Chapter 415 It Was All a Lie!
While Darwin lay unconscious in the hospital, Fiona had already ordered a thorough investigation into everything related to Ember.
Aria had been meticulous, and the police hadn't uncovered any irregularities before; everyone believed that Ember had been swindled out of the entire settlement by people posing as relatives or friends.
In reality, the settlement money merely passed through Ember's account before Aria shuffled it around, cleaned it up, and transferred it to an overseas account.
Grandma Solomon was a businesswoman.
Though her methods were sometimes ruthless for her ambition, she was generous with compensation for the hometown chemical plant.
Especially in a case like Ember's, where her whole family had been wiped out. Fiona had calculated that after Ember's family members died one by one, Grandma Solomon had paid out over seventy million in settlements, plus ten million for housing arrangements.
Grandma Solomon had also personally taken care of Ember's medical bills in Chicago, and after the child's death, she gave another twenty million for comfort, condolences, and funeral expenses.
That added up to over a hundred million.
But the truth was, Ember had yet to spend even a cent of it.
Aria's face momentarily stiffened, and then he swallowed hard. "Mrs. Darwin, where I get my money is my own business, isn't it? I don't owe you any explanation! If you think there's something fishy about my money, go ahead and call the cops on me!"
With that said, he turned to Reed and declared, "Let's turn ourselves in, Reed. You just switched out some meds for Ember and vented about Darwin, that's all. We didn't kill anyone! At worst, we'll be charged with incitement, and nobody will die. We'll do some time and come out with a clean slate!"
At that point, Aria knew Fiona wouldn’t let Reed off the hook, so he decided to throw caution to the wind.
Prison was one thing, but falling into the clutches of Darwin's venomous wife was another!
"Reed, don't you ever wonder why, after your parents tragically died, you weren't taken in by relatives or sent to an orphanage as per standard procedure? Why did you end up with Aria, who raised you?"
Fiona didn't stop them from leaving but posed her questions calmly and deliberately.
Aria, his voice strained, hastily urged Reed, "Don't listen to her; let's just go and confess."
Reed glanced at Fiona.
Aria was tugging at him, urging him toward the door with a sense of urgency.
Reed paused for a moment, ready to follow Aria.
But then Fiona's voice rose again.
"Aria raised you, but do you even know who he truly serves?" Fiona's words struck Reed like a hammer to the heart.
He came to a complete halt.
Aria's attempts to drag him away were futile. "Reed, you have to listen to your grandpa!"
"Grandpa Aria, from the looks of it, you still seem to be hiding something... something about Aspen," Reed articulated, with evident resentment, switching the way he addressed his grandfather.
Aria shot him a resentful glare.
If only the gambling addict had rushed out yesterday, he would be dead already, and the charge of inciting murder would be set in stone.
How could Darwin's evil wife have suspected Reed?
That's what he thought, continuing to pull Reed toward the exit.
Reed paused, then firmly removed Aria's hand. Shock plastered across Aria's face. Reed looked at him and said, "Grandpa, I want to hear what she has to say."
"Reed!" Aria's face was the picture of desperation.
"As everyone knows, after the chemical plant incident, Grandma Solomon paid out a total of 1.2 billion to the affected villagers privately—partly to protect the Solomon family reputation and partly as compensation to the victims," Fiona rattled off with a chilly tone. "I've got the details, and that includes the settlement for the accidental death of Aspen's parents."
Reed stared at Aria in disbelief, taken aback by the revelation that had never been mentioned.
"The total comes to thirty-five million," Mike said, handing Fiona a document while shooting a menacing glare at Aria and reclaiming his spot.
Had it not been for Chelsea holding him back, Reed would've confronted the old man, who was barking about calling the cops just moments ago. He would've taken the opportunity to toss him into the river down below for a reality check.
Aria wanted to say something to Reed, to make amends.
But Reed shoved Aria's hand aside and strode towards Fiona.
The roomful of bodyguards tensed up, ready for action, as they witnessed Reed's fury.
Yet, in the end, Reed only took the document from Fiona's hands.
He skimmed through the pages rapidly, taking in the list of victims' names, addresses, casualties, and family conditions.
Many of the names were familiar to Aria; he had regularly contacted those who held him in high regard. They would always grab Reed's hand and share stories about how Aria's grandfather went to great lengths to secure substantial benefits for the village victims.
They had even secured a grant to build a new housing development for the villagers, handing out homes free of charge.
But after seeing this twenty-year-old list, Reed discovered that the Solomons' compensation package had already included a housing settlement. And the amount, even by today's standards, was substantial.
However, Aria had withheld the funds and instead used the money to buy prime land in Brixton, where he built commercial housing.
After distributing homes to the victims, he sold the remaining eighty percent, spearheading his career as a real estate mogul.
"It's all fake!" Aria exclaimed, snatching the list and tearing it to shreds.
But before the document was destroyed, Reed had already caught sight of his parents' names on the last page.
"Cedric, Kimmy, compensation for death—thirty-five million, child care, and education fund - four million, with the potential for studying abroad if excelling academically, additional subsidies applicable, compensation for property and land—sixteen million."
"Fake!" Aria exclaimed, smacking his thigh in frustration, trying to convince Reed. "They're trying to drive a wedge between us!"
"Who's trying to drive a wedge, you scumbag?" Fiona asked coldly. "I can pull up the records for every Solomons' payout, but Aria, I want to know, did you deliver the full compensation to the victims?"
Aria's face turned pallid, a vivid display of his torment.
"Reed, Aspen, you held onto them with one main goal in mind—to keep a tight grip on that money," Fiona enunciated. "But Aria, you can't just live like that. Ember, Reed, Aspen—they're the most vulnerable among us, crazed, young victims, and yet, they're the ones you deceive the most, just because they have no one else?"
"It's not like that..." Aria tried to defend himself.
"And him," Fiona pointed to Aspen.
Aspen knew today's drama was not about him anymore; he had dodged a bullet. Munching on popcorn, he never expected to become the center of attention suddenly.
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