Chapter 408

Chapter 408

"They're dead?"

Sawyer's jaw dropped.

Alice had told him there was no need to keep collecting evidence of Robert's abuse toward Emily—she wasn't planning to use legal channels to make Robert pay. Simply throwing him in prison, where he could still live comfortably behind bars, was too easy a punishment.

She had something else in mind.

Sawyer had taken her advice and stopped searching for Ash and his family. He never expected that the next time he'd hear about them, it would be news of their deaths.

Ursa was sobbing hysterically. "Sawyer, are you seriously still going to play innocent with me?"

Her tone was absolute. "I know you paid someone to run them off the road!"

"The police are already investigating. They'll trace it back to you sooner or later! You won't get away with this—you're going to get the death penalty!"

Ursa had already convicted Sawyer in her mind.

Through her tears, she continued her broken accusations against the murderer. "You've ruined me. I'm going to pay for being such a gullible idiot. If I hadn't believed what you said at the hospital that day, if I hadn't been soft-hearted enough to give you Ash's address, his whole family would still be alive!"

"I got them killed! Sawyer, you bastard—you're not even human! Karma's coming for you, you bitch!"

After Ursa exhausted herself with insults and paused briefly, Sawyer finally found an opening to respond. "Ursa, Ursa—just calm down for a second and let me explain."

"I didn't hire anyone to kill them. I only found out they were dead today. After you gave me that address, I went to their place—but they were already gone, like they knew I was coming. They've been hiding from me this whole time. I haven't seen them since. Not once."

"You say I hired a hitman—fine. Then tell me this: did they have the accident in some rural area?"

Ursa's crying stopped. She answered reflexively, "I heard it was in Silverlight City."

So Robert had moved the family to Silverlight City.

Sawyer's mind turned. His gut told him Ash's family dying in a car crash had Robert written all over it.

But for Robert to be bold enough to silence them permanently—that was something Sawyer hadn't anticipated. He'd underestimated the man.

Ursa's voice came through the phone again, sharp and accusing. "What does it matter where the crash happened? How does Silverlight City prove you're innocent? You probably just tracked them down there and had them killed! What kind of grudge do you have against Ash's family that they had to die??"

"And why the hell did you have to drag me into your mess? All I wanted was a quiet life, and now thanks to you, I'm probably about to be arrested as an accessory! You've destroyed everything for me, Sawyer! Don't think I'm scared of you just because you're rich and powerful!"

Sawyer realized he couldn't clear this up over the phone. "Ursa, you don't need to be afraid. Their deaths really have nothing to do with me. You're not going to get dragged into this. How about we meet in person? I can explain everything face-to-face and prove my innocence."

To Ursa, this sounded like a threat. "Meet? You killed Ash's whole family and now you want to silence me too? Dream on! I'm warning you—don't you dare come looking for me. If you do, I'll... I'll..."

Ursa stammered, frantically trying to think of something threatening enough to scare off a killer like Sawyer.

"I'll go to the police and report you! I'm done! Even if I get arrested, I was tricked by you—and if I cooperate, I probably won't be in there long. You hear me? Don't come looking for me!"

Still sniffling, Ursa hung up after delivering her 'threat.' Sawyer tried calling back to explain, but she'd already blocked his number.

Would she really go to the police and 'confess'?

Sawyer stared at Ursa's number on his screen, his brow furrowed.

She better not do anything that stupid.

That family's death had nothing to do with him—and certainly nothing to do with her.

Sawyer knew he needed to see Ursa in person to clear this up.

And he felt he couldn't delay. But he also couldn't leave Emily home alone.

Just as Sawyer was wrestling with what to do, he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned to see Emily, looking exhausted.

"Emily, did the phone wake you up after all?" Sawyer asked, guilt creeping into his voice.

"No, I wasn't really asleep anyway. I was just lying there with my eyes closed, resting. What's going on? Who was that? Did something happen?"

Emily hadn't heard the conversation, but she could tell something was wrong from the look on Sawyer's face.

Sawyer pressed his lips together. "Emily... the maid Robert hired to take care of you back then—Wren and her family—they died in a car accident."

Emily froze in place.

Her first instinct was to say, "So suddenly?"

No—not suddenly. Deliberately.

Emily had a strong suspicion Robert was behind it.

Had he really become that ruthless?

After the initial shock wore off, Emily's stomach began to burn like it was on fire. She clutched her abdomen and doubled over in pain. Sawyer immediately rushed to her side, supporting her. "Emily? Emily, what's wrong? I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

Emily swallowed back the nausea rising in her throat and waved him off. "No, I'm fine. I just feel a little sick."

"Sick? Let me get you some stomach medicine."

Emily nodded.

Sawyer helped her to the living room sofa first, then ran upstairs to get the medicine.

Emily stared blankly at the armrest, her mind in chaos.

The reason for her sudden stomach pain was the shock of learning Robert had silenced witnesses by killing them.

She thought back to why she'd agreed to marry Robert in the first place. After the Johnson family went bankrupt, her parents had both committed suicide. She'd been emotionally shattered, to the point where she'd wanted to end her own life. Robert had pulled her back from the edge and helped her move past the grief.

Even after all these years, she still remembered what Robert had said through his tears on the way to the hospital after her suicide attempt: "Emily, you can't die. Even if I can't keep you here... what about Sawyer? You're the only family he has left!"