Chapter 408 A Stubborn Bulldog That Argues with Heaven, Earth, and Air
Aurora's eyes were red, tears welling up and finally streaming down her face as she looked at John. The sight left everyone present in stunned silence.
No one dared to speak.
John turned away, his voice cold as he ordered, "Todd, get the boat ready and get them out of here. Aurora, the fact that you hid Jack's theft of the map from me shows that we are not on the same page."
With that, John walked away.
Todd was at a loss, scratching his head, and looked at Gary. "What do we do now? Jack's dead, and I heard an explosion earlier. Could it be...?"
Gary nodded. "We only found Jack's severed arm, but it's safe to say he didn't survive."
Aurora, suddenly calm, looked at Todd. "Todd, please prepare the boat."
"Aurora, you..." Todd wanted to persuade her but didn't know what to say. He nudged Gary, signaling him to speak.
Gary shook his head, feeling helpless. He had tried to mediate the fierce argument between the couple but failed.
Todd then looked at Lori.
Lori shot him a sharp look. "Prepare the boat."
Sighing, Todd reluctantly went to ready a large speedboat.
He personally escorted Lori, Aurora, and Ava to the shore.
Once ashore, Aurora said nothing, her expression one of utter despair, and walked straight ahead.
Todd tossed a clean set of clothes to Lori. "Here, put these on. Take good care of Aurora."
Lori took the clothes without a word of thanks and hurried after Aurora.
Todd smiled bitterly. What had he done to deserve this?
John and Aurora's sudden fallout left everyone puzzled.
Back on the island, Todd found John in the control room, casually checking the surveillance system. Todd approached, trying to lighten the mood. "John, Aurora's gone. Are you really just going to let her go? This whole mess, is it worth it? You'll have to make it up to her later, you know."
John glanced at Todd. "Let her go."
"John," Todd sighed. "You still have four kids. Trey and Jax are still nursing, and Summer and Loren are old enough to understand everything. This fight is affecting them. Was it really necessary to kill Jack?"
"Get out," John said coldly. "Don't mention Jack's name in front of me again."
Gary walked in. "You had said you'd let Jack go because of his relationship with Aurora. You wouldn't have ordered his death. Jack either left on his own or came back. How did it come to this?"
John sneered. "And yet, you told Aurora I ordered Jack's death."
Gary was silent.
"I was just analyzing the situation. How was I to know Aurora would wake up and hear half of it, then start arguing with you?" Gary said. "You didn't explain either. You knew she was emotional, yet you said those things to provoke her. This is on you."
"If you hadn't spoken up, we wouldn't have argued."
Seeing the two about to argue, Todd quickly intervened. "What are you two doing? Have you lost your minds? We should be figuring out why the trap was triggered."
John said in a low voice, "We've determined that Jack triggered the self-destruct mechanism himself."
Both men were stunned.
"Suicide? Or an accident?"
"Zero chance of suicide," John said, exiting the surveillance system. "Whatever the case, he's dead."
"The problem is, this incident has caused such a rift between you and Aurora. John, once you've cooled down, you should apologize to her. Jack's death was an accident. There's no need for this."
"What rift?" John's tone and expression were icy.
Gary and Todd fell silent.
John was like a stubborn bulldog, ready to argue with anyone about anything. No matter what they said, he would counter it.
Todd yawned and nudged Gary. "You tired? Let's go get some sleep."
Gary caught on and yawned too. "Yeah, I'm feeling sleepy. Let's go."
"John, take care. We're going to rest."
With that, they left.
Outside the control room, Todd asked, "What do you make of this? Something feels off."
"What do I make of it? I'm single. I don't have experience with these kinds of fights. But they say all couples argue. Let's give it a few days."
"This is a mess."
He felt something was wrong, but couldn't pinpoint it.
As they talked, Summer approached. "Where's Dad?"
Their eyes lit up. If they couldn't persuade John, maybe Summer could.
Todd quickly said, "Summer, your dad's like a ticking bomb right now. We just got kicked out. Only you can talk to him."
Summer, hands in her pockets, said, "Kids shouldn't meddle in adult affairs. I have other business with Dad."
Todd said, "Summer, your parents are talking about divorce. Aren't you going to do something?"
"That's beyond me. I'm just a kid," Summer said, shrugging.
The two men were speechless.
They were amazed by this family.
None of them seemed worried.
Why were they stressing out?
"Your dad's inside. Go ahead," Todd said, curious. "What do you need to talk to him about?"
"Trey and Jax need to be fed. They won't let Loren and me handle it. Now that Mom's gone, and we have training, Dad has to take care of them," Summer said, sounding like an adult. "In a conflict, you don't harm the messenger. With hostages, everything's under control."
Gary and Todd felt enlightened.
Right, why were they worried? With four kids, Trey and Jax needing to be fed, and Summer and Loren clearly siding with Aurora, John had his hands full.
Gary patted Summer's shoulder. "Impressive."
Summer looked up. "Mr. Collins, the trap wouldn't have triggered without reason, and my uncle wouldn't commit suicide. My dad spared his life, knowing the truth would come out. If you were in his shoes, what would you do?"
The two men were stunned. Summer's analysis was spot on.
They hadn't considered this.
If Jack had harbored ill intentions towards John, and if the Lion and Ironclad Union were involved, then once the truth came out, Jack would either have to confront it or cover it up.
But how could he cover it up?
Gary said, "That severed arm was definitely Jack's. He must have been killed. Could it be that the Ironclad Union killed him to silence him after the truth came out?"
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