Ch. 1241..1245
Chapter 1241 They were large men all dressed in black. Their faces could not be made out as they were wearing masks and caps.
The car promptly drove out of the villa‘s district. The other bodyguards were in close pursuit in their cars.
After swerving past several streets and drifting through several junctions, the black car finally managed to shake off its pursuers after a quick turn around a particular fork of the road near the foot of a cliff. After shaking them off, the driver of the car whistled candidly.
The car continued charging down the road.
Everyone in the car suddenly turned to look at Sherry in unison.
Sherry grinned and thanked them. “Thanks for bailing me out of there.”
The two men seated with her in the backseat merely looked at her and did not utter a word.
One of the men reached for something behind his back. It seemed like he wanted to hand something to Sherry. Blart
Suddenly, a loud fart broke the silence.
Everyone in the car seemed taken aback by this.
Even the driver who was driving turned back to look.
Sherry clutched her hands over her stomach with an embarrassed look. “I'm sorry, | was so nervous when we were trying to get away back there, | have this thing where my stomach gets upset whenever | get nervous. Do you mind stopping the car for a bit so | can take care of business? I'll be right back.”
Immediately after saying that, she farted several more times. The car came to a stop, and the driver pinched his nose and looked at the other men.
The man in the passenger seat said, “I just bought this car and have barely taken it for a spin yet. Go settle your business and come back quickly. We don't have the patience to wait too long.”
Sherry hurriedly said, “Okay, okay, I'll be back before you know it.”
She quickly opened the door, got out of the car with a hand still pressed over her stomach, and stumbled toward the side of the road.
Inside the car, the three men exchanged a conflicted look. After a momentary pause, the man in the passenger seat got out of the car and followed Sherry, making sure to keep a reasonable distance. An hour later, in the Stockton family's residence.
The bodyguards who tried to pursue Sherry returned to the villa, all of them with their heads bowed to the ground as they frightfully walked back to John. John was waiting at the entrance. He glared at them with hostility. “Where is she?”
One of the bodyguards answered in a feeble voice,“ Master Stockton, we had a hard time catching up but we eventually caught up after we made a turn around the cliff, but...”
John's eyes narrowed. “But what? Say it!” The bodyguard stuttered , “Something happened to her. We believe she was murdered.” John suddenly charged in front of the bodyguard and kicked him in the stomach.
The gold-framed glasses he wore barely managed to conceal the venom in his gloomy eyes. He bent down and grabbed the bodyguard by the collar and hissed menacingly. “What are you saying?! She was murdered?
Tell me exactly what happened! ".
The bodyguard was frightened and turned to look at the
other bodyguards as if asking for help.
John turned his attention to them immediately.
One of them who was seated furthest to the back approached John and presented to him a coat and a scarf. Both of the articles of clothing were stained with blood. The iron and rank smell of blood stung their noses.
John's face turned pale. “What is this?” The bodyguard murmured, “This is what she wore when we last saw her.” John frowned. “What is this nonsense ? She never wore anything like this!”
That was when Julie suddenly appeared and informed meekly, “Brother, | believe | saw her back then. This was the same coat that she was wearing and she covered her face with this scarf. That's why | didn't recognize her at the time.” 1
John seemed to be reeling back from the shock of this revelation. 1
Another bodyguard said, “Master Stockton, there was no one in the car when we found it. The only thing we found was this coat and scarf laying on the ground in the woods nearby. There was a lot of blood on the ground and we eventually spotted a cliffa short distance from the car that leads to a river. We believe something bad has happened to her.”
Chapter 1242 Thump! John kicked the bodyguard who spoke. He slid across the floor.
The other bodyguards stepped back and were visibly frightened. Julie, Queenie, and Hailey were also afraid of approaching John after observing his wrath.
Silence overtook the room.
John wore an icy expression, nobody dared to speak.
He glared at the crew of bodyguards. “Are you people complete imbeciles? Those people came to take her away. Why would they even try to hurt her to begin with?” Several bodyguards tried to reiterate what they had seen., “Master Stockton, we're not lying to you. We know what we saw.”
“The person who took Miss Sherry into the car was an excellent driver. We noticed that there was more than one person in the car and chased after them for a long time but they ended up getting away. We continued down the path until we made a turn around a bend and saw their car parked by the roadside. When we approached, we saw
that there wasn't a single person inside. The car had been abandoned and the only other clue we could find was a puddle of blood a short distance from the car.”
Julie suddenly stated, “Brother, they have been working for our family for many years. | don‘t see why they would lie to you.”
John frowned and stayed silent for a few seconds. Then he commanded, “Call the police. Immediately get me the highest ranked police chief officer in Glanchester!”
Marlow immediately stepped up to the task.“ Understood , Young Master. I'll put you in contact with him right away!”
The atmosphere took on a swift transformation immediately after that.
John stepped in front of the bodyguard with the coat and scarf and snatched the two articles of clothing away from his hands. Put under the light, the two pieces of clothing gleamed
red.
John frowned. “Where did she get this?”
She only had a handful of clothing in the staff dormitory. There was no way she could have possibly acquired these. Moreover, it was near impossible for her to have any form of contact with the outside world. There was no way she could have made such a swift escape without alerting
anyone. Someone must have told her about the dinner party tonight. This person must have smuggled these clothes to her as well. This person must also be in cahoots with the drivers who came to pick her up.
Julie informed, “I have no idea. I've never spoken to Miss Sherry that much and I've never seen her at all ever since she moved into the staff's dormitory.”
John squinted and turned to look at Queenie.
Queenie's eyes were glowing red. She answered in an aggrieved voice upon meeting John’s suspicious gaze, “It wasn't me who gave it to her! | didn't even know she was going to run away. She never said a thing to me!”
John looked around and roared, “Where‘s Shannon?”
Julie answered promptly, “I think she went back to her room as soon as the party was over.”
John turned to several bodyguards who were in position and ordered them sternly, “Keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't step out of her courtyard.”
They immediately sprang to action.
John clenched the coat and scarf tightly. After a short while, he turned to Marlow again. “Have you contacted
the officials?” Marlow informed dutifully, “I've contacted Officer Emmanuel, he’s the most reliable and most experienced chief officer in the Glanchester Police Department. He‘s already heading toward the crime scene with his team.” John immediately trotted out with the coat and scarf in hand.
Julie was alerted by this and quickly called out after him,” Brother, it's dark outside. Please drive carefully.”
John ignored her and walked straight out the door. “Wait, I'll go with you!” Queenie bolted after him and pleaded. John turned to her and shot her a vicious look. Queenie immediately halted upon sensing his overbearing hostility.
It did not take long for John to get into the car and drive away.
Queenie was anxiously stamping her feet, afraid of what was going to happen next.
Chapter 1243
Julie advised Queenie, “Queenie, it's getting late. You should head back and get some rest. | have a gut feeling that Sherry is going to be fine.”.
“What do you mean she'll be fine?She‘s missing!” Queenie was sad and furious. “And what's with her anyway? How could she not even bother to tell me that she was going to leave?!”
Julie pursed her lips and only sighed. Hailey quickly stepped forward and held Queenie to comfort her.
Queenie continued cursing Sherry before reluctantly leaving with Hailey.
Julie was the only one left standing.
After making sure that there was no one around, she took a whiff of the lingering smell of blood in the air and smirked with satisfaction.
She took out her phone and sent a message to an unknown number: “Where are the hitmen Shannon hired?” She received a reply on her phone very shortly after she
sent her previous message: “We've been tailing them the entire time and caught all of them when they tried to escape from the woods. We're in a village near the foot of the mountain now.”
Julie frowned upon seeing this and asked, “Where's. Sherry? Is she dead?”
“We heard her crying for help when she was getting tangled up with them inside the woods. She was nowhere to be seen when they emerged from the woods. We tried to go inside to look for her but couldn't find her either. Judging by the trail of blood she left behind, we think she accidentally fell off the cliff and died.” 1
Julie grinned upon knowing that Sherry was dead. She replied: “Alright. The police will be there soon. Hand the hitmen you captured over to the police just as we planned.”
The night was black as ink.
At the foot of a mountain in Glanchester.
By the time John arrived, the roads leading to this part of the mountain region were completely sealed off to the general public. Several police cars were seen parked nearby.
John got out of the car and walked over with the previous coat and scarf in hand.
A police officer who was not wearing his uniform stepped out of the car and approached John.
“Good to see you, Master Stockton. I'm Emmanuel , the chief officer put in charge of this case.” As he spoke, he noticed the bloody coat and scarf John carried with him and asked, “What are those?”
John frowned. “These were Sherry‘s.”
He clutched them tightly in his hands as if they were prized jewels.
It took some effort for Emmanuel to take these articles of evidence from John. He promptly informed him after that, “Master Stockton, we caught the culprits. There happened to be several villagers passing by when they were attacking Miss Sherry and the villagers caught them, but they informed us that they didn't see where Miss Sherry went. We've interrogated the culprits and they confessed to their crimes. They told us that Miss Sherry broke free at one point and rolled off the edge of the cliff. | already dispatched my men to search the bottom of the cliff and I'll notify you immediately once | receive an update from them.”
John frowned and fell into a stoic silence. After a while, he asked, “Who are they working for?”
“| went through their phones and it seems like their employer is based in Glanchester judging by the phone number. We're tracking the phone signal and should have a trail on this person any second now.”
With that, Officer Emmanuel went back into his car.
John similarly returned to his car as well.
He sat in the driver's seat and quietly gazed into the thick forest with a ponderous look in his eyes. He sat there the entire night. Eventually, the first ray of sunlight shone through the thicket of lush trees.
Asports car was racing down a road.
Several police cars trailed closely after.
Within half an hour, the sports car accelerated past the entrance leading to Stockton family’s residence and swerved into the courtyard.
Marlow, Julie, Queenie, Madam Stockton, and the others were drawn by the commotion and went outside.
By the time they arrived at John and Shannon‘s section of the residence, they saw Shannon bawling her eyes out with John standing in front of her. She had crumpled on
the ground and was crying with sorrow. “John, she's my sister. Why would | ever hurt her? It wasn't me, | never tried to help her escape! | promise you, | don't know anything about this!”
John looked down at her. There was not a trace of warmth on his handsome face nor in his eyes.
“She's not your sister, and you never cared much for her.” He glared at her and said icily, “Either you show yourself out, or | get someone to throw you out. The choice is yours.”
Chapter 1244 As soon as John had laid out those options, Officer Emmanuel and several police officers entered. They regarded Shannon with a degree of hostility. The officer in front had a pair of handcuffs at the ready.
It appeared that they had proof of the crimes she had committed.
Shannon was paralyzed with fear.
She immediately threw herself around John‘s leg and shrieked, “No... No, John, | don‘t want to go, | don’t want to leave you!” John frowned, his expression was filled with irritation. He was running out of patience.
Nobody had ever seen him in such a state. Even Madam Stockton , Queenie , and Julie who had just entered were seized with fear upon noticing the terrifying expression John wielded.
Shannon felt fear run through her veins like an electric shock. She let go of John and stumbled backward. John shot a look at Officer Emmanuel and the other policemen.
Officer Emmanuel promptly ordered his officers,”
Handcuff her.”
The officers immediately stepped toward Shannon. They were going to arrest her. Shannon‘s pupils expanded widely, she was beyond terrified.
She had planned everything out so well!
These hitmen must have been bluffing this entire time. So much for their untarnished reputation and perfect track history! How could they have been caught so quickly?
How did the police find out it was her?
This could not be! She was the most beloved daughter of the Fowler family. She was the wife of John Stockton. It was an injustice that she should be the one to go to prison! 2
Her body moved on its own accord, and she made a run for it.
Apart from John who was calmly seated on the couch, everyone in the room was taken by surprise. Immediately after that, two police officers rushed in front of the door and seized Shannon.
The policeman with the handcuffs ran over and clamped them over both of her wrists.
Shannon struggled and cried desperately, “I don't want to go to jail, | never hired anyone to ill her! | want to go home, | want to see my parents!”
Officer Emmanuel ignored her pleas. “Take her away.”
The police officers immediately escorted her out.
She was promptly taken out of the house and put into the police car. When the door closed, silence reigned in the house again.
Officer Emmanuel turned to John and stated his observations, “Master Stockton, | doubt she pulled it off by herself. She must've had someone helping her.”
John cast an icy look at Celine who was hiding in the corner, shuddering with fear. Following his line of sight, Officer Emmanuel and everyone else in the room turned to look at Celine.
Celine felt a jolt of panic seize her. She immediately defended her case. “Young Master, |... | did bring Sherry the clothes to help her escape last night, but | never knew that the madam hired hitmen to kill her. There was no way | could have known about that! If | had known, I'd never act as an accomplice to Sherry‘s murder even if the madam threatened my life!”
She was not fond of Sherry, but she had never planned to kill her! She failed to elicit any form of sympathy in John. He turned to Officer Emmanuel. “Officer Emmanuel, take her away for
questioning as well.” Officer Emmanuel nodded and turned to Celine. “Miss, please don't resist and come with us. There's nothing to worry about. We'll not condemn you if you're found innocent. You'll be free to go once we have the full picture.”
Celine answered nervously, “Okay.”
Soon, the fleet of police cars drove out of the area.
The house fell into a deathly silence after that.
John sat motionlessly on the couch.
Madam Stockton, Queenie, and Julie were all standing nearby, none of them spoke.
The surrounding bodyguards and servants hardly dared to breathe too loud in fear of upsetting John.
After an indiscernible time passed, it was Madam Stockton who stepped forward and advised , “John, you haven’t slept all night, please get some rest.”
Suddenly, an intent look returned to John’s vacant eyes. He suddenly rose and walked out. Madam Stockton shouted after him, “Shannon is already taken by the police. Where are you going?” “I'm going to find her.”
There was no word of Sherry yet! With that, he disappeared.
Chapter 1245 It went without saying that Madam Stockton was aware of who John was referring to.
She considered briefly and quickly informed Marlow," Get a few men and have them follow him!” Marlow hurriedly made the arrangements.
Queenie suddenly suggested, “Mom, | want to go see him too.” Madam Stockton glared at her abruptly. “Hold it right there!”
Queenie expressed her sorrows, “No! | refuse to believe that Sherry is dead. She was right here with me! I'll just take a look at things and be right back.”
“It's pretty much concluded that she had fallen off the cliff from the woods. With how high the cliff is and the river underneath it, there‘s not a chance that she‘d still be alive even if she had nine lives!”
Queenie grimaced and cried, “I still need to see it for myself!’
“| forbid you to go!” Madam Stockton called to Julie immediately, “Julie, | want you to keep an eye on her. Get several guards to watch over her as well!”
Since she could not stop John from doing as he pleased, the least she could do was to keep Queenie safe!
Although she was just as shocked and remorseful when she found out about Sherry‘s demise, she deemed that it was only her cursed fate to have her sister murder her!
The pair of siblings had brought shame and a terrible blemish onto the Stockton family! Julie nodded and promptly made the arrangements.
Meanwhile, Madam Stockton dragged Queenie back into her room.
After the manpower arrived , Queenie was locked in her room.
She cried and thumped her fists against the door.
Madam Stockton became annoyed eventually and left the room.
Julie followed closely behind her. She could sense that her mother was in a horrid mood and so chose her words carefully. “Mom, Queenie and Sherry grew closer ever since they started spending time together. You know how innocent Queenie can be sometimes. She thinks of Sherry as her good friend, and it's only natural that she‘d get upset knowing that something like this has happened to her friend. Just don't get too angry with her, give her a few days to sort her head out.”
“This brat, she doesn't understand what's good for her.” Madam Stockton scoffed and moved on from the subject with a prolonged sigh. “Forget about her. Just get someone to keep an eye on her and only let her out once she’s more stable. Make sure the door is locked.”
Julie answered dutifully, “Okay Mom, | got it.” “No need to keep following me, just take care of yourself. I'm going to get some much-needed rest.”
“Okay.” Julie stopped following her. Madam Stockton rubbed her temples with her fingers and quickly walked away. Julie stood still and watched her. After ensuring that there was nobody left, she grinned.
The smile she wore was different from the previous cordial smile she had. This was a smile filled with ill intentions, a celebratory smile.
Sherry was dead, and Shannon was out of the picture. With that, she was the only lady in the house left. She was the only woman left next to John.
The sports car zoomed past the highway like a bolt of lightning. What was a thirty—minute journey was shortened to less than ten minutes.
It finally came to a stop at the sealed—off junction leading into the mountain region. John got out of the car and walked into the forest.
The crime scene was also closed off to the public.
Several police officers were busy searching the area with all sorts of specialized gear and gadgets at the moment. Their boots crunched against the fallen leaves on the ground and made all sorts of crisp snapping sounds.
John felt as if his shoes were filled to the brim with lead. It took an enormous amount of strength just to lift his feet. He stepped through the ground filled with blood, wading through it with great effort as if he was sinking into quicksand.
After a long time passed, he found himself at the edge of the cliff. The cliff was roughly seventy meters tall with a river at its bottom. He looked down.
He saw several search and rescue boats patrolling the river.
Suddenly, a glacial gust of wind blew toward him as if it was trying to sweep him off his feet and send him plummeting down below.
He shivered from the cold. Sherry had lost her coat and scarf. She must have been freezing cold after she fell into the river last night.
He suddenly felt all his strength drained out of his legs. He knelt on the ground and buried his face in his hands.