Brettley furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at the empty living room. “At home, of course.”
Before this, he and Bethan had stayed in a rental unit that John helped them book so that their return to Banyan City would remain asecret, but considering that everyone in Banyan City knew that they returned and even witnessed Bethan attempting murder, Brettley decided not to continue staying at the rental unit anymore and instead returned home to Blue Bay Villa.
Since Blue Bay Villa had been abandoned for quite some time, he dismissed most of the servants working there, with only a couple remaining to keep the villa clean and tidy.
It was five in the morning, and the cleaners had yet to arrive, so Brettley was the only one at home.
“You didn’t go to the hospital, did you?”
Jude asked after letting out an exhale.
Brettley raised his brows at this. “Why would I go there?”
“Jacqueline is dead.”
Jude sighed. “The nurses found her when they were doing their ward rounds this morning. Someone yanked off all her equipment and oxygen supply. She…quite literally suffocated to death.”
Brettley’s hand stiffened when he heard this. He was silent for a long time before finally asking, Did they check the surveillance cameras?”
“Yes, the police did, but not only were the cameras in the hospital all destroyed, but even the ones on the road outside the hospital were also totally unreadable.
“The police are racking their brains right now, trying to find a motive for the murderer to kill her. They’ll probably get in touch with you soon. After all, you’re the person with the biggest motive to kill in the entire city.”
With that, Jude could not help confirming once more. ”You’re sure you didn’t go to the hospital last night, right?”
Brettley furrowed his eyebrows at this. “I have my villa’s surveillance footage as proof.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Jude let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest. “I was worried for a second that you’d be as impulsive as your wife was. If the two of you wind up in jail, all your businesses and your three children will end up in my hands.”
“Four children now,”
Brettley corrected him. “We’ve found our youngest daughter.”
“What?”
Jude was silent for a moment from the shock, then quickly added, “Well, in that case, you’d better keep your head on. I don’t know how to take care of a baby.”
“You won’t need to.”
Brettley rubbed his brows in frustration and was about to say something when his doorbell rang.
“Is that the police?”
Jude could not help frowning when he heard the doorbell ring from the other end of the line. “They just left the hospital; I didn’t think they’d arrive so soon.”
Brettley furrowed his brows at this. “Talk to you later.”
With that, he put down his phone and went to open the door.
Aman dressed in black was standing in the rain with his umbrella open. A smile spread across his pale face when he saw Brettley. “
Hello, Brettley.”
Brettley’s entire body froze when he saw who it was. You?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
It was none other than John, who disappeared the day before with
Anne’s body and their daughter, Sammie. At this moment, he was standing at Brettley’s door with an umbrella in the pouring rain, his eyes bloodshot. “I was the one who killed Jacqueline.”
John wanted to exact revenge against Jacqueline ever since finding out about Anne’s death, but he never once dreamed that Bethan, the person whom he blamed for Anne’s death, would risk everything, including her status and future, to murder Jacqueline in front of so many people…
It should have been him, and only him.
Therefore, after seeing the news last night, John decided not to hide any longer and instead went to the hospital to kill Jacqueline once and for all. If it were not for the fact that Willow was already arrested, he would have killed her, too.
Brettley sighed as he stared at John’s sunken face. “I knew it was you.”
There were no records of John or Sammie leaving the city, so this meant that they had been in hiding and never left Banyan City in the first place.
After what happened the night before, there was no way John would not find out, nor take matters into his own hands.
“I want to leave this place with Sammie and Anne.”
John lifted his head to stare at Brettley with bloodshot eyes. “I heard what you said from the videos posted online–I don’t need you or Bethan to help me take care of Sammie.
“All I need you to do now is to arrange for a van to send me and Sammie out of here, safe and sound. I’l] raise Sammie by myself, and we’ll live happily ever after on our own –away from all of you.
“The only reason Anne suffered this fate is because of you. If she never met any of you, our lives would be peaceful and tranquil.”
Brettley furrowed his brows upon hearing this. As reluctant as he was, he had to admit that… John was right.
If John and Anne never met him and Bethan, they would have continued to live a happy and peaceful life together.
At the thought of this, Brettley sighed and replied, “Alright. I’ll do that.”
He, too, wished that John and Sammie could get away from them and live their best lives together.
Brettley made far too many enemies throughout his life, and after what happened with Anne, everyone in Banyan City knew just how much John and little Sammie meant to them.
If, like Jacqueline, his enemies decided to target John and Sammie instead…
Brettley could not even begin to imagine the consequences of that.
“For safety purposes, I hope that you and Sammie will adopt new identities so no one can find you.”
“We will.”
John nodded and let out a bitter smile. “Now that
Jacqueline is dead, I’ve also become a murderer. Changing our names and identities will be the best option for us.”
Brettley sighed and nodded when he heard this. “When are you leaving?”
“Right now.”
John sighed and replied with a sniffle, ‘But there’s something else I wish to ask of you, Brettley.”
“Tell me.”
“I hope–” he lifted his head to gaze at Brettley. “I hope that neither of you, not even Bethan, will try to find us, and no one will ever find out where we’ve gone.
“Sammie and I never want to see any of you again in our lives– especially not Bethan.”
“Okay,” replied Brettley after a moment of silence.
“You shouldn’t stay here long. The police will be on me sinceJacqueline is dead. They’ll be here anytime soon looking for me,” he said.
He gave John a name card. “This is a name card of a logistic company’s owner. He owes me big time. Take this name card to him, and he’ll know you’re my friend. I’ll keep my promise and never ask the owner your whereabouts with Sammie, ever.”
John paused and nodded while he tightened his fist with the name card in his palm. “Goodbye.”
“Take care,” bade Brettley.
John turned around and used the black baseball cap to hide his face while walking away with the umbrella. Just as he got to the street, a police car drove by.
It was a dim morning, and it was raining to boot. The police were busy tracking where Brettley had been last night, so none of them noticed the man with the umbrella leaving.
The moment John passed by the police car, he smiled ambiguously and contacted the owner of the logistics company via phone.
In the meantime, the police car arrived at Brettley’s villa. They got out of the car and started to question Brettley as they entered the villa. To their surprise, this business mogul was not arrogant nor unfriendly like the other rich people. Throughout their exchange, he had been sincere and serious about cooperating with the police.
He even asked the maid to prepare coffee for the police to make sure the police had enough energy to keep their head clear to question him in the rainy weather. It lasted until the evening.
When Brettley sent the police away from the villa, his phone rang. It was from the owner of the logistics company.
“Mr. Morrison, your friend has left Banyan City safely. He requested a truck from me and brought a lady and a kid with him.”
“Thank you,”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.