Chapter 37

"No wonder I was confused about how two brothers could have different last names," I said, nodding along with Lally. "A colleague mentioned that Tony's wife has always had issues with Zack. They haven't seen each other since the incident. Is that true? Are they really not in touch now?"

The demolition case happened in 2019, and by 2020, Zack and Tony had taken out an insurance policy with Tammy as the beneficiary. Had they been in contact over the years? Tony used his big compensation payout to take out such a large policy. Zack would definitely have asked about it, and I even suspect Zack knew why Tony did it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed.

This insurance policy was also Tony's final arrangements.

What were Tony and Zack planning that required the cost of life insurance? From my investigation, Tony hadn't done anything reckless in recent years, so the most likely connection was still with Alan's case.

The only problem was that there was a four-year gap between these two events. That was a long time.

"Nancy, how would Anna know about what happened before Tony got married? They've been married for less than three years, right? They got married at the end of 2021, and Duke and I both attended," Lally said, snorting. "It's better not to listen to that woman too much. I used to think she was nice, knowing Tony was disabled and still marrying him. But later, I found out that this woman is not decent in her words and actions."

This was true. James also mentioned the relationship between Anna and an investor from Digital Leap Technologies, and Tony knew about it.

What puzzled me was why Duke sought out Tony, accusing him of having slept with Lally. From my understanding of the two, there shouldn't be such an aberrant relationship.

"I think it would be more appropriate to hint at Tony," I said, thinking out loud. Actually, I wanted to know more about the relationship between Lally and Tony, and whether Tony was involved in this case.

"It's useless. I've said it many times," Lally frowned. "Nancy, you don't know. Once Tony makes up his mind, he won't change it. I even talked to him about it that night in April, and it caused a lot of misunderstandings..." Lally hesitated.

April... wasn't that when Duke went to find Tony?

"Misunderstanding? At night? Did Anna misunderstand when you talked to Tony?" I asked.

"No, Nancy, how could that be," Lally sighed. "I have Anna on Facebook, but we've never talked. Around mid-April, I casually asked Tony about Anna during a phone call, and Tony said she was on a business trip. The next night, I saw Anna posting travel photos on her feed, hugging a man. I guess she forgot to block me."

"I couldn't say it outright, so I went to Sand Village to find Tony that night and told him about it. We hadn't seen each other for a long time, and we talked late into the night. Tony also advised me to temporarily break up with Duke, but I didn't agree. Unfortunately, that night Duke... wasn't quite himself." Lally's eyes darkened as she spoke, and I understood. Duke must have been on drugs that night, and Lally probably got beaten up.

"The next morning, he went to Tony's company to make trouble and came back with a bruised face." Lally mentioned Duke, and tears welled up in her eyes.

This all lined up. James from Digital Leap Technologies said Tony and Duke had a fight, and Tony, unusually, hit him hard, which shocked him.

So Tony knew about Duke's drug problem. Lally and Duke had a tough journey, and the three of them had a deep friendship. Tony hitting him hard was out of pity and anger.

"Did Tony tell you about the fight?" I asked.

"Yeah, Tony came to our house two days later and scolded Duke. When Duke is normal, he's a good person and apologized to Tony," Lally recalled. "But that day, Tony was really angry, scolding him from the orphanage days to recent years!"

"Orphanage? Didn't you meet Zack in Sand Village?" I asked, remembering Lally said Zack invited them over.

After Lally explained, I got it. Zack was several years older than Duke and Lally and had always taken care of them in the orphanage. Later, Tammy and her husband adopted Zack. When Duke and Lally couldn't get enough to eat at the orphanage, they would sneak out to find Zack. According to Lally, the orphanage was about half an hour away from Sand Village, and they often went there. Zack treated them like siblings, giving them whatever was in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, Tammy and her husband found out. They were kind-hearted and pitied them, but their financial situation was limited, so they couldn't take care of so many kids. They helped as much as they could, and that was how they met Tony.

"Tony really has a deep friendship with you guys, it's not easy," I sighed after hearing this. Tammy and her husband were kind-hearted, adopting Zack and also taking care of Lally and Duke. Who would have thought Tammy's husband would pass away early, Tony would become disabled, Duke would get addicted to drugs, and Lally would become a victim.

"Yeah, Tony is really good. That day he spoke harshly, saying if Duke messed up again, he would tell Zack and Toby to deal with him! Duke promised well, and I thought he would remember and quit drugs, but who knew..."

"Who is Toby?" I asked. This was the first time I heard Lally mention this name.

"Toby is a role model for me and Duke. No, I should say for me, Duke, Zack, and Tony! Toby was also an orphanage kid, the same age as Zack, and they were very close!"

Lally's eyes lit up, temporarily forgetting the pain Duke caused her. It seemed that mentioning Toby made her forget all her troubles.

Lally continued, "I've never seen anyone like Toby. When he was in the orphanage, he was always covered in wounds, always getting beaten, and spent most of the year in the small dark room. In winter, it was very cold."

"Why, was he naughty?" I asked.

"I didn't understand before, but now I know, it was because of jealousy." Lally looked out the window, smiling slightly.

"Jealousy?" I asked.

Lally said, "Yes, everyone was jealous of him. The kids were jealous of his ability to read and write after just one try. The bullies would steal his food and bully him, wetting his clothes in winter, making him shiver and turn blue. The staff... no, the women at the orphanage were also jealous of him because Toby was better than their kids. I saw them slap Toby many times, not letting him eat, locking him in the small dark room... It seemed like all the world's malice was concentrated on him. Ms. Johnson, do you know what he did?"