Chapter 187 Enter Pinecrest City

Chapter 187 Enter Pinecrest City

The car and its occupant ended up at the bottom of the reservoir.

Two years ago, a small family in Azure Bay refused to fall in line. Their house caught fire in the middle of the night.

All five family members died. The Tovar family had sent someone to set the blaze.

Publicly, they blamed it on faulty wiring.

One incident after another—all of them deadly.

Iron Wolf listened without interrupting.

Kevin appeared at the basement doorway at some point.

He held a voice recorder in one hand, paper and pen in the other.

He wrote down every word Kyle said, the recorder running the entire time.

When Kyle had said enough, Kevin walked over.

He slid the written confession and an ink pad through the bars of the cage.

"Sign it. Fingerprint it."

Kyle didn't dare refuse.

His hand trembling, he used his uninjured right hand to scrawl his name.

Then pressed his red thumbprint onto the paper.

The signature came out crooked, ink smudging across the page.

Kevin retrieved the confession, glanced at it, then headed upstairs to find James.

James sat in the living room, a glass of water in hand.

"Mr. Anderson, he confessed everything. Here's the statement and the recording."

Kevin handed over the materials.

James flipped through a couple pages. The content exceeded his expectations.

Plenty of dirt on Cedric.

"Make a copy for our records."

"Take the original and the recording to Eldon tomorrow. Have him pass them to Marius."

"Got it."

Kevin nodded, then asked another question.

"What about Kyle?"

"Keep him in the cage. Lock his hands and feet."

"Give him enough food to stay alive each day. In three days, we'll send him to Cedric's estate."

"Understood."

Kevin went down to make the arrangements.

Iron Wolf emerged from the basement as well, blood on his hands.

He wiped them casually on his pants.

"Mr. Anderson, we've finished interrogating the other Tovar family remnants we brought in."

"Seven of them have blood on their hands. The rest were just foot soldiers trying to make a living."

"Handle it as discussed. The ones without kills on their records—dump them outside the city tomorrow morning."

"Will do."

By the time they finished dealing with everything, it was the middle of the night.

James went upstairs and returned to his bedroom.

He didn't turn on the lights. Instead, he walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain to look down.

Security patrolled the yard in shifts. Everything was quiet.

He pulled out his phone and opened his conversation with Caroline.

With everything happening in Pinecrest City lately, he hadn't let Caroline come here.

She was relatively safer staying in Silvermoon City.

The last message in their thread was one Caroline had sent that evening.

Asking if he'd eaten, telling him not to overwork himself.

James's finger hovered over the screen. He wanted to call her but worried about waking her up.

He remembered when they'd tried on wedding outfits together—Caroline standing in front of the mirror.

Her eyes had been so bright as she said she'd wait for him to come back so they could shoot the outdoor photos.

James pocketed his phone and headed to the bathroom for a cold shower.

His old injuries still ached a bit. He paid them no mind.

The next morning, Kevin secured the copied confession and left to find Eldon.

James was eating breakfast in the downstairs dining room. He'd just picked up a piece of bread when his phone rang.

It was Tobias calling.

James answered.

"Mr. Anderson, we have a problem."

Tobias's tone was urgent.

"Talk."

"Theodore arrived in Pinecrest City early—four days ahead of schedule."

"His convoy reached Azure Bay half an hour ago. Cedric went to greet him personally."

"Right now they're at the station house, having a meal and discussing business."

James set down his bread.

"How many men did Theodore bring?"

"Twenty Solaria mercenaries. All veterans who've been running cross-border operations with him for years."

"They've all got blood on their hands. Combat-capable."

"Officially, Theodore's here to pay his respects for Terry's death."

"In reality, Cedric invited him to deal with you."

Tobias paused, then added another line.

"My dad says you should avoid going out for a while. Wait until things cool down."

"If it comes to a fight, we've got people who can help."

"Not necessary."

James said.

"I understand. Thanks."

He ended the call and sat in his chair, fingers tapping lightly on the table.

Theodore.

A mercenary leader from Solaria who dealt in arms and smuggling. Wild connections, ruthless methods.

But a man like that valued profit above all else.

He wouldn't actually go to war over a dead Terry.

If Cedric thought he could use Theodore as a weapon, he was mistaken.

Kevin returned from outside just then. Seeing James, he walked over.

"Mr. Anderson, I delivered everything to Eldon."

"He said Marius will keep it safe and use it when the time's right."

"Good."

James looked up.

"I need you to investigate something. Find out if Theodore and Terry had any history."

"Focus on about eight years ago. See if they had any arms deals."

Kevin blinked but didn't ask questions. He nodded.

"I'll start looking now."

Kevin went to the intelligence room in the study.

The Specter Syndicate's information network spanned the region. Digging up old accounts wouldn't be difficult.

Less than half an hour later, he returned with printed materials.

"Mr. Anderson, found it. Eight years ago, Theodore asked Terry to broker a deal for foreign military hardware."

"Theodore sent the money, but Terry kept the goods and extorted an additional two million dollars."

"The two men Theodore sent to pick up the shipment were killed by Terry's people. Their bodies were never found."

"At the time, Terry had Cedric's backing, so Theodore didn't dare confront Cedric directly."

"The matter was dropped. But they've held a grudge ever since and haven't done business together again."

James took the materials and flipped through them.

Transaction records, transfer receipts, information on the two deceased—it was all there.

Enough.

James set the documents on the table.

"Get ready. Make a copy of this evidence."

"Add one more thing. Three years of free access to our private shipping channel off Silvermoon City. For Theodore's use."

Kevin frowned.

"Mr. Anderson, we fought hard to secure that route. You want to give it to him?"

James said, "Theodore's a businessman. He won't turn down a good deal."

"Terry screwed him over. That old debt, plus access to the channel—it's enough to make him switch sides."

"But what if Cedric's offering him better terms?"

"He won't."

James shook his head.

"Cedric's just using him. He won't offer real benefits."

"Even if they win, Theodore would only get scraps."

"What we're offering is tangible profit."

"The Silvermoon City sea route saves him half the transit time and lets him bypass border inspections. His profits would double."

"That's worth more than three border crossings combined."

Kevin thought it over and saw the logic.

"Should I send someone to deliver this to Azure Bay now?"

"Send it anonymously. Don't leave a name."

"Just say it's for Theodore. He'll understand when he sees it."

"Got it."

Kevin immediately made the arrangements.

He found a local courier and paid him generously.

The courier was instructed to deliver the envelope to the station house entrance and hand it to one of Theodore's men.

The courier took the money and rode off on his bike.