NovelEnglish
Chapter 557
Byron let loose with a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush, his eyes blazing
with fury, “Avery, you son of a–how dare you even speak to me. At least I share a bloodline
with Matthew, and he looked after me growing up. But who the hell are you? You’re
nothing but a bastard born from a fling with a bodyguard, and you have the gall to covet
the Chambers Group’s fortune?!”
Harvey stared daggers at the foul–mouthed man, his fists clenching tight with anger.
Yet, Avery maintained a faint and enigmatic smile as if Byron’s words were water off a
duck’s back.
“If it weren’t for your scheming, my affairs with those women won’t be exposed, and I
wouldn’t be under police investigation, and things wouldn’t have escalated to this mess!
The real instigator is you! It’s all on you!”
“Byron, do you really think I’m the instigator here?”
Avery gently pushed his wire–rimmed glasses up his nose with a slender and pale finger
and spoke evenly, “Do you truly believe that Matthew you’ve idolized all your life cares
about family ties? That the fact you’ve ended up in this mess has nothing to do with him
at all?”
“Avery, even now you’re trying to drive a wedge between us? How low can you get?”
Byron was seething with hatred from every
pore.
“I may not like you, but at least I never used you, and I certainly never wanted you dead.”
Avery looked at him helplessly, “I’m just trying to reclaim what’s rightfully mine.”
“What… what are you getting at?” Even Byron, in his slow–wittedness, sensed the
undercurrent in Avery’s words; his heart started
to race.
“During your days in jail, you must have pondered one question: why you, of all people,
got slapped with a charge of hiring a hitman. Don’t you want to know the real truth?
Who’s made you rot away in here?”
Though Byron didn’t trust him, he was hell–bent on getting to the bottom of things, so he
slowly sat back down.
Avery motioned with his finger, and Harvey placed a stack of photos before Byron.
As he flipped through them, his mind exploded like a nuclear bomb going off; his face
turned crimson, and his eyes turned bulged with shock!
“You recognize Quincy, right? He’s Matthew’s guy. He’s been in touch with your goons, and
I’ve checked their accounts–there’s been a deposit of three hundred thousand, from an
offshore account. The cops can’t trace the sender. But, I think these photos make it crystal
clear who wired the money, don’t they?” Avery’s eyes gleamed mischievously behind his
glasses.
The photos in Byron’s hands were nearly crushed; his eyes were bloodshot, “Impossible,
how could it be, how could Matthew?”
“Do this to you?”
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Avery crossed his legs nonchalantly, with a cruel smirk on his lips, “He ‘helped‘ you out,
not out of family loyalty, but to regain Dad’s favor. But the girl was set to switch sides, and
to testify against you for assault. He had no choice but to silence her. The risk was huge–if
it worked, fine. If not, someone had to take the fall.”
“So he used my people to cover his tracks? And if it blew up, he could pin it all on me?!”
Byron gasped for air as if he was choked.
“And more than that, I’ve found out that Quincy has taken control of your right–hand
man’s family. Isn’t all this evidence enough to show that Matthew is behind your
downfall?”
Harvey added fuel to the fire, “Byron, I know you despise Mr. Chambers. But right now,
who else has got your back? Matthew’s thrown you
under the bus; he plays the saint in front of you, and even tries to snatch your shares.
Man, he really is cold, playing
you for a fool!”
Playing him for a fool?!
He had seen Matthew as his guiding light, his flesh and blood, but it turned out he had
been used as a pawn in his games of
favor?
“Harvey, that’s enough,”
Avery took on a sympathetic tone, sighing, “My brother’s already under enough pressure.
Don’t add to his troubles.”
Standing up, he continued, “Byron, we might not share a mother, but we are still our
father’s sons, and we grew up together. No matter what, I couldn’t frame you for murder.
That would be squeezing you dry and tossing you aside like trash, far too cruel.”
Byron’s temples throbbed, and his facial muscles got twitched uncontrollably with rage, “I
can transfer my shares to you, but you have to give me all the evidence on Matthew
framing me! I want to appeal, and I want to get out of here!”
“Of course, I’ll hand it over right now.”
As if anticipating Byron’s request, Avery placed a prepared manila envelope in front of
him, “This contains all the evidence I’ve gathered. It might not be enough to convict
Matthew of hiring a hitman, but it should help you overturn your confession.
However, you can’t bring these into jail, so you’ll need to talk to your lawyer, and assign
full authority to handle this.”
Having checked the contents of the envelope, Byron weighed his options, and with a
resolute heart–he signed his name on the share transfer agreement and stamped it with
his thumbprint.
Avery fought to keep his smile in check, his eyes fierce and predatory behind the genteel
glasses.
“It’s been a pleasure doing business. When you get out, I’ll personally come to pick you up
with all the pomp of the Chambers Group.”
As they prepared to leave, Byron suddenly stopped him, with teeth clenched, “With the
shares you’ve got now, you can take on Matthew. Don’t let him off easy, and make sure he
goes down hard!”
“I’ve got this.” Avery’s eyes narrowed with a glint of cold determination.
Not just Matthew.
Each and every one of them. They’d all pay, and none would escape a dire fate.
Stepping out of the detention center, Harvey clapped his hands in excitement.
“Congratulations, Mr. Chambers! Well done, sir! Your share in the Chambers Group has just
increased! Another step closer to toppling Matthew!”
Avery, rubbing his hands vigorously with sanitizer, couldn’t hide his pleasure, “That’s why
I’ve kept that cur alive.” Harvey had an epiphany!
“Byron thought his life insurance was Jeff. Hah, he couldn’t be more wrong”
Avery wiped his hands one more time with a clean handkerchief, and then tossed it
disdainfully to the ground, “His true life insurance was his share in the Chambers Group.
Now, as a person, he’s worthless to this world. Get rid of him, and do it fast.”
Harvey nodded, his eyes darkening at the command.
Avery, recalling Byron’s hope for revenge, couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of him
clinging to those shares as his salvation.
Now, everyone Byron could have turned to had been bought by Avery.
Who did he have left to count on?
He might as well plead with the Grim Reaper.
On his way back to The Velvet Haven, Avery received a call from Eden.
“Mr. Chambers, is the cash ready? And the plane?”
Feeling good about acquiring the shares, Avery spoke in a tone notably more cordial, “All
set, and you can get the money right away. You can leave tomorrow, but be extremely
careful. The Abernathy, Ashbourne, and Fairhaven groups are all after you. Elmsworth is
swarming with their spies. One wrong move and you won’t make it.”
“I’ll come to you! We can talk when we meet!”
“No way. You can do anything you want right now, except meeting with me.” Avery was
too shrewd to agree.
Meeting him was like putting a target on his back!
“How will you get the money to me? You’ll have to send someone!”
“I’ll have my guy leave it at a secret location, and I’ll text you the address later. You can
pick it up when it suits you.”
“And the plane?”
“Once you’ve got the cash and made sure no one’s following or hunting you, you can
leave anytime.” Avery’s voice was smooth, but his eyes held a chilling light.
“Make it quick then! I’ve had enough of this dump!” Eden was out of his element and
desperate to leave.
Avery stepped on the discarded white handkerchief, “Just follow my plan, and you’ll be on
your way smoothly.”
213
07:36
The next morning, Evadne and Thaddeus were shocked to hear the news-
Byron was found dead in the detention center’s communal showers.
It was said his death was bizarre and terrifying. His body was rigid, and his face was
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmswollen and darkened to a purplish hue. He was strangled by the stainless steel shower
pipe that was still wrapped around his neck, looking eerily like a suicide.
But suicide? How could that be?
How could a man who knew how to keep himself clean suddenly seek death?
The scandal of a person dying unnoticed in detention had the authorities notify the
Chambers Group, and Byron’s body was taken for autopsy to determine the next steps.
After hearing the report from Aaron Ashbourne, Evadne and Thaddeus didn’t know how to
respond.
It wasn’t bad news; the death of that brute was a good riddance.
But who wanted him dead so badly that they couldn’t even wait for the trial?
“The funniest part is, when the detention center contacted the Chambers family, Jeff and
Matthew were so reluctant, and no one wanted to claim the body. In the end, they sent a
secretary to handle the aftermath with indifference. It’s really something that Byron
should end up so disregarded; it’s quite a tale,” Aaron scoffed.
Not that he had much compassion, but he simply thought the Chambers didn’t deserve to
be called human beings.
“Aaron, Byron wasn’t the type to seek death. He was murdered. We need to investigate
and reveal the deeper darkness, and catch a bigger fish.”
Evadne and Thaddeus sat on the sofa, with her nestling between his legs, his strong arms
wraping around her waist.
Thaddeus’s chin rested on the nape of her neck, and his hot breaths tickled her flushed
ear, making her squirm.
“Hey, cut it out, I’m discussing serious matters here.”
“I’m listening,” murmuring, he couldn’t help but nibble at her neck.
With a soft pop, a bright red mark appeared on her delicate skin.
Evadne felt her breath hitched, and let out a soft moan.
“Hey, hey, hey! Show some decorum, will you? Don’t make me listen to some X–rated
show over here.” Aaron, a virile man himself, couldn’t handle such teasing.
They were enjoying their playful affection, but he was single and felt tortured.
“Mr. Ashbourne, let’s proceed as Evadne suggested.”
Thaddeus spoke softly into the phone, “Whoever acted against Byron is no amateur. This
might just be the break we need to capture the puppeteer behind the scenes.”
“Do you think I don’t want that? But it’s not that easy.”
Aaron’s voice grew serious, “The killer was a pro. He chose the public showers because it’s
the only place without surveillance. And he was ruthless and professional to use what was
at hand so that no weapon was left. Water washed away any possible fingerprints and
footprints. The killer could be an inmate, or a guard, and maybe even more than one
person was involved. The suspects could be people who had contact with the prisoners,
the number of which isn’t small. There are too many distractions, and it’s too difficult to
investigate and find evidence.”
Evadne lifted her hand, pressing it firmly against the man’s increasingly bold and
impudent face. “You know, I think figuring out who exactly took the shot is secondary at
this moment. What’s really crucial is the motive behind the killing. With Byron on the
verge of being convicted, he can’t dodge this bullet. Who would take such a desperate
gamble, going through layers of security just to seal his fate? Such a high risk must
promise some kind of substantial payoff, right?”
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