiar black phone lying beneath.
It was definitely Alaric's.
Cecilia's heart raced with excitement.
She struggled to maintain her composure as she quickly sat down, ready to power up the phone.
"Too bad this place has become a total wasteland..." Suddenly, a stranger's voice broke the silence.
Cecilia jumped in fright.
Clutching the phone, she swiftly ducked behind the debris, trying to remain as quiet as possible.
"Who knows how much we've lost?!" Another man snapped, his tone full of frustration. "I told you not to invest in the shares, but you didn't listen. We could have just split the pure profits. No, you had to be ambitious and take a stake, and now look—I've lost my entire capital."
"Don't worry," the first man said reassuringly. "As long as this doesn't get out, we can still turn things around. The key right now is not to attract the attention of the Serenovia City police. We'll cover this up as an accident at the fireworks factory. Once things settle, we can get back on track and make our money."
"I understand that," the second man replied, "but I heard that the new investigator from the Department of State, Alaric, has been looking into this. Apparently, Alaric is chasing down Tristan Jefferson."
"If he can catch me, it's a skill. Even if he does, it's just another dead end! Don't worry, as long as he's in Lindwood, he's in my grasp."
"What about his assistant, Tom?"
"He's been dealt with. Last night, we tossed him into Silvershade River. He was foolish enough to think he was helping me crack a big case. How naive!"
"Don't get too complacent, though. Jason was taken last night and hasn't been found yet. The surveillance footage has been tampered with, and we have no idea who did it. We suspect it's Cassius and his crew, but now they're missing too. It's a real mess."
"Don't worry. I've got people stationed at every exit in Lindwood. They won't get away. When we catch them, they'll end up in Silvershade River too."
"I've taken a huge hit this time. You better make it up to me."
"Rest assured!" the man said confidently. "All right, we've done enough of this. Time to leave."
The two men's footsteps faded into the distance.
Cecilia's heart pounded as she glanced at the recording app on the phone, her fingers trembling as she hit the stop button.
She held her breath, fearing the recording might vanish at any moment.
After what felt like an eternity, Cecilia finally confirmed that the recording had been saved successfully. Only then did she allow herself a small sigh of relief.
Carefully, she picked up Alaric's phone and unlocked it.
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