Chapter 414 The Swap
As he listened, Aspen slowly began to piece together the puzzle.
"Grandpa Aria, did you switch mine and Reed's identities?" Aspen asked.
Aria looked at Aspen helplessly. "What choice did I have? Reed's parents blew the whistle on the folks hurt by the contaminated water. Their bravery cost them their lives, leaving Reed as the sole survivor. If someone were out to wipe out his family, the kid wouldn't stand a chance!"
"So, you used me as a scapegoat?" Aspen fumed, his anger rising. "Is my life worthless to you?"
"You should be the one to die because of your greedy father, who secretly dumped the toxic waste; that's how my parents died!" Reed shouted. "Your whole family deserves to die!"
Fiona was listening.
Her gaze settled on Reed. "It looks like you were aware of all this for quite some time."
Avoiding eye contact with Fiona, Reed took a deep breath. "I found out the whole truth when I was sixteen. That's when I started to think about getting revenge on Grandma Solomon!"
"Hold up." Fiona raised her hand, clearly perplexed. "If you knew his dad was acting out of greed with the wastewater, why do you hold a grudge against the Solomons? To my knowledge, Grandma Solomon had nothing to do with it."
"That's right, she wasn't involved. She even proactively compensated and housed the victims. So, what, then?" Reed locked eyes with her. "Tell me, didn't she profit? Didn't she make money? Those responsible for my parents' death, even if not directly ordered by her, were essentially currying favor with her. Grandma Solomon and the Solomons are the root of all this evil!"
Fiona's brows knitted together.
"Grandma Solomon built the factory here to boost the local economy. She didn't intend to harm anyone."
"But my parents are dead, and Ember's whole family too," Reed enunciated each word, bitter and resentful. "When the main culprit hung himself and Grandma Solomon threw some money at the problem, did you all think it was over? While you continue living comfortably, are we to suffer endlessly?"
Reed laughed mirthlessly. "You nearly got killed in Chicago; how furious were you? Weren't you itching to skin me alive? So only your well-being matters, right?"
"Reed!"
Grandpa Aria was tormented, anxious to the core.
He wanted Reed to let go and ask the Solomons for mercy, not antagonizing Darwin's wife.
"You put yourself on quite the pedestal," Fiona said as she suddenly chuckled. "If you're as righteous as you claim, you should've taken action yourself. Why did you manipulate Ember? She doesn't owe you. Isn't she pitiful enough?"
With that, Fiona tossed a few bottles of medicine toward Reed.
Reed looked at them, his face twisting into an ugly scowl.
"These are all the pills the psychiatric hospital prescribed for Ember, but I had them tested—turns out they're nothing more than vitamin tablets, not psych meds at all." Fiona's expression gradually turned icy. "How long have you been doing this? Three years? Five? Or did it start the moment you learned about your past?"
Ember just needed to take her medication regularly.
She might not have recovered entirely, but she certainly wouldn't have ended up like this.
Reed, out for vengeance, had swapped her meds, brainwashing her over the years into seeking revenge.
Fiona had seen Ember's medical records and the police reports.
She might snatch children, but she never hurt them. To be precise, there was no record of Ember harming anyone.
There was even an incident where she jumped into a river to save a drowning child in the dead of winter, nearly freezing to death.
However, after her medication was switched, she became increasingly violent and uncontrollable.
"She's the child's mother; she should avenge her own Chicago. I'm not wrong!" Reed spoke slowly and deliberately, locking eyes with Fiona.
"Reed, did you switch Ember's meds?" Aria said in shock.
Ember's meds were always delivered to Aria first, who then passed them on to her.
He couldn't remember precisely when Reed started insisting on helping out—whether delivering money or the meds to Ember or dealing with the aftermath of her mishaps.
Reed was always the one to take care of it.
Reed wouldn't look at Aria.
If he owed anyone an apology, it was his grandfather.
The man raised him, invested all his energy, sent him to the best university, and provided the finest material comforts.
"No wonder you never wanted to study abroad." Aria slumped on the sofa. "No wonder you had to come back every month..."
"Reed, are you out of your mind?" Aspen snapped back to reality and then looked at Fiona. "I'm not involved in this mess, am I? I don't want to stay in the same room with a lunatic; please let me go."
"Hold on." Fiona crossed her legs and lightly tapped her knee. "Don't you want to know what would've happened if you'd gotten away from the old house today?"
Aspen froze.
Reed turned to look at her.
"What would happen if I got out?" Aspen felt a shiver run down his spine. "No… If he were framing me, I could defend myself. That wouldn't stop them unless…"
Aspen was smart.
He realized what was happening as he spoke.
"Were you planning to kill me?" Aspen looked at Reed, his question laced with terror.
Even Aria looked over in shock.
Fiona clapped her hands together.
The door opened, and a gaunt man was pushed inside.
"Who's this?" Aspen glanced at the stranger, sure he wasn't a local.
"A hitman Reed hired," Fiona stated indifferently. "If you had managed to leave the old house alive, according to their agreement, you'd end up drowning in the river. Once you were dead, you couldn’t have defended yourself, and the blame would be squarely on you."
"Reed!"
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Aspen lunged at Reed, landing a kick squarely in his chest.
"So what if my father ran that damn chemical plant? What does that have to do with me? The guy didn't raise me, and I haven't spent a dime of his dirty money. We grew up together, Reed; there should be some loyalty. You can't just turn on me like this—I'm innocent!"
Fiona was fed up with this farce.
No matter what the previous generation, like Grandma Solomon, had gotten up to.
Every debt had its debtor.
He almost hurt Chicago; no matter the reason, she wouldn't let it slide.
"Mrs. Solomon, please!" Aria knelt imploringly before Fiona.
Xavier rushed to help him up, but Aria refused to budge.
"Spare him this time; the guy's pitiful!" Aria pleaded through tears.
Fiona's gaze was icy as she looked at him.
"Aria, he's pitiful, but Ember isn’t, right?" The chill in Fiona's voice was startling.
Aria froze under her gaze, which seemed to wield overpowering authority.
"Where did that money you stashed away in Switzerland come from?" Fiona asked slowly, each word weighted.
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