Free Web NovelChapter 267: Chapter 270: Robert Ford is Still Alive
Having figured this out, the volatile fury surrounding Ethan Lockwood suddenly subsided.
He nonchalantly raised his eyes, looking at Charles Collins with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and asked softly, "Simon Abbott was my secretary, and so are you and Silas Lawrence. You three have always been close, so did you know beforehand that Simon Abbott had defected to Felix Preston?"
"...I didn’t know!" Charles Collins froze for a moment. Once he realized what Ethan Lockwood was implying, he completely panicked.
"Mr. Lockwood, Silas Lawrence and I had absolutely no idea about this! Although Simon Abbott was a fellow secretary, we had no interactions with him outside of work! We really didn’t know he had secretly gone over to Felix Preston’s side!"
"Hmph..." Ethan Lockwood gave an inscrutable laugh, his expression darkening as he remained silent.
Charles Collins was terrified by this look, and his voice began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Mr. Lockwood, please believe me, I really didn’t know Simon Abbott had betrayed you! If I had known, I would have reported it to you immediately!"
"..." Ethan Lockwood shot him a cool, indifferent glance but still said nothing.
"DING—"
A real-time news alert suddenly popped up on the computer. Ethan Lockwood glanced at it casually, then his body went rigid.
—SHOCKING! FELIX PRESTON REVEALS TO REPORTERS THAT THE MOLE WHO CAUSED PRESTON GROUP’S BANKRUPTCY HAS BEEN FOUND!
’Preston Group... mole?’
The words seized all of Ethan Lockwood’s attention.
Bracing his hands on the edge of his desk, he suddenly leaned in toward the computer and read the headline over and over.
"’The Preston Group’s mole?’" The phrase sent a chill down his spine, and a name involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
"Mr. Lockwood, Silas Lawrence and I really didn’t know about Simon Abbott’s betrayal, I beg you to believe us!" Charles Collins was still desperately explaining, completely oblivious to Ethan Lockwood’s ashen face.
"Charles Collins!" Ethan Lockwood cut him off, suddenly barking his name.
"...I’m here, Mr. Lockwood!" Charles Collins immediately stopped talking and answered loudly.
He looked up from the computer, his eyes filled with what could only be described as terror as he stared at Charles Collins. "Are you sure Robert Ford is dead?"
"I’m sure!" Charles Collins said with utter certainty. "Our men saw him get thrown into the crocodile pit by the casino owner with their own eyes. He’s been dead and gone for a long time!"
"Mr. Lockwood, why the sudden question?"
A flicker of bewilderment crossed Ethan Lockwood’s eyes. "Thrown into a crocodile pit..."
Charles Collins continued, "That’s right! The pit was teeming with crocodiles. Less than ten minutes after Robert Ford was thrown in, he was devoured by them."
Ethan Lockwood’s behavior was so strange that after finishing, Charles Collins asked again, "Mr. Lockwood, what’s wrong? Has something happened with the Robert Ford situation?"
Ethan Lockwood shook his head erratically. His lips parted, as if to say something, but just then, Silas Lawrence burst through the office door in a frantic rush.
"Mr. Lockwood, we have a problem!"
Ethan Lockwood straightened up. "What is it?"
Silas Lawrence, his face drained of all color, said in a trembling voice, "Someone in Aethelburg... they saw Robert Ford."
"..."
Ethan Lockwood’s mind went blank.
He kicked away the chair beside him and stumbled out from behind his desk in a daze, his steps unsteady as he approached Silas Lawrence.
"...What did you say?" he asked, bewildered. "Who did you say was seen in Aethelburg?"
"Robert Ford." Silas Lawrence forced the name out, suppressing his own intense panic.
"...Robert Ford?" Ethan Lockwood frowned, his face a mask of confusion. "How could anyone see Robert Ford? Didn’t he die in Burkhon a long time ago?"
Silas Lawrence said, "According to the intel we received, Robert Ford should have died in Burkhon long ago, in that casino’s crocodile pit."
Ethan Lockwood stared at him in disbelief. "So he did die? Then why would someone see him in Aethelburg?"
"..." Silas Lawrence didn’t know how to explain, nor did he dare try to make up an excuse.
"Say something!!"
The suffocating silence drove Ethan Lockwood to the brink. Clenching his fists, he couldn’t bear it any longer and shoved Silas Lawrence’s shoulder.
"Speak up!! Why would someone see him in Aethelburg! Isn’t he supposed to be dead?!"
"..."
Silas Lawrence kept his head down, not daring to utter a single sound.
Ethan Lockwood squeezed his eyes shut in fury. When he opened them a moment later, they were completely bloodshot.
"TALK!!" he snarled, on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Silas Lawrence finally spoke, his tone dazed. "Mr. Lockwood, I don’t know what’s going on... The report I received at the time was a confirmation of Robert Ford’s death. They even sent a video of him being thrown into the crocodile pit. You saw that video yourself."
"...So how does someone who was torn apart by crocodiles come back from the dead?" Ethan Lockwood didn’t want to hear any of it; he just wanted to know why Robert Ford was still alive.
’But how would Silas Lawrence know why? It’s not like he was the one who killed Robert Ford...’
Seeing Ethan Lockwood spiraling, Charles Collins quickly tried to change the subject.
"Silas, who was it that saw Robert Ford in Aethelburg?"
Silas Lawrence replied, "Liam Joyce’s secretary. After Liam Joyce was taken in by the tax authorities, he never came back. His secretary is now managing both Azure Studio and Apex Design."
Charles Collins asked, "And where did he see Robert Ford?"
Silas Lawrence stole a glance at Ethan Lockwood’s face before answering in a hushed voice, "Over by Zenith Tower."
"Zenith Tower?" Ethan Lockwood hadn’t yet processed it.
Silas Lawrence nodded. "Yes, Zenith Tower. Felix Preston’s new studio is there too."
"..."
"BOOM—"
A clap of thunder echoed in Ethan Lockwood’s mind, and in that instant, all his composure crumbled to dust.
...
"Preston!"
Evan Yates walked in from the courtyard with a spring in his step, a brilliant, triumphant smile on his face.
Felix Preston put down the caterpillar plushie he was holding and beckoned for Evan Yates to take a seat.
Evan Yates didn’t stand on ceremony, plopping down casually on the sofa across from him.
"Preston, I’ve got two pieces of good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Felix Preston, gently squeezing Sandy’s little hand, raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. "Start with the one that’s not about Ethan Lockwood. I’ve already heard the one that is."
"Okay." Evan Yates reached out to pat Sandy’s cheek, his voice cheerful. "I ran into Renee Sinclair on my way here. She told me she thinks she’s found out who owns that mountain estate."
"Really?" Felix Preston’s eyes lit up.
Evan Yates continued, "For real. Renee Sinclair’s intel is always fast and accurate, so I don’t think she’s wrong this time. But she has something more important to take care of right now, so she’ll have to come and tell you in person a little later."
"Alright." The corners of Felix Preston’s mouth lifted into a smile, the excitement in his eyes becoming impossible to suppress.
Evan Yates’s brow furrowed as he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, I think I actually have three pieces of news for you."
Felix Preston adjusted his glasses. "Three? What’s the third one?"
