I See through Everything

Chapter 112: Chapter 91: Unfathomable Hearts

...

Los Angeles.

On the beach by the Temmit Island side of the Vincent Thomas Bridge—the scene of the accident.

Several rings of police tape had already been set up.

FBI agents and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department had cordoned off the entire crime scene, making it impenetrable.

A bald, middle-aged white man stood on the beach a dozen meters from the wrecked vehicle. He surveyed the scene, his expression darker than the face of the black officer standing beside him.

Not far away, a middle-aged white man with a long face, dressed in a black suit, walked over. After approaching the bald man, he pulled a document from his briefcase and handed it over. "Commissioner Robert, the FBI is taking full command of this case now. Please hand over all relevant files and materials to us."

"..." The silent Commissioner Robert glanced at the document, sighed with relief inwardly, then said with a serious expression, "No problem, Mr. Kroen."

The long-faced Kroen produced another document from his briefcase. "In addition, this is a notice of cooperation with the investigation. Please sign for it."

"Of course." Robert nodded and quickly signed the document.

As the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office—the man in charge of all special agents in the region—Kroen was not as calm as he appeared. This case was far too serious.

As the FBI took full control of the case, various specialists quickly entered the scene and began a more comprehensive and meticulous examination.

More than three hours later, the bodies, severely twisted and deformed by the crushing impact, were finally extricated from the vehicle.

His deputy, Tom, walked up to Kroen’s car, holding a preliminary autopsy report. "Kroen, based on the initial examination of the five bodies, they all died from the reactive force of the impact."

This was dozens of times more efficient than the FBI’s usual standard.

It seemed even the death of a big shot was an extraordinary affair.

Kroen looked surprised. "No one was shot?"

Tom shook his head. "No. The bullets all hit the window glass. It doesn’t look like the security personnel were trying to assassinate the target. It seems they were trying to shoot out the windows to escape."

Initially, when Kroen saw the dense cluster of bullet holes on the car window, he’d thought the security personnel inside had attacked the target. He never imagined that wasn’t the case.

This new information made Kroen fall into deep thought, chewing on his thumbnail.

After a moment, another computer engineer called out, "Mr. Kroen, I’ve found something over here."

His thoughts interrupted, Kroen led Tom and the others to the computer engineer’s mobile command unit. Inside, a bearded white man with glasses was staring intently at a laptop screen.

"Bell, what did you find?"

The computer engineer, Bell, looked up. "During the time of the incident, the driver’s phone was continuously emitting a dense cluster of signals. These weren’t normal communication signals."

"..." Kroen’s palms grew faintly sweaty. His mind felt as if it had been hit by a flashbang, and cold sweat immediately beaded on his forehead. The sweltering summer heat could do little to dispel the chill in his heart.

’Dammit... Isn’t this the kind of method the CIA uses for assassinations overseas?’ As a mid-level agent in the FBI, Kroen knew a few secrets.

But at this moment, he wished he knew nothing at all.

He felt he might have been dragged into a struggle between top-tier powers—a fight that a small fry like him couldn’t possibly withstand. One wrong move could get his entire family killed.

"Mr. Kroen?" The engineer, Bell, adjusted his glasses. "Are you not feeling well?"

Tom reacted as well. His face had also gone deathly pale, a fact fortunately concealed by his white skin.

Kroen took a deep breath, then let it out. "It’s nothing. Bell, keep this confidential for now. I need to report the situation to my superiors."

"That’s right, keep it under wraps for now. Kroen and I have something to discuss," Tom added, his smile a bit forced.

The two men hurried to the water’s edge.

Gazing at the glittering surface of the sea, Kroen pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a long drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Hah... Tom, this isn’t something we can handle. Let’s report it up the chain as soon as possible. I have no desire to be a sacrificial lamb."

"I know, I know." Tom’s voice was even trembling. "Shit! Why did it have to be us who ran into something like this?!"

Jiang Miao could have secretly erased this trail of evidence, but he chose not to. Instead, he deliberately left some traces behind.

After all, he had already wiped all traces from the compromised proxy servers he’d jumped through. It was impossible for them to track Jiang Miao’s movements.

Therefore, by leaving a trace on the driver’s phone, he could let the FBI know that someone had seized control of the vehicle, causing it to fly off the bridge.

Jiang Miao, far away on the other side of the world, would not become a suspect.

But as for the major powers within America, no matter how they tried to explain themselves, a seed of suspicion had been planted. The heir to the Locke Clan would surely suspect that one of the major American factions had acted in secret, preparing to move against their family.

Jiang Miao fanned the flames by packaging up many of the Locke Clan’s secrets and sending them to various interested parties around the globe.

This would only deepen the Locke Clan’s paranoia.

The most difficult thing in the world is to prove your own innocence.

This was especially true since none of the major powers within America had clean hands.

And just as expected, once Kroen and Tom reported the matter up the chain, the atmosphere inside FBI headquarters instantly froze.

Director Kevin Vincent’s expression was exceptionally grim. The various assistant directors looked equally grave, but none of them spoke first. Instead, they all looked to Director Kevin Vincent.

Kevin Vincent rubbed his temples. "Tell Kroen to lock down all information for the time being. Nothing gets out to the public without my direct order. Also, warn the media. I don’t want to see a single report related to this incident. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay..."

Soon, Kevin Vincent relayed the news to their financial backers.

In an instant, secret communication channels throughout North America lit up, becoming unusually busy. All the major powers received the relevant intelligence at virtually the same time.

The FBI’s preliminary findings stunned them. Although they all knew they hadn’t done it, they all simultaneously began to suspect the other financial oligarchies.

For example, one particular oligarch family, known for giving its competitors "a ride on a dirt plane," became a prime suspect.

Once a seed of suspicion takes root and sprouts in the human heart, it is not so easily plucked out.

And Noah A. Locke, still on his way, had no idea that a storm centered on the Locke Clan was about to erupt across the globe.