Chapter 518 Outburst (11) Discovering New Clues
That plan was sneaky but it worked like a charm.
Not only did it keep Cecilia from sniffing out any leads on Alaric, but it also got Cassius, who's got some serious clout, locked up. Now, everything she tried to do was gonna be way harder.
Talk about a major setback.
Cecilia balled up her fists, really ticked off at Dominic this time.
But she kept telling herself to stay cool.
The more intense things got, the more she needed to keep her cool.
"Mrs. Lockhart, what's our next move? Should we stick around Harborvale?" Augustus asked.
He was just as lost about the whole situation and getting outplayed.
She was mulling over whether to stay in Harborvale.
Were there any leads here?
From this run-in, it was clear the enemy wasn't messing around.
Before, they probably hadn't really stepped in, which let her outsmart Dominic so easily. This time, they were playing for keeps.
If the enemy was really that tough, there wouldn't be any clues left in Harborvale.
The only lead might be with Alaric.
Could she only hope Alaric had the smarts to leave some proof of his innocence?
Cecilia's silence made Augustus even more jittery.
He didn't get the whole picture; he just knew that Alaric and Cassius, who he thought were super capable, had been nabbed.
This was definitely not a simple matter!
Cecilia thought for a while before picking up the phone and dialing, "Dashiell."
"Cassius got caught too?" Dashiell asked.
"Yeah." Cecilia didn't bother explaining.
Even though it was her screw-up, she didn't want to kill her confidence.
"It's alright, Cassius will be fine. Hugo can get him out safely," Dashiell reassured her.
Cecilia felt a bit touched by Dashiell.
She was really scared they'd blame her.
But now wasn't the time to get all emotional. She got straight to the point, "Did you hack into the State Office's financial system?"
"Yeah, I snagged the financial reports, and they match the ones you got from the prosecutor's office," Dashiell said. "The enemy's data is tight. I haven't found any holes yet, but I'm still digging. I'll let you know if I find anything good."
"Okay." Cecilia nodded.
"How about you? Any luck?" Dashiell asked.
"Not yet."
"From my point of view, finding clues in Harborvale might be tough. I think the biggest lead is with Alaric," Dashiell said. "Alaric probably left some evidence for himself."
Cecilia agreed but didn't want to give up so easily.
She said, "I think so. The enemy is sharper than I thought, so finding evidence in Harborvale will be really hard. But I still want to give it a shot."
Dashiell pressed his lips together, ultimately swallowing the words he wanted to say.
He usually didn't push people and chose to respect their decisions.
"The reason is simple. I don't want to put all our eggs in one basket. If that fails, we're totally screwed. So I want to create more chances for us to win, at least so we're not backed into a corner. After all, none of us can guarantee we'll see Alaric before the trial," Cecilia explained.
"Alright, I'm with you."
He was genuinely impressed by Cecilia's thorough thinking and moved by her dedication to the cause.
Everyone thought Alaric was head over heels for Cecilia.
But the truth was, love was never a one-way street.
Dashiell spoke calmly, "You don't need to stress too much. I don't know if Cassius mentioned this, but there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?" Cecilia asked, a bit taken aback.
"In the worst-case scenario, we can bust him out."
Cecilia's eyes widened in shock.
"It's doable," Dashiell said with conviction.
Cecilia went quiet.
A lot of thoughts were racing through her mind.
She hung up and took a moment to steady herself.
She had to admit, what Dashiell said really threw her for a loop. Most people wouldn't even consider it, but it did take a load off her shoulders.
At worst, she'd grab her family and Alaric and make a run for it.
As long as they were alive, there was always hope.
She took a deep breath and told Augustus, "Take a break. Tonight, we're heading back to Alaric's neighborhood."
Augustus looked puzzled.
"They're really letting their guard down against us now," Cecilia said bluntly.
They were sure no evidence would be found, so they wouldn't waste much energy on her.
Everything they did before was just setting a trap for her.
Now that they'd succeeded, she didn't need to worry.
At 8 PM, Cecilia and Augustus headed back to Alaric's neighborhood.
She didn't go to Alaric's place.
She'd already checked it thoroughly that afternoon and found nothing useful, so no point wasting time.
She went to the surveillance center and used the vehicle's ID to check the footage.
There were no cameras in the elevator, but there were in the neighborhood.
However, there were two hours of footage missing. The staff said the cameras had short-circuited and shut down during those two hours, so there was no footage at all.
Cecilia didn't press further.
She'd been prepared for this. She was just holding onto a sliver of hope. If there was nothing, then so be it.
She left the surveillance room and went to Alaric's door.
She didn't go in; instead, she knocked on the door across from Alaric's.
She'd always thought Alaric was the only one living on this floor.
If she hadn't met that old man today, she probably wouldn't have thought to ask the neighbors.
The door opened.
The old man, Peter Evans, looked at Cecilia with surprise. "Who are you looking for?"
"Hi, I just moved in today and forgot to buy olive oil. Could I borrow some?" Cecilia made up an excuse.
"Wait a moment," Peter turned and walked back inside.
Cecilia peeked into Peter's place, seeing no one else but him.
Peter quickly returned with a bottle of olive oil, saying, "I have extra. You can take it."
"How much is it? I'll pay you."
"No need," Peter waved it off. "We're neighbors."
"I can't just take it for free."
"Why not? I used to get a lot of help from my neighbor across the hall. Who knew..." Peter sighed, looking a bit helpless.
Cecilia's eyes narrowed slightly.
She picked up on the fact that the "neighbor" he mentioned was Alaric.
She asked casually, "Are you talking about the neighbor across the hall who was recently arrested for embezzlement, Alaric?"
"Embezzlement?" Peter exclaimed, getting worked up. "He's a good man, he'd never embezzle! It's a setup!"
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