Chapter 259

Just as Isabella and Michael were about to leave, on the other side, John was already prepared.

"Alright, listen up. Your job is to keep those damn tailers off my back. Don't let them figure out what I'm really up to," John ordered, his voice cold and commanding.

"Got it, Mr. Williams," his subordinates replied in unison, their tone respectful.

The people standing before John were dressed and groomed to look just like him. They were meticulously disguised to throw off anyone who might be watching.

"My love, do you really have to go alone? Let me come with you. I'm worried about you," Bianca pleaded, her voice trembling with concern.

John took Bianca's hand and kissed it softly. "Sweetheart, I don't know what kind of trouble I might run into tonight. It's safer if you stay here and wait for me. If anything happened to you, I'd be devastated."

Bianca bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. "I understand, my love. I'll be here waiting for you."

With that, John waved and got into the car with his team.

Bianca stood on the balcony on the second floor, watching John's car disappear into the distance. She clenched her fists, silently praying for his safety.

As John's convoy drove out of the winery gates, his earpiece crackled to life with the voices of his lookalikes.

"Mr. Williams, I've been made."

"Damn, me too."

"I've got two cars tailing me. How about you?"

"Three cars on my tail. Guess I'm the most convincing Mr. Williams!"

Laughter and playful banter echoed through the earpiece.

John ignored the chatter from his team. They'd been under a lot of pressure lately, especially after the recent car bombing. They needed this moment to blow off some steam.

Hearing the updates through his earpiece, a faint smile crossed John's lips. "They're taking me seriously, sending all this surveillance."

Meanwhile, the people tailing John were getting confused.

"What's going on? Two Johns?"

"Did I take too many pills, or am I seeing things?"

"You morons, there's only one real John. The rest are decoys. How can you not figure that out?"

Someone cursed over the earpiece, and the realization finally hit them-they were dealing with decoys.

Michael, driving towards the Moonlit Lounge, got a call from Jerry.

"Mr. Williams, John hired seven lookalikes. Our guys are scattered, and we can't tell which one's the real deal," Jerry reported.

Michael, tapping the steering wheel thoughtfully, asked, "I sent you an address. Can you check if any of those eight Johns are heading that way?"

Michael handed the phone to Isabella to send the information.

After Isabella sent the message to Jerry, she waited patiently for his response.

Soon, the phone rang again, and Isabella answered immediately.

"Hey, Jerry, did you get it?" Isabella asked eagerly.

Jerry was surprised to hear Isabella's voice, but he didn't dwell on it.

"Yeah, Mrs. Williams, it's confirmed. There's a John heading to the Moonlit Lounge," Jerry reported.

A smile spread across Isabella's face, and Michael tapped the steering wheel excitedly.

"Looks like we were right," Isabella said to Michael, her smile beaming.

"So, what now? Should we call back the other trackers?" Jerry asked.

Isabella thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, we can't do that. If we pull them back, John will know his plan's been busted. He might even call my dad to get out of there."

"Then what do we do?" Jerry asked.

Michael and Isabella exchanged a knowing look and smiled.

"Call the cops!" they said together.

"Call the cops?" Jerry asked, unsure. He knew Michael usually avoided involving the police.

Michael rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Jerry was thinking. "Of course, call the cops. Have you forgotten Jasper's a wanted criminal?"

"But if the cops nab Jasper, John could totally cut a deal with him in prison, right? Wouldn't that be helping John out?" Jerry hesitated as he spoke on the phone.

Isabella chuckled, her voice light but confident. "Jerry, don't forget we've got Mason backing us. Anything John can do, Mason can do too. And if I'm not mistaken, my dad's condition for John is to get out of the country. Plus, my dad's stipulation for John is to leave the country. If Jasper lands in prison, any deals between him and John will vanish. So, no need to worry about that."

"Mr. and Mrs. Williams are really sharp. I'll call the police now," Jerry said, then hung up.

Meanwhile, Paxton lay restless, waiting for Jonah's reply.

Jonah's call soon broke the tension.

"Mr. Brown, our team tracking John has found several decoys. We can't tell which one is the real him," Jonah reported.

Paxton smirked. "Just a cheap trick. We've got plenty of people out there. He can split up all he wants! There's always one right way! Keep a close eye on our folks, and make some noise. If John's guys want to tangle with ours, don't hold back. Just fight them!"

Jonah agreed and hung up.

Isabella and Michael, who were about to reach the Moonlit Lounge, received another call from Jerry.

"Mr. Williams, Mrs. Williams, we've detected signs of a third party, and according to the investigation, it's very likely to be Paxton's people," Jerry said over the phone.

"Paxton? Is he tracking John too? Why is he doing this? Could he be after my father's location too?" Isabella was puzzled about Paxton's intentions.