Chapter 290

Thea turned and left resolutely.

"Emmalie, does it hurt?" Duncan's gaze fixed on Emmalie's swollen cheek. "I spared her out of kinship, but she didn't appreciate it. Let her die!" Ruthless coldness filled his words, sending a chill down Emmalie's spine. This lunatic disregarded consequences; he might be a murderer.

"No," Emmalie said timidly, holding Duncan's hand. "Thea is still Mrs. Hendrix in name. If anything happens to her, Nicolas won't let us go. I don't want to implicate you." Emmalie knew how to use her looks. Lowering her eyes pitifully, her shoulders trembled. "Thea's family. If she dies, I'll be devastated."

Emmalie's goal wasn't Thea's death; she wanted Thea to suffer endless despair and torture, to watch helplessly as Emmalie gained everything. She would make Thea's life a living hell.

Duncan's heart burned. He pulled Emmalie into his arms. Since tasting her, he couldn't bear to let her go. "You're so kind, Emmalie. I'll listen to you."

Emmalie gently buried her face in his chest.

Meanwhile, Thea and Joyce entered the forest behind the mountain. A group of people in police uniforms brushed past them.

Their leader barked, "What are you two doing here? This place is dangerous! Go down!"

Thea firmly shook her head. "We're not afraid." She feared losing the chance to prove her innocence.

As they trudged through the mud, Joyce's stamina waned. Despair crept into her eyes. "Thea, what if we're wrong? Maybe it was a natural disaster"

It must have been a massive amount of gunpowder to cause a mountain collapse. They searched almost the entire mountain, but found nothing. Besides the police, they were alone. No one could have cleaned up the evidence beforehand.

An idea struck Thea. "Joyce, what if those weren't policemen? That's why Emmalie and Duncan stalled us!" Her certainty grew.

Joyce agreed. Escape was paramount. With no signal, they could only support each other down the mountain. They noticed the footprints of the uniformed group.

Thea examined the marks. "That's it. They were adults, but not especially large or strong. Those deep footprints must mean they were carrying something heavy!"

Thrilled, Thea knew her guess was correct. Finding them would be a turning point.

The descent was arduous. Seeing Joyce's arm scratched by a branch, Thea felt guilty. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you at risk. We found nothing, and you're hurt."

"Who said we found nothing?" Joyce pouted. "We can target those siblings. Thea, when you saved me at the Maddox family, you weren't so polite! We're friends. Friends trust and help each other unconditionally!" Joyce was grateful she'd accompanied Thea; alone, Thea might have died.

Descending, they both fell.

Ursa, having spent the night negotiating with the police, saw Thea's pathetic state and frowned. "You went up the mountain? Do you want to die?" Ursa's cold personality rarely showed emotion. Thea felt guilty. After drinking water, she managed to speak. "How are the miners? Rescued?" She expertly changed the subject; the miners' lives were paramount. Ursa nodded. "Some are severely injured, but thankfully, no one died. The police want all Sparkle Rocks' senior staff to cooperate with the investigation."

Thea had been missing all night. The police almost issued an arrest warrant, but Jamie intervened and stalled for time.

Thea was calm. "I didn't intend to run, but I'm sorry for the trouble." Her calves ached; she staggered when she stood, but her eyes were confident.

She nodded at Joyce; a silent understanding passed between them.

Joyce was close to tears. "Thea, don't worry. I'll investigate. You won't face injustice."

At the police station, Jamie, following Joyce's instructions, cared for Thea.

The interrogating officer, Jamie's mentor, a veteran detective, said, "The interrogation room isn't comfortable. Be honest."

This wasn't Thea's first time in an interrogation room. The handcuffs were cold, but she was calm.

"This is a list of people who entered the mine in the last two weeks. Did Sparkle Rocks' Langstaff Group order make you take this risk? Did you gamble with the miners' lives to guarantee output?"

Thea examined the list. Some were long-term employees; others were temporary contractors. Daily miner counts were meticulously recorded, but they'd doubled in the last two weeks. Thea frowned.

She'd initially believed Emmalie and Duncan were behind it, but now suspected an inside problem.

Thea didn't know about this list, but knew the police wouldn't believe her; even Jamie looked disappointed.

She smiled bitterly. "With this list, regardless of its truth, my explanations are useless. You won't believe me. Officer, your job is to fight crime; I want to clear my name. I prefer cooperation to explanations."