bChapter /bb569 /b

+23

b‘/bBut was that breally /bthe case? I don’t think so. There must be bigger interests involved here, Aubree thought before asking, “Miss Walls, did you notice the chief acting weird or anything unusual happening before or after the whole demolition and relocation incidentb?/bb” /b

Josephine paused to think before responding, “Yeah, actually, there was something. Before the news about the demolition got outb, /bbI /bheard people saying the chief bkept /bsneaking boff /bbto /bthe back mountain all the time.

“Oh, and now that I think about it, there bwere /bsome outsiders who showed up in the bvige /baround thenb, /btoo. But I can’t bsay /bfor sure if they bwere /bwith those businessmen who came early to btry /band talk the bvigers /binto agreeing to the relocation.”

By the time they left Josephine’s house, it was already afternoon.

Rubbing her chin, Aubree said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, b“/bJosephine said Mr. Molina and the chief have deep ties. Judging from what we learned from Ethan, Mr. Molina probably knows even more than he lets on.

“With all the drama today, shouldn’t we let Mr. Molina in on it? Let’s not forget that he treated us to dinner on our very first day here.”

Bowen let out a faint, almost mocking smile, as if he found the whole thing a bit ridiculous.

Meanwhile, after the chief took Samuel away, he bwas /bimmediately taken to the hospital.

“I’m sorry, we did everything we could. Your son… Well, bit’s /bunlikely he’ll bever /bbrecover/b. Of course, it could just be that our hospital isn’t equipped for these conditions like this, bso /byou could try visiting ba /bbigger hospital,” the doctor said.

At that moment, Samuel bwas /bstill out cold from the anesthesiab. /b

When the chief heard that his son was basically done for, his face darkened. He replied, “Thank you, doctor.”

The chief’s eldest and second sons, who both worked in the county, rushed over too. Of the three brothers, the youngest was the biggest letdown. The eldest was smart and hadnded a job at the county court. The second son wasn’t bas /bintelligent, and he didn’t even get into college, but he had guts and a ruthless streak. On the surfaceb, /bhe ran a securitypany, but behind the scenes, he was operating a loan–sharking business and making a substantial profit.

“How’s Samuel?” the second son basked/b.

“He’s crippled,” the chief said.

The chief’s bexpression /bwas calm and unreadable as he thought back to the two people he’d seen at Josephine’s house.

Were they really just fruit merchantsb?/b‘ he wondered.

When Bowen and the others first arrived in the vige, he hadn’t thought much of it. After all, it was harvest bseason/b, and fruit buyersing and going was nothing out of the ordinary.

But today, something just felt off.

‘From the way those two carried themselves, there’s no way they were just ordinary fruit merchants, the chief.thought.

The chief’s second son had the worst temper in the family. Although he didn’t think much of his youngest brother, he firmly believed that blood was thicker than water. Only family members had the right to push beach /bother around, and no outsider was allowed toy a finger on them.

‘How dare that bitchy a hand on my brotherb?/bb‘ /bhe fumed, rage simmering inside.

“It was that slut from the end of the vige, wasn’t it? Tomorrow, I’ll get a couple of guys to go teach her a real lesson!” he spat, his voice full of

venom.

“That’s enough!” the chief snapped, his tone harsh andmanding. “Do you even realize what time it is right now?

“The higher–ups are about to restart the reconstruction n, and there are a bunch of new faces in the vige. This is when everyone’s closely monitoring every move. Can’t you tell what you should do and what you need to keep under wraps?

“Samuel just got engaged to Millie, and now there’s this mess. Why are you acting like I’m not embarrassed enough already? Keep your mouth shut about whatever happened to Samuel, and don’t let a word slip out. Tomorrow, I’ll bring some gifts and apologize to the Molina family myself.”

The chief’s second son was beyond annoyed, and he thought, ‘Why do we have to keep cozying up to David Molina? We’ve already done more than enough to keep their family happy.

‘Even if Samuel is crippled, Millie’s stuck with him now. Does she really think she can just walk away?”

The eldest nodded in bagreement/b, “By the bway/bb, /bDadb, you /bsaid those fruit merchants seemed off. For all we know, they might not even be fruit merchants at all.”

The chief’s beyes /blit up bat /bthat, and he thought. That’s definitely possible.

Those btwo /bdidn’t look like byour /bbaverage /bbperson /bbat /ball.‘

“Funny you mention it, Dad,” the eldest said, ba /bsly grin bspreading /bbacross /bhis bface/b. “The county head actually called me ba /bcouple bof /bbdays /bago and said he wanted to invite our family bover /bfor dinner sometimeb, /bbso /bhe could introduce someone to us.”