Alvin calmly pulled out his phone, turned the screen toward the chief, and played a video. The star of the video was none other than the county chief–the very man the village chief thought was untouchable.
Alvin stated, “It doesn’t matter if I really want to help you or not. You have no other options. The police have already sent people to check out the mountain behind the village. Soon, it won’t matter whether you confess or not. Of course, you’ve lived half your life already. Maybe you’re ready to face the consequences. But what about your three sons? Are they ready for that too? If they knew about this, that makes them accomplices, and they won’t get away either.”
The village chief’s expression shifted, but Alvin seized the moment and pressed on, “I know you’ve got a consent form with every Ridgehaven Town resident’s signature. With that form, it means every household agrees to the demolition. Hand it over to me, and I’ll get you out of here. Or, better yet, I can ensure that the gold mine mess has nothing to do with you. You’ll still get your demolition compensation and live out the rest of your life in peace.”
The chief readily agreed. He really had no other choice. Without the county chief, he was nothing–let alone going up against someone like Alvin.
As for why he didn’t count on Bryan–well, if Bryan had covered his tracks flawlessly, now that everything had come to light, he’d be too busy saving his own skin to help anyone else. The village chief’s guess was right on the money. When Bryan signed the gold mine profit-sharing agreement with the village chief, he didn’t use Wilson Group’s name, but instead used a front company under the supervision of one of his subordinates. Still, the police followed the trail from that agreement and ultimately arrested his subordinate anyway.
Bryan knew the village chief was done for. With the village chief out of the picture, Bryan had no leverage left in the Ridgehaven Town project against Turner Group and Aubree. Not wanting to get burned himself, he left Carmen to handle the aftermath and slipped back to Rithol City to lay low.
The village chief had the consent form with him. Once Alvin got it, he left the interrogation room and made a call, “Okay, you’re already here? I’ll send someone to pick you up right away.”
He thought, ‘As for whether the village chief lived or died, what did that have to do with me? Helping the chief would be a crime anyway, and I still had to look out for the Turner Group’s reputation.’
“What do you think you’re doing?!” On the other side, Aubree and Vincent had just stepped into Josephine’s yard when they heard her scream. Her voice was laced with fear.
They rushed straight into the house. The moment they pushed open the door, they saw a thuggish-looking man who looked a lot like the village chief, flanked by three others. Opposite them was Josephine, who was trembling as she tried to shield her son, Mattias. Almost everything in the house that could be smashed had been smashed. The troublemaker was the village chief’s second son, Salvatore.
Chapter 579
Salvatore took one look at Aubree and instantly recognized her as someone from Rithol City. Salvatore wasn’t scared of Aubree or Vincent themselves–what really made him nervous was who Aubree actually was.
Salvatore forced a smile, “Well, well, isn’t it Ms. Miller from Rithol City? Sorry for not greeting you properly, it’s just not a good time right now. I’ve some personal matters to attend to. Could you please step aside?”
Josephine’s eyes filled with tears as she screamed, “Salvatore! Don’t go too far! It was your brother who tried for… not me!”
At the mention of his brother, Salvatore’s temper flared, and he spat, “Spare me the act! You tramp, dressing like that every day. Aren’t you just begging for attention from men? My brother was just giving you what you wanted!”
Josephine was both humiliated and furious. Aubree and Vincent frowned at his words. The more Salvatore talked, the angrier he got. Suddenly, he swung his hand up, but Aubree, who had been watching his every move, immediately stepped in to intercept him.
“Ah!” Josephine screamed as she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head, but the pain she expected never came. Her eyes flew open in shock when she saw someone, a bit shorter than herself, standing protectively in front of her. She realized it was Aubree. Salvatore froze, totally caught off guard that Aubree had actually managed to stop him.