Chapter 411 Found the Instigator?
Brixton was a small town.
The houses were mostly built along the river's edge, predominantly white with grey tiled courtyards.
Fiona's car pulled up outside the central courtyard. As soon as it stopped, Mike came to open her door.
"What's the situation?" Fiona asked with an icy tone as she stepped out.
"It's a long list to check; it might take a while," Mike replied.
Fiona didn't respond. She was still dressed in the same black suit from the funeral, but her aura had transformed.
After a few hours, the scattered people gradually reconvened.
As Fiona walked in, a young fellow was arguing with Xavier.
"My girlfriend's been in an accident; I must get to the hospital!"
Unmoved, Xavier responded with impassivity.
"Fine! I want to see if you'd dare take me out for real!" the young man shouted, breaking the door.
But as he looked up, he saw Fiona entering. Despite her slender frame, she held an intimidating presence that seemed to outmatch even Mike, who was standing behind her.
"Darwin's wife!" Aria, leaning on a cane, hurried to Fiona. "I'm so glad you're here. How's Darwin doing? I've been asking these guys, but they won't tell me anything. I'm worried!"
"Don't worry; he's not going anywhere," Fiona replied with a gentle, reassuring smile.
Aria's face tensed up.
He was a real old fox; there was no way he didn't feel the murderous aura radiating from Fiona.
It was an indiscriminate hostility; she didn't feel the need to make concessions for anyone in this place.
"What were you yelling about just now?" Fiona glanced sideways at the young man, who was about to dash for the door. "Your girlfriend was in a car accident? That must be urgent, indeed. Mike, Xavier, you guys need to learn to adapt."
The young man stood frozen in place.
He swallowed hard. "It's probably not that serious."
"Serious or not, you need to be by her side." Fiona raised her hand. "Xavier, get someone to take him there and ensure we get a report on his girlfriend's condition."
The young man stiffened.
"It's no trouble. I can wait until your investigation's over."
"Just a moment ago, you were desperate to go, and now that I'm offering to help, you're refusing. What's that all about?" Fiona's tone turned icy as she demanded an explanation.
"I'm sorry, I... I don't have a girlfriend. It's just that... the results of the horse race I bet on are about to be announced, and I've put down a lot of money, so I'm anxious about the outcome," he hurriedly explained.
"Lying, huh?" Fiona raised an eyebrow slightly.
The man was so frightened that his legs weakened, and he hastily took shelter beside Aria. "Grandpa Aria, please help me!!"
"Don't worry. As long as you're not the instigator, I won't lay a hand on you," Fiona reassured him.
Xavier had already had someone bring over a grand chair for Fiona.
She sat down leisurely.
The folks from Brixton's family looked at each other; they had nothing to say, unlike during the daytime when they stood up to Xavier and his men.
Faced with the formidable Mrs. Solomon, no one dared to speak.
At dinner time, Fiona didn't short-change everyone. She ordered four tables of food from the best restaurant nearby.
However, the meal didn't taste as good as it might have, with everyone occasionally glancing at Fiona.
Fiona ignored these peeks.
She even had a video call with Charles and Chicago for a while.
Around 8 p.m., the courtyard was brightly lit.
“Grandpa Aria, by rights, Darwin's wife is also junior to you,” the young man who had gambled on the races muttered.
Before Aria could respond, his reticent grandson said, "If she paid attention to seniority, none of this would be happening."
The young man was taken aback.
Just then, a man rushed in from outside, glanced at everyone in the courtyard, and bent down to whisper something into Fiona's ear for quite a while.
As she listened, her gaze settled on the members of Brixton's family.
"Got it," she said.
At Fiona's gesture, the man immediately walked away.
"Got any leads?" Aria asked, his voice seething with righteous indignation. "Who would do such a heartless thing? To even lay hands on a child?"
"Who's Aspen?" Fiona inquired.
The young man, known for his horse betting habits, stiffened and then turned to Fiona with a look of alarm.
Before he could utter a word, voices from the crowd pointed in his direction, shouting, "Right here, he's Aspen!"
"So, it's you, Aspen?" A middle-aged woman gazed at him in astonishment. "No wonder you lied earlier, claiming your girlfriend was in a car accident and you had to leave! Our Brixton town has received so much kindness from Aunt May, and you have the audacity to instigate that lunatic to murder her kin!"
"You're just a gambler, but you seemed decent enough. How could you commit such a crime? What grudge justifies attacking a child?"
"Call the police! Get him arrested!"
While the crowd clamored, Mike pushed forward, grabbing Aspen by the collar and yanking him up. "You done with living, scumbag?"
"Hold on."
Fiona's voice cut through the chaos.
Mike turned to look at Fiona, then roughly threw Aspen back to the ground. "Chelsea, is it not him?"
Fiona stood up and strolled over to where Aspen was.
Regaining his senses, Aspen wailed, "It wasn't me! I don't know Ember; you've got the wrong guy!"
Fiona approached him. "You don't know Ember?"
"That's right! I swear I don't. I moved to the capital to work when I was a teenager. I only came back because I heard Darwin was in town, and there was an opportunity to make some cash," Aspen lamented internally, filled with regret.
His return hadn't been short of shady dealings. Though he had pocketed a fair amount of money, he had been looking forward to that big $500,000 prize. Now, his life hung by a thread, not to mention the prize money.
"My people found that your phone number has been in constant contact with Ember, and town surveillance caught you meeting her yesterday, handing over a bag that looked like it was filled with cash," Fiona spoke up, her timing impeccable as she received the surveillance footage on her iPad. She turned it around for Aspen to see.
Aspen shuddered as he watched the footage.
Once the video ended, Fiona handed the iPad to someone behind her.
Aspen shook his head frantically, then suddenly cast a desperate glance towards a bespectacled man standing behind Aria. "The bag was given to me by Reed. He said he found it and told me to return it. That woman gave me two hundred bucks, and I had no clue who she was. I didn't know she was Ember!"