Chapter 431 Making a Mountain out of a Molehill
"How is that possible?" blurted out Ken.
After such a massive explosion that even affected neighboring houses, how could Jannie and the others be unscathed?
"Take a look at this."
The officer pushed the computer screen toward Ken.
"This is the surveillance footage from three minutes before the explosion."
Ken watched silently with a somber expression.
The camera showed a quiet street behind the house with no passersby.
Three minutes went by.
The explosion erupted suddenly, and the feed went dark.
"What's that supposed to mean? I watched three minutes of nothing!" Ken's annoyance was growing.
"Watch this," said the officer, pulling up a different angle from another camera from three minutes before the explosion.
The new angle captured two black vans pulling up to the spot visible in the previous footage. A tall, dark-skinned man with a child under each arm dashed out from behind, followed by several of Janna's security guards—who were supposed to be dead—covering for Jannie.
They moved with astonishing speed.
The van doors slammed shut behind them, and for a brief moment, the vehicles were still.
Then, seconds before the explosion, they floored the accelerator, zooming away from the house.
As the explosion occurred, the trailing vehicle flew, crashing down hard.
Screams from the startled neighbors filled the air as they ran out, accompanied by the shrill sounds of police sirens on duty nearby.
No one paid any attention to the business van skewing awkwardly on the road among the other vehicles, victim to the blast that had rocked the area.
By the time sirens and ambulances echoed through the streets, the two cars that had been at rest began to move. Seamlessly, they slipped into the flow of pedestrians and traffic, heading towards another block at a steady pace.
"Ken, it seems like your boys botched the job; your mark has left the neighborhood," a gruff voice from the police department said.
Ken was glued to the screen. The swift-moving figure clutching a child, he knew him—it was one of Stuart's guys who, for the past couple of years, had been tasked with guarding Chelsea.
His mind raced. The incident took shape in his thoughts, beginning with Chelsea's phone call just before the explosion, which prompted her to leave immediately. And before that, the unexpected arrival of Chelsea with the injured Darwin, despite her typical indifference to dealings with him or Chris. All these events were stacked on top of each other.
Even Ken, who was not the sharpest tool in the shed, grasped the implication—Chelsea had deliberately brought Darwin to the funeral to distract him.
"Damn it!" Ken swore, his rage peaking. He snatched up an ashtray from his desk and smashed the screen to bits.
The entire precinct held its breath. Each of them had taken Ken's money, and each hand was dirty with dealings involving Ken and his wife. They could only bite their tongues in the face of his property destruction.
"Ken, is there anything else you need us to do?" the chief asked after a moment, his voice cautious.
"No need."
With those words, Ken turned around and strode out.
Once he was gone, the pent-up anger in the precinct erupted.
"When he first showed up here as Janna's castoff, no one gave him the time of day. We've helped him out so much since then, despite him cornering us," someone fumed. "And now he's got the gall to trash our precinct. Chief, we can't let this go on!"
"What choice do we have when our own hands aren't clean?" the chief muttered, eyeing the exit through which Ken had disappeared. "I do hope Miss Chelsea comes out on top this time around. If he gets reduced to a stray dog again, it'll make many things easier."
Ken was oblivious to the allies' resentment as he climbed into his vehicle. His first thought was to call Alice, but...
After a moment's consideration, Ken decided it was best to keep the situation under wraps for now. His wife had suffered too much hardship in her youth, making her overly cautious and anxious.
Take his younger brother's widow and the young children, for instance. As much as they were his flesh and blood—now his dead brother's—Ken wasn't keen on hurting them.
After all, what could Jannie, the timid and fretful woman, do? Just throw some cash her way, and she'll be dealt with.
Concerning the children, she planned to raise them without ever letting them know about their father's troubles. One day, they might even care for her in her old age.
But Alice couldn't shake the feeling that Jannie was colluding with the old lady.
Leaving the kids with her seemed like a recipe for disaster.
It was as if Alice wanted them out of the picture permanently.
Ken thought she was paranoid, but he followed her wishes.
Now that the mother and her two kids had miraculously survived and were rescued by Chelsea, there was no point in trying to snatch them back. Ken decided to keep Alice in the dark for now. He'd tell her after the shareholders' meeting once everything had settled down. By that time, their big plans would be in motion, and she wouldn't have to worry about these people anymore.
With that in mind, Ken headed straight home.
Unfortunately, as soon as he arrived, he ran into Alice, who was preparing to leave.
"How did you manage to come back so quickly?" she asked, a touch of surprise in her voice.
Ken nodded, "Just signed some papers. Where are you off to?"
"I was about to call you. There's a lot of speculation out there that Mom's already dead, so tomorrow morning, I'm planning to hold a press conference about her medical condition."
"A press conference?" Ken frowned. "Aren't you worried about slipping up?"
"I'm not worried," Alice assured him, looking into his eyes. "I won't be the one to make the announcement; I'll have professionals handle that."
"You mean..." Ken had a realization.
Alice smiled. "To draw blood is to strike at the heart. I will completely throw Chelsea off balance before the shareholders' meeting."
That night, Jannie, with her children, cried as she burned paper money for Chris on the rooftop.
"My love, we've been forced into this. I can't bury you properly, but please don't blame us," she sobbed, her heartbreaking, "I'm powerless. I know you were murdered, and I know who did it, yet I can do nothing but eke out a meager existence... But the kids are young. They've lost their father, and if they lose their mother, how will they survive?"
The children were too young to understand; they only knew to cry with their mother.
After a while, Jannie continued, "Chelsea said Mom left something for her, but I've gone over the past few days we spent together and tried to recall everything. I can't remember her giving me anything. My love, if such a thing exists, please give me a sign."
She spoke through her tears.
Then she felt foolish, desperately grasping at straws.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
