Chapter 273 He Forced Me to Kill

Chapter 273 He Forced Me to Kill

Tobias jumped in fright, his hand jerked, and the pen dragged a long ink streak across the contract.

He snapped his head up to see a figure walking in from outside the door.

Dark fitted clothes, hair pulled back in a low bun, posture straight and sharp, each step measured and unhurried. Most importantly, her face—just one look was enough to make Tobias's blood run cold.

Wasn't that Catherine?

Damn it! He'd been tricked after all! So today really was a trap Catherine had set for him!

But right now, he had no time to settle scores with the buyer.

The pen in Tobias's hand clattered onto the table as his face turned visibly pale.

He instinctively stepped back, his calf hitting the folding chair behind him. The chair scraped against the cement floor with a harsh screech before toppling over.

He stared at Catherine, his lips trembling violently. After a long moment, he finally squeezed out a shrill, distorted shout from his throat, "Catherine? What are you doing here? Someone! Get in here!"

The two bodyguards behind him had already reacted quickly, pulling out their batons from their waists.

Both men were retired mercenaries Tobias had hired at great expense from Eastern Europe—built like tanks, quick to react. Even surrounded from both sides by Ian's men, they showed no sign of panic.

One bald, burly man let out a low growl and swung his baton straight at Catherine's face.

Catherine tilted her head and dodged. The baton grazed past her ear, lifting a few strands of hair.

She didn't even blink. Her right hand locked onto his wrist joint, using his momentum to press down while her toe precisely kicked the back of his knee.

The man grunted and dropped to one knee. The baton flew from his hand, bounced twice on the cement floor, and was kicked away by Ian.

At the same time, Charles had already stepped in front of Catherine, blocking the other bodyguard's incoming punch with one hand and striking the man's neck with his elbow.

The man staggered back several steps. Before he could steady himself, two men in black tackled him to the ground.

"Catherine! Are you crazy! You dare to make a move abroad! Aren't you afraid..."

Tobias screamed as he backed away, fumbling in his jacket for a folding knife. He frantically flicked open the blade and waved it wildly in Catherine's direction.

"Don't come closer! I'm warning you, don't come closer! Even if you catch me, you won't have any evidence! Without evidence, you can't do anything! Let me go, and I'll give you back the money! The money from the gold mine, everything else I took from the Thornton family—I'll return it all!"

Catherine stopped and tilted her head, as if seriously considering his offer.

Thinking she was wavering, a glimmer of hope flashed in Tobias's eyes, and the knife in his hand unconsciously lowered half an inch.

"You... you just want money, right? I'll give it to you..."

But then Catherine suddenly smiled.

Before Tobias could react, Catherine suddenly rushed forward. Her left hand precisely grabbed his knife-wielding wrist and twisted it backward. The folding knife clattered to the ground.

Her right hand seized his collar, and using his backward momentum, she drove her knee hard into his abdomen.

Tobias instantly curled up like a shrimp, collapsed to the ground with his back arched, hands clutching his stomach, screaming in pain.

Ian had already efficiently dealt with the two bodyguards. He stepped forward, hauled Tobias up from the ground, and pinned him face-down on the table with his arms twisted behind his back.

Catherine picked up the fallen pen from the floor and waved it in front of his eyes. "Give me back the money? The gold mine was my grandfather's, the shares are mine. What right do you have to say 'give back'?"

Tobias's pupils dilated sharply, his lips trembling violently.

Catherine slapped the pen on the table and said coldly, "Tobias, you conspired with Brandon to embezzle my grandfather's gold mine, instructed Hank to poison his medicine causing a brain hemorrhage and coma, then imprisoned Winnie to force Brandon to give up his share. And when you were sixteen, living with the Thornton family, you used your position as your childhood friend's father's attending physician to fake a radioactive leak during a lab explosion, causing my grandmother to be exposed to excessive radiation and die of cancer. I've investigated every single one of these things thoroughly. What you owe my grandfather, what you owe my grandmother—today, you're paying it all back, principal and interest."

Tobias's face pressed against the table as he screamed hoarsely, "You're lying! What evidence do you have! You have no evidence! Your grandparents' deaths had nothing to do with me!"

"You want evidence?" Catherine straightened up and pulled out her phone from her pocket.

The screen lit up and an audio recording began to play.

The conversation between Tobias and the buyer discussing Montgomery Group shares came clearly through the speaker, word for word.

Tobias's struggling movements suddenly froze, the color draining from his face at a visible speed.

"This recording, plus the fake contract you half-signed, plus what you just admitted with your own mouth—Ian recorded everything outside, audio and video."

Catherine put the phone back in her pocket and looked down at him.

"Think that's enough?"

"I... I didn't mean to..." Tobias finally despaired, collapsing completely on the table, his voice breaking into sobs.

"Catherine... no! Ms. Montgomery! Please let me go... I'm begging you to let me go... I know I was wrong! I'll work like a dog for you! I'll be your witness! I know Brandon has other cases that haven't been exposed! I'll tell you everything! Please spare my life..."

"Why don't you save it for the judge in court?"

Catherine straightened up and jerked her chin at Ian.

Ian yanked him up from the table and marched him toward the warehouse door with his arms pinned behind his back.

Tobias went completely limp like a puddle of mud, mumbling incoherently, as if begging for mercy or talking to himself.

As he passed Catherine, he suddenly twisted his head desperately toward her. "Catherine... your grandmother... I was only sixteen then... your grandmother was so good to me... I really didn't want to..."

Catherine turned her head away, not looking at him.

Ian applied more pressure and dragged him out through the warehouse door.

In the night, the faint sound of police sirens came from the distance, growing closer and clearer.

Tobias suddenly burst into tears. "I was wrong! I was really wrong! I didn't start out on the wrong path! It was Beck Aldridge! He forced me... he forced me to kill your grandmother!"

Catherine whirled around, her face turning cold.