Chapter 687
Aspen’s heart pounded in her chest as she led Bruce and Jackie, two of the family’s top enforcers, toward the location on the GPS. Her pulse was racing, her anxiety reaching its peak with every step.
When they finally arrived at the indicated spot, Aspen’s eyes scanned the area. However, there was nothing—no sign of Gordon.
“Damn it!” she cursed, her frustration boiling over. “Did the GPS malfunction?”
Her mind raced with anxious thoughts as she silently prayed, ‘Please, Mr. Woods… please be fine.’
If Gordon was gone, her position in Jayrodale would collapse. All the advantages she had painstakingly built would vanish overnight.
However, that was not the worst of it. If Gordon—their so-called “secret weapon”—was really dead, the Bridgefields’ Stevens family would be dealt a disastrous blow.
Without him, the family’s strength would be cut in half, leaving the Stevens family wide open to its enemies. “Miss, there’s no sign of Mr. Woods anywhere,” Bruce reported.
Aspen’s face contorted with frustration. Her chest tightened as dread coiled around her like a snake. She thought desperately, ‘Where the hell are you, Mr. Woods?’
The last time she saw Andrew, he had left furious, demanding Gordon’s whereabouts. Hence, he had clearly been heading to confront the old man.
Then again, what if Andrew had only acted tough in front of her? What if he had gotten scared after leaving and decided to back down?
If that was the case, Gordon was probably fine. He might have gone underground for some other reason, possibly attending to other family matters.
Aspen’s tense shoulders visibly relaxed as she thought that would make more sense. She comforted herself by saying she must have overreacted. After all, Gordon was a legend, and there was no way some punk like Andrew could take him down.
With that in mind, Aspen said, “Mr. Woods probably isn’t here. Let’s head back to Stevens Corporation. No point wasting time.”
Bruce and Jackie followed without question. If Aspen said Gordon was fine, they believed her. After all, they had seen Gordon in action—he was a walking nightmare in combat.
As they turned to leave, Aspen’s eyes instinctively swept across the ground one last time. Then, she noticed a patch of mud—dark, slick, and oddly rotted.
The putrid smell hit her nostrils a second later, making her stomach churn. The mud looked more like decomposing flesh than ordinary soil. Her gaze locked on a small object sticking out of the foul mess. It glinted faintly under the dim light.
Aspen crouched, swallowing the bile rising in her throat, and picked it up. It was a jagged piece of metal. The second it touched her palm, the locator in her pocket beeped frantically.
Bruce’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Miss, that… that’s Mr. Woods’ phone tracker!”
Jackie’s jaw dropped. “That can’t be. Mr. Woods’ tracker is embedded in his phone—it shouldn’t just be lying here like this!”
Aspen did not respond. A single bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead and slid past her cheek.
“Jackie, grab something and dig up that mud,” Aspen ordered, her voice trembling, her eyes hollow and distant. Jackie had no idea what Aspen was up to, but he dared not question her command. With that, he rushed to the car and returned with a thick plastic rod.
Grimacing, he jabbed the stick into the disgusting sludge and began prying it apart. Then, the three of them froze as the rod hit something solid. Jackie dug faster, shoving clumps of mud aside until the shape beneath became clear.
There, partially buried in the sludge, was a human skeleton. The body was half-decayed, and the bones were stained a sickly brown from the soil. The unmistakable hunch of the spine gave it away.
Bruce inhaled sharply, his face turning pale. “Miss, t–this... this can’t be Mr. Woods, can it?”
Jackie’s face twisted with disbelief. “No way! Impossible! Mr. Woods was a martial master—a peak senior grandmaster. He could’ve escaped even if a military squad surrounded him. There’s no way he’d end up… like this."
Chapter 688