Chapter 413 Caught
In the silent night, a lean figure dashed through the back gate of the compound, vanishing into the darkness.
Despite the late hour, the airport was bustling with people.
Having bought a VIP pass, Reed was met by staff as he got out of his car.
With his cap pulled low as if afraid of being recognized, he followed the staff member through security.
"Your flight will require a shuttle, but as one of our VIP guests, a limousine awaits you at gate 39."
"Thank you," Reed responded curtly.
He kept his head down as he walked toward gate 39.
His grandfather's words echoed in his mind. "The overseas bank contains all my savings—over two hundred million. Remember this code, and once you're there, he'll arrange a new identity for you. Reed, once you leave, don't come back. Even if I die, don't come back!"
After passing through gate 39 and the ticket check, Reed saw the black limousine waiting by the curb. He approached it.
He got in and closed the door.
Almost immediately, he sensed something was off.
The silence in the car was too heavy and behind him...
Reed spun around, but before his eyes could focus, a blow to the head plunged him into darkness.
He faintly perceived the car's motion, struggling to open his eyes, but could only make out indistinct lights and shadows.
Unsure how much time had passed, he finally came to full consciousness.
He lay on the cold floor; someone was calling him.
"Reed..."
That voice.
Reed's eyes snapped open.
Crouched before him was a woman, her hair disheveled, her face marred with bruises.
"Ember?"
Reed bolted upright, his head throbbing with searing pain, but he pushed that aside.
"Reed, I failed to kill that bastard's granddaughter; what should I do?" Ember held her head, visibly upset. "I was so close!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Reed scrambled to his feet, heading for the door in a rush to escape.
Suddenly, Ember clutched at his legs. "How can it be? How can the culprits have such beautiful children? My Chicago would have been beautiful too; why do the Solomon family's kids get to live while my Chicago is dead?!"
"Enough!"
Reed kicked Ember away from him.
Not expecting Reed to strike her, Ember crouched in a corner, staring at him in terror. "What's wrong with Reed? Is Reed going to hit me, too?"
Looking at the frightened woman before him, Reed understood everything.
Darwin's people had captured Ember, and he was only with her because he'd been caught, too.
"Why would I hit you? Who told you to kill a child?" Reed asked harshly. "I told you to go after Darwin!"
Ember curled up under his yelling, trembling all over.
Reed looked up and scanned the room, noticing a camera in a corner.
He stared at the camera, and a sly smile crossed his face.
"I get it now. You never really believed Aspen was the instigator."
On the other side of the monitor
Wrapped in a shawl, Fiona sat across from a weeping Aria; Aspen was also present.
"What do you mean?" He'd just arrived, having wet himself twice over the night in fear of certain death.
But then, suddenly, he'd been brought here.
"Bring them in," Fiona said coolly.
Moments later
Reed, hands bound, was pushed into the room.
Fiona sat with her legs crossed, playing with a gem-encrusted snake head ring on her finger.
"Reed!"
Aria lunged forward upon seeing Reed but was restrained by Xavier. "Old man, with your frail arms and legs, better not make any sudden moves. We can't take the responsibility if you hurt yourself."
"Mrs. Solomon, it wasn't my grandson; it was me! I ordered Ember. Don't accuse him wrongly!"
"Grandpa!" Reed exclaimed, then turned to Fiona assertively. "You saw it in the surveillance, didn't you? This has nothing to do with my grandfather. I couldn't stand Darwin, so I wanted to kill him!"
Reed spoke, his eyelids drooping.
“I hadn't expected Ember to go nuts and attack your Chicago.”
Reed had been livid when he saw the video yesterday, a mix of rage and fright gripping him. Kids weren't his cup of tea—too noisy, too boisterous. Yet, when he met Chicago the day before, his heart melted on the spot. The adorable little girl, with her soft, mushy way of speaking, had also offered him sweets.
"It was you! I should've known!" Aspen roared, "Reed, I'm not saying I've been great to you, but deep down, I considered you a brother. Why would you frame me?! You're the one who wanted to kill Darwin; just admit it! Now you're trying to pin it on me—what do I owe you?"
"You owe me big time!" Reed yelled back, his voice thundering in Aspen's ears.
Aspen was stunned by Reed's outburst, looking instinctively toward Fiona, who'd been silent the whole time.
Idly twirling her ring, Fiona suggested, "Come on, 'old-timer,' don't you have something to say about this?"
Aria stared at Fiona in astonishment, convinced the woman must have known something.
With Aria remaining silent, Fiona, losing patience, pointed at Aspen and Reed. "Who is the real Aspen?"
A shiver ran through Aria. He glanced at Fiona, realizing the secret he'd guarded for years would come undone. Even though he had grown old, he'd always carried himself well. Yet, in that moment, his resolute posture seemed to crumble.
"What do you mean? If I'm not Aspen, then who is? Him?" Aspen, pointing at Reed, appeared utterly bewildered.
"You're indeed not Aspen," Aria said, lowering his eyelids. "Your real name should be Triumph Wells."
"What are you talking about?" Aspen asked, even more confused. "I'm from the town of Brixton. How come my last name is Wells?"
"Your father was a manager at the Solomon Chemical Plant and the main culprit behind the illegal dumping of toxic waste," Fiona explained calmly.
"That's impossible! I know for a fact that scumbag's wife ran off abroad with their kids, living it up on the money he swindled!" Aspen retorted immediately.
The Wells in question had hung himself in the factory before the investigators from Solomons arrived on the scene after the scandal broke.
"You were born to his mistress," Aria said gravely.
Aspen felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Your mother was a distant relative of mine, and I still don't know how she got mixed up with your father. Not two years after you were born, the chemical plant scandal happened. When your father died, your mother, afraid the money he left with her would be confiscated, abandoned you and fled the country," Aria sighed heavily. "You and Reed... I found you both on almost the same day..."
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