Chapter 112

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's not that I don't want to say," Bob shook his head helplessly, "During those days in Silverlight City, I was very unstable, constantly forgetting things. That night of the big fire, I was so scared that I remembered the fire at the steel mill over twenty years ago and passed out."

"Passed out?" I frowned, feeling that Bob hadn't explained things clearly.

"But... in my memory, Douglas's death had nothing to do with me, but I did see him," Bob added, trying to distance himself from the situation.

"Ronald told me he saw you and Mike meeting Alan outside the Entertainment Club. Is that true?"

"Ronald was outside?" Bob was stunned and asked back.

"Yes, that's what he said."

Bob's eyes flickered, and he murmured, "Maybe we didn't notice. I did see Alan that night, but not downstairs. It should have been a coincidence. I don't remember telling Alan about it. He must have found out somehow and came to stop us."

Who could have told Alan about this?

Lally, Tony, Tammy, or Tom?

I thought it was impossible. Given their feelings for Alan, they would never tell him about such illegal activities.

The person who told Alan must have wanted to involve him and even eliminate him to remove any future threats. That must be an enemy.

So it could only be Douglas or Ronald.

"What is your stance on Frank's plan to kill Douglas? Do you think Douglas deserved to die?" I asked suddenly.

"If it were someone else standing in front of me today, I would firmly tell them that I believe in the law and justice. What Frank did has nothing to do with me. I even tried to persuade Frank to forget his hatred and look forward to a better life," Bob said with a self-mocking smile, looking at me.

"Everyone ate at the same table and slept on the same bed. We should have been brothers who shared both joys and hardships, and he swore he would stand with us. But unexpectedly, he was the first to betray us first. If it weren't for him, would I have become who I am today? Tom had one of his eyes forcibly gouged out in a dark room for organ transplantation; he has been afraid of the dark for the rest of his life. What did he do wrong? If it weren't for him, Lally wouldn't have escaped from Sand Village only to be controlled and violated by this bastard. To control Lally, he even went so far as to get Duke addicted to drugs... He has done so many terrible things, harming nearly everyone. A person like him deserves to be tortured a thousand times and die a thousand deaths!"

His expression was ferocious, his eyes red, breathing heavily, his chest heaving. Finally, he sighed, deflating like a balloon about to burst, and slumped down.

"But I... don't want to do it. I don't want to kill him. I finally broke free and wanted to live peacefully with Shirley. This is God's gift to me. I've suffered enough and don't want to carry hatred anymore. I want freedom."

"But if someone wants to kill him, I won't stop them," Bob said seriously.

Breaking free... freedom?

Bob's tone seemed off. I felt that his talk of breaking free and gaining freedom wasn't about the old steel mill.

Just as I was about to ask, the phone rang. It was Leonard.

"Hello? Nancy, where are you?" Leonard's voice was urgent as if something important had happened.

"I'm in Shadow City. What's wrong, Leonard?"

"Benjamin had a car accident on his way back to Silverlight City. He just got out of surgery. You need to be careful and maybe stay away for now!"

Benjamin injured? A car accident?

Impossible. The chances of a police car accident were very low unless...

"Has the operation already started? How is Benjamin now? Who's with him? Don't tell Cindy yet; she's about to have a baby and can't be shocked!"

I stayed calm, thinking of Cindy first. Pregnant women couldn't have emotional fluctuations before and after childbirth. If she got shocked, it could cause premature birth or severe bleeding, which would be irreversible!

"Cindy doesn't know yet. Her mom made an excuse to come over. Benjamin's parents and his apprentice Ruben are here too. I suspect the operation has started, and they wanted to eliminate Benjamin. The doctor said Benjamin had several knife wounds from the past two months."

Leonard sounded relieved knowing I wasn't in Silverlight City and continued, "Benjamin might have been living a life-and-death situation recently. They want to eliminate everyone involved in the case. Benjamin told me he knew what was going on and would reveal everything when he returned. The other side must have known and tried to kill him on his way back!"

I glanced at Bob, who was listening intently.

"I understand."

"Also!" Leonard suddenly remembered something, "Don't hang up, Nancy. Are you in Shadow City to find Bob?"

"Yes."

"Find him and hide or leave town as soon as possible!"

"Why?"

"Mike died yesterday."

"What!" I exclaimed, my mind buzzing.

"Who killed him?"

I asked sadly, not because another key witness was gone, but because Mike was the closest to Alan among the five.

"We haven't found out yet. Mike was shot while jogging in the park. A GLOCK17 was found about 1000 feet from the scene, likely a police gun, but all serial numbers and markings were removed, so we can't trace it."

"Is Frank in Silverlight City these days? Did you find any clues on Mike?"

I immediately thought of Frank. Based on my judgment, these people weren't on the same side as Frank. He might have killed them to prevent them from revealing the truth.

"We can't be sure, but Mike had an unsent message on his phone, addressed to you."

"What?"

[Alan isn't dead. He's being controlled by Frank.]