Chapter 816

Illegal dealings?

I’d been at the funeral the entire time, and so had Wayne. No one left; no one acted shady. But stuff like this doesn’t play out in the open; it’s always behind closed doors. Only the people involved would know.

I glanced at Wayne. For just a moment, panic flashed across his face before he masked it. That reaction told me everything—something was definitely up.

As the officers approached, everyone froze, holding their breath. The lead officer scanned the crowd briefly, then made a beeline for Jace. Technically, Wayne’s the head of Riverwave Corp now, but to most people, Jace is still the face of the Johnston family.

The officer handed Jace a search warrant. “Mr. Johnston, we need to conduct a search.”

A search? Here? At a cemetery? Unless they planned to search everyone, what could they possibly want?

“Alright,” Jace said, unflinching.

“We need to inspect the coffin being buried,” the officer announced.

The crowd froze, shocked—everyone except Jace. His face stayed calm, almost unnervingly so. Did he know something? He’d been acting way too composed this whole time.

“I don’t agree,” Wayne snapped.

The officer turned to him, holding up the search warrant. “We’re just doing our job.”

“We’re cooperating,” Wayne shot back, “but inspecting the coffin crosses a line. It’s blatant disrespect to my parents. And if you find nothing, what then? How do you make that right?” His tone was firm; he was clearly trying to block the search.

“This is a lawful investigation,” the officer replied, unfazed. “We’re here because of a report. If nothing’s there, fine. If something is, we’ll handle it.”

Wayne didn’t budge. “And if this report is fake? A setup to humiliate my family? What then?”

“Whether it’s fake or not will be part of the investigation,” the officer said sharply. “Right now, we’re following protocol. If you keep obstructing us, it’ll be interference with law enforcement, and we’ll have no choice but to detain you.”

“Then arrest me,” Wayne shot back, unyielding. “But I’m not letting you inspect that coffin!”

The tension was unbearable. My eyes flicked to the grave, to the coffin resting in the burial pit. Could Wayne really have hidden something in there?

“Detain him,” the officer commanded.

Two officers stepped forward, grabbing Wayne by the arms. His veins bulged, his face flushed with fury as he shouted at Jace, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you really think I’d stoop so low as to exploit Mom and Dad’s deaths for something like this?”

Jace’s expression hardened. “They’re doing their job. If you didn’t do anything, why has it come to this?”

Wayne froze for a moment, stunned, before his rage exploded again. “I may be a lot of things, but I’d never disrespect my parents—or hide anything in their coffins!” His voice cracked, full of grief and fury. But with his track record, who could tell if it was real or just another act?

“Everyone, step back. Prepare for the inspection,” the officer instructed.

A group of officers approached the grave, sniffer dogs in tow. Before they could begin, chaos erupted. A group of men armed with shovels charged at the police, shouting. In the confusion, Wayne shoved the officers holding him and broke free.

The scene descended into chaos. Instinctively, Lena and I moved back, trying to stay out of the fray.

“Watch out!”

A sudden shove knocked me off balance, and before I could steady myself, Lena’s scream tore through the air. I spun around and froze. Hayden had his arm locked around Lena’s neck. His expression was stone cold, his voice cutting through the noise.

“Don’t move, or I’ll kill her.”

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