Chapter 163

Chapter 163

"Good."

Jeremy's reaction.

Left Jack very satisfied.

He sat back down across from Jeremy.

Then he pulled a cigarette from his pack, lit it, and took a drag.

Jack's eyes darkened as he looked at Jeremy.

"Layla from the military hospital—she's one of yours, isn't she? You ordered her to assassinate Robyn, didn't you?"

Jack asked Jeremy directly.

"Yes."

At this point.

Jeremy didn't dare hide anything.

Besides, Layla had already confessed.

There was no point in denying it now.

So he admitted it outright.

"You and her—you're both with The Illuminati, aren't you?"

Jack asked again.

"Yes."

Jeremy hesitated for a moment.

But then lowered his head and answered.

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly.

He'd suspected as much, but it still caught him off guard.

Viridis State wasn't exactly a small state.

As the Chief of the Viridis State Police Bureau.

Jeremy wielded considerable power.

If someone like him was part of The Illuminati.

It showed just how terrifyingly powerful The Illuminati really was.

"When did you join The Illuminati?" Jack continued.

Jeremy didn't answer right away.

He tilted his head back slightly, staring at the dim yellow ceiling light overhead, his gaze unfocused, as if sinking into some distant memory.

After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping wood.

"Ten years ago."

Jeremy lowered his head, meeting Jack's oppressive stare, a bitter, self-mocking smile tugging at his lips.

"Back then, I was just a small-time sergeant who'd just transferred to Viridis State. During a gang raid, I took three bullets and got dumped in an abandoned slaughterhouse to die."

Jeremy took a deep breath, as if he could still smell that nauseating stench of blood from years ago.

"The Illuminati pulled me out of hell. They got me the best doctors, patched me up, and cleared every obstacle on my path to promotion."

He looked at Jack, his eyes filled with an almost pathological mixture of fervor and helplessness.

"From that day on, my life belonged to them. Jack, you think I wanted this? In this position, I'm nothing but a puppet on strings."

Jack listened quietly, his cigarette burned down to the filter, singeing his fingers, but he didn't seem to notice.

Ten years ago...

That meant The Illuminati's infiltration of the Viridis State police system ran deeper and started earlier than he'd imagined.

This organization.

Was terrifying.

"My adoptive father William's death—did you have anything to do with it?"

Jack continued.

At the mention of "William," what little color remained in Jeremy's already pale face drained away completely.

He seemed to deflate, all strength leaving his body as he slumped against the chair back, his eyes filled with deep terror.

"Yes."

Jeremy swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Two years ago, your adoptive father discovered what Fidelity Tower Technologies was developing—that they were using live human subjects for experiments. Even though he was a shareholder in Fidelity Tower Technologies, he was extremely principled. He gathered evidence and wanted to go over everyone's heads to report it to the FBI."

Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut in pain, as if that memory was some kind of curse.

"The order came down from above: 'eliminate the threat.' I... I was already Chief by then, but I had no authority to disobey that order. All I could do was watch helplessly as he..."

Jeremy's breathing became rapid. He suddenly opened his eyes, staring hard at Jack, his gaze full of desperation and pleading.

"Jack, I swear, I never laid a finger on Mr. Carter myself! But I know who did..."

"It was his wife, Victoria. She gave Mr. Carter a slow-acting poison every day."

"And those drugs—Layla provided them."

Jack listened quietly.

This matched what he'd suspected.

"The evidence William collected—you intercepted it, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Jeremy practically bit out the answer, as if squeezing the last ounce of strength from his chest.

He didn't dare meet Jack's eyes, staring instead at the mottled shadow on the floor, his voice so low it seemed he feared disturbing something unseen.

"Mr. Carter was extremely cautious. He knew he was in danger, so he split the evidence into three copies and hid them in different locations. He'd planned to fly to Sovereign City himself and hand them over to the FBI."

Jeremy swallowed, his Adam's apple moving with difficulty.

"But he never made it onto that plane. Victoria drugged his coffee. That night, he couldn't even make it out of his bedroom."

"As for the evidence..."

Jeremy raised his head, his eyes filled with an almost numb despair.

"I sent people to search Mr. Carter's study and safe overnight. We found two copies. The third... we still haven't found it."

He looked at Jack, his voice dropping even lower.

"Jack, your father was smarter than you think. He knew people were watching him, so he left a failsafe. That missing evidence—that's the real lethal weapon."

"If you can find it, you might be able to bring down Fidelity Tower Technologies."

"Won't be necessary."

Jack's eyes darkened.

He already had proof that Fidelity Tower Technologies was using human test subjects.

So now he could legitimately investigate Fidelity Tower Technologies.

However.

He wasn't a cop, after all.

So he needed someone to give him a legitimate opening.

And for that.

Jeremy was the perfect candidate.

Jack looked at Jeremy and said flatly, "I need you to issue a special search warrant."

"Say your department's short-staffed, and you're requesting military assistance."

Jeremy froze slightly. "A search warrant?"

"That's right." Jack looked at him steadily.

"Do as I say, and maybe—just maybe—you'll have a chance to survive."

Jeremy took a deep breath. "What's the target?"

"Fidelity Tower Technologies." The corner of Jack's mouth lifted slightly, but there was no warmth in his eyes—only a chilling, murderous intent.

Jeremy was the Chief of Police.

If he issued a search warrant and formally requested military assistance in his official capacity.

Then Jack's involvement would be perfectly reasonable and legitimate.

No one could say otherwise.

"No!"

Jeremy shook his head frantically at the suggestion.

"If I sign that warrant, I'll be betraying the organization!"

Jeremy jerked his head up, his already pale face now covered in beads of panicked sweat. His hands gripped the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white, his whole body trembling violently as if electrocuted.

"Once the organization finds out I betrayed them, they won't let me live."