Chapter 595 The Truths of Those Years (1)
Hearing this, Tiger couldn't help but laugh. "Alaric, you think we're that tight?"
"You've been crashing at my place for years now. Isn't that close enough?" Alaric shot back, stressing each word. "We should know each other pretty well by now, right, Joe?"
At this, the other man chuckled and took off his mask, revealing a sharp gaze that was nothing like the bumbling, slightly hunched-over butler he had been at the Knight family.
"Mr. Knight, it's been a while."
"Yeah, it has, Joe. Or should I call you Tiger? How's life been treating you?"
Joe let out a displeased snort, his eyes turning cold. "For years, you've called me either Tiger or Joe. I've never properly introduced myself. My real name is Joe Green."
Joe?
Indeed, Alaric had only ever called him Joe during his years as the Knight family's butler. Few knew his real name, and the fact that he dared to use his real name without any alias while working in their home was quite bold.
"Joe, you kept yourself hidden well."
"I did hide well. So, how did you find me?" Joe asked, curious. "I'm interested to know."
"It was because of that photo. The one you sent to my wife in that threatening letter," Alaric explained. "When I saw that photo, I was shocked because I had no memory of it being taken during my time in the military. I couldn't think of anyone who would have such a photo. Then today, I accidentally found an old album my mom had organized, which contained many photos from my service that I had never seen. I realized my mom must have secretly asked my teacher to take those photos and send them to her. Before coming here, I confirmed this with my teacher. Since only my mom had those photos, the only person who could have taken them from the Knight Manor was you."
"I see," Joe said, somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect that. I randomly picked a photo to scare your wife, and it turned out to be the key to your discovery. I was careless."
"Even without the photo, did you think you could escape? I've let you live for ten extra years. That's enough!"
"Let me live for ten extra years? I should be saying that to you, Alaric. It was I who let you live for ten extra years!" Joe's eyes filled with murderous intent.
"After all these years of enmity, let's have a proper talk," Alaric said. "When did you start working as a butler for the Knight family?"
Alaric had joined the military at eight, was severely injured, and fell into a coma for three years. When he woke up, Joe was already there, but Alaric had never paid much attention to him.
"Because I'm originally from Arizona City. We're practically neighbors," Joe said with a mocking smile.
"I spent years living on the edge, building this organization, killing, looting, running underground casinos, smuggling drugs and arms, dealing drugs. Anything that made quick cash, I was in. I was rolling in dough, living the high life. Then one day, a group of soldiers started targeting me. Can you imagine how pissed I was? Especially when I heard their leader was a kid. At first, I didn't take you seriously, which led to a big loss in our first encounter. Then I got serious. I planned to toy with you, but you had more people. I couldn't confront you head-on, so I prepared an escape route. Shortly after you started targeting me, I found a scapegoat. My loyal subordinates, whom I trained, were willing to die for me. They saw it as an honor. I returned to Arizona City and became your butler, directing them from afar. Alaric, you never imagined that the real Tiger was in your house while you were leading the team against me for two years, did you? Doesn't that give you chills? Haha."
After laughing, Joe continued, "Aren't you curious why your mom, who trusted no one, took me in as her confidant so quickly?"
Alaric remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Because I discovered a fatal flaw in your mom within days of meeting her. She was extremely superstitious. Controlling someone like that is easy. Guess who that fortune teller she trusted so much worked for? Through that fortune teller, I completely understood your mom's personality and gained her trust. She never doubted me until her death."
Hearing this, Alaric clenched his fists, then slowly released them, controlling his emotions. "What about the Storm family? Why did you target them?"
"I told you, I'm from Arizona City. Brennan and I were classmates. We knew each other early on, but he was a rich kid, and I was just a poor boy. Our relationship didn't last long because I dropped out to join the underworld. While I was managing things from your house, my organization wasn't losing, but we were always at a stalemate, which hurt my business. My profits were dwindling. I knew that if this continued, my organization would eventually collapse. I could escape, but I wouldn't make any money. That was unacceptable. So, I targeted Brennan. My old classmate had become a well-known entrepreneur. I asked him for help. It took him a while to remember me. I had a great opportunity to get some low-quality food ingredients at a minimal cost that wouldn't kill anyone. I proposed to Brennan to switch his ingredients to mine, and I would take a cut. His company's profits would skyrocket. It was a fantastic money-making opportunity, but he got furious and kicked me out. With my dwindling profits and the Storm Group being such a lucrative opportunity, I couldn't let it go. So, I came up with a plan..."
Hearing this, Alaric's inner fire seemed about to burst. So, the Storm family had no grudge against him; he had sought them out!
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