Chapter 124

When we were almost at the hospital, Leonard called.

He sounded very anxious, asking where I was and if I had encountered Ronald.

I briefly told him what had happened that day. He let out a long sigh on the other end of the line, fell silent, and then told me some big internal news.

This afternoon, the news came that the state Public Security Department Minister had been taken in for questioning. It was still an internal investigation, but if there wasn't solid evidence, they wouldn't have made such a big move.

One of the charges against him was participating in child trafficking over twenty years ago. This wasn't just about being a protector of criminal organizations; he was actually involved.

At that time, he wasn't the state Public Security Department Minister yet, just the deputy director of the Silverlight City Public Security Bureau, and Ronald was his direct subordinate.

The strangest part was, when I asked who reported him, I instinctively thought of Frank, Tom, and others, but Leonard said that the anonymous report was actually sent by Ronald three years ago. The evidence was very clear, and he had completely removed himself from the situation.

If nothing unexpected happened, Ronald would be the best candidate for the next state Public Security Department Minister. He was a renowned criminal investigation expert nationwide.

But something unexpected did happen. Someone reported Ronald anonymously a few months ago.

The state prosecutor's technical department traced the IP address of the anonymous report email to the Silverlight City Forestry Bureau.

Not long after, another anonymous report about Ronald appeared, and the IP address was traced to Frank's house.

These two reports were not made public but were secretly investigated by the state prosecutor's office. Recently, some information was released, making Ronald feel uneasy. Because of this, he attempted to assassinate Benjamin several times without success and then caused a car accident before Benjamin entered Silverlight City, intending to kill him.

At the same time, he went to Shadow City to kill Mike and then came to kill Bob. Unexpectedly, George, whom he had intended to kill, was still alive.

Initially, he thought Mike and Bob had exposed the secret and wanted to kill them, but it turned out that all the children from back then seemed to have come together to challenge him.

Of course, this was nothing to him. After so many years of planning, as long as he pulled the trigger, he could eliminate Bob and George, the key figures.

But he never expected Zoey to appear.

She was the turning point in all of this. Ronald's ex-wife and best friend used his biological daughter as a bet to stop him.

But from his expression, there was no sign of panic. Even the reason he stopped was very much in line with his style as if it was all a divine gift. He was like a god, with others' lives and deaths in his hands.

He stopped, but that didn't mean he was giving up.

It was far from over.

The taxi stopped at the hospital entrance. I called Bob to ask for the location of the operating room and hurried up with Zoey.

Bob was sitting outside the operating room. Shirley was holding his arm and constantly comforted him.

When he saw us coming, Bob stood up with red eyes, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say.

From what I knew of him, he probably wanted to say that he hadn't told me George was still alive. After all, he knew I had found Tony's family in Sand Village and knew about the relationship between the Thompson family and Alan.

"How is it?" I asked.

Bob said gloomily. "He was sent into the operating room. The wound was treated simply in the car. The knife didn't hit the heart, but based on the bleeding, the doctor suspects bone fragments might have pierced an organ. But we'll have to wait for the doctor's final conclusion."

I continued, "What about you?"

I looked at Bob. He had walked on the edge of life and death today, and I was worried about his mental state. We couldn't afford any more problems now.

Bob shook his head, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "I'm fine. No more avoiding it. Let's face it directly while I'm still sane."

He glanced at Zoey and said sincerely, "Don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. He is he, and you are you. You don't need to feel this way. Besides, if it weren't for you, we might all be dead now."

Zoey forced a smile and secretly wiped her tears. "Thank you, Mr. Moore."

Bob waved his hand, signaling us to sit down and wait for news.

Not long after, the doctor came out of the operating room.

"The patient's condition is good. Although there was a lot of bleeding, fortunately, the heart, liver, and lungs were not damaged. It was just arterial bleeding, which has been stopped. However, considering the patient's age and the significant blood loss, he is still in a coma and may need some time to recuperate."

The doctor took off his mask and wiped his sweat, clearly relieved.

"How long until he wakes up?"I asked quickly.

Anna had forced Tammy to drink pesticide, leaving her in a coma for over half a month, and I was worried George might be the same.

The doctor replied, "If he's lucky, by tomorrow morning. However, the patient needs to rest and can't have too much emotional stress. If you want to talk to him, I suggest waiting a while."

The doctor looked at me, probably thinking this injury wasn't accidental, but as a doctor, he didn't ask more, assuming I was a police officer, so he explained patiently.

As soon as he finished speaking, George was wheeled out and transferred to the intensive care unit.

Family members weren't allowed in the ICU, so we could only wait outside.

Too much had happened that day. It was already around 2 AM, and none of us had eaten all day. Bob asked Shirley to see if there was anything to eat around the hospital.

Zoey wanted to go with Shirley, but I stopped her. Since we knew some things, there was no need to avoid them. As Bob said, what needed to be faced would eventually have to be faced. If we hid forever, this matter would never be resolved.

"Bob, tell me about what happened in Shadow City. Earlier, I heard Ronald say he was your foster father. What does that mean? What's the relationship between you all? There's no need to hide anything now. Ronald's backer has been taken away for investigation."

I said, also sharing the information Leonard had told me on the phone.

This was to encourage him and give him the confidence to tell the truth. I needed to make it clear that Ronald was now at a dead end, with no way out.