Chapter 305: The Fish That Slipped Through the Net
An unexpected phone call forced Arabella Donovan and the others to make an impromptu trip to the downtown police headquarters.
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, who had been rushing toward Brynn University, also changed course and headed for the police station.
The two groups arrived at their destination at nearly the same time. The moment they got out of the car, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan rushed up to Arabella, grabbing her hands tightly. "Are you really okay?" they asked, their expressions panicked.
"We’re fine, really. The truck didn’t even touch us. My brother and I don’t have a single scratch." As if to prove her point, Arabella spun around a few times in front of them.
Seeing that they were truly unharmed, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to ask about the details of the crash.
"So what exactly happened with that truck? The driver..."
"We don’t know the specifics, only that the crash most likely wasn’t an accident. As for the driver, ten to one... he’s dead."
"Not an accident? You mean..." Mrs. Donovan’s face fell.
"That’s why we’re here. A Mr. Cole just called Serena. He said he found something and asked her to come down in person to get an update on the situation."
"In that case, let’s go inside."
Eager to learn the truth, the Donovans followed Arabella and the others in a large group into the police station.
To their surprise, they had only just stepped inside when they saw a few familiar faces.
"Grandpa, and Grandma Preston, why are you here too?"
"With something this serious happening, how could we not come?"
Grandma Preston fearfully gripped Arabella’s hand. Her own palm was ice-cold, a clear sign of how badly she’d been frightened.
Arabella felt a mix of sympathy and exasperation. ’Does news travel this fast these days? Has it even been three hours since the incident? How do so many people know already?’
"Grandma, please don’t worry, I’m fine. The truck didn’t even touch me. It was struck by lightning before it had any chance to hurt me."
"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness."
Guinevere Preston’s face was filled with relief, but Dennis Donovan’s expression was complicated. "It’s a good thing you’re alright. Otherwise, I would never have let them get away with it."
"Them?" Arabella immediately seized on the important word. "Grandpa, who do you mean by ’them’?"
Dennis Donovan sighed. "Let’s wait for Mr. Cole to explain."
Upon learning that Arabella had arrived in the lobby, Ron Cole and his team hurried down from the upper floor.
"Miss Donovan, Elder Donovan, you’re finally here."
"Mr. Cole, did you call my grandpa and the others?"
"That’s right. I took the liberty of notifying Elder Donovan. This isn’t the place to talk. Follow me."
At a nod from a staff member in the lobby, Ron Cole led Arabella and the others into a relatively secluded room on the first floor.
"This is some of the information my people uncovered after learning about the crash. The truck, with license plate number BE-*****, is registered to a Mr. Hale from Galia. His business has been struggling, and he hasn’t had much income for the past year. A month ago, his son was diagnosed with a rare disease that requires a huge sum of money for treatment. Mr. Hale started working even harder, but the money he earned was just a drop in the bucket compared to the medical bills."
Ron Cole handed Arabella a file as he spoke. "But just three days ago, a large sum of money was suddenly deposited into Mr. Hale’s account. The funds came from an overseas account. After some difficulty, my people traced it, and the owner of that account appears to be..."
Ron Cole pointed to a photograph in the file. "This man."
Arabella and the others leaned in to look. They saw that the supposed account owner was a young man in his early twenties. The rest of the Donovans didn’t recognize him and had no idea what connection he could have to Arabella.
But Arabella and Caspian Rhodes, who had met the man once before, paled instantly. "It’s him!"
"You know him?"
"I saw him once when Serena treated me to a meal at Delicacy Pavilion. He was with Elder Donovan’s great-nephew and his family. I think I remember them calling him... Mr. Vaughn?"
That was right. The owner of the overseas account was none other than Vincent Vaughn, the man who had pleaded on behalf of Victor Donovan and his sons at Delicacy Pavilion.
As Caspian mentioned Dennis Donovan’s great-nephew, the eyes of the Donovan family instinctively turned to the elderly man who made the final decisions.
Dennis Donovan tightened his grip on his cane, let out a long sigh, and said guiltily, "This was my oversight."
It turned out that after learning Victor Donovan’s backer was connected to Vincent Vaughn, Dennis Donovan had immediately realized who the powerful figure Arabella kept mentioning was.
The man had once been one of Dennis Donovan’s unremarkable subordinates. He appeared low-key and reliable, but he was ruthlessly ambitious. Years ago, he had used his position by Dennis’s side to secretly build up his own relatives as a hidden power base, climbing the ladder one step at a time.
The Vaughn family was related to him by marriage and was one of the main families he cultivated. Vincent Vaughn’s father was his brother-in-law, making Vincent his own nephew. When Vincent was young, his father did the man’s bidding. Once Vincent was old enough, he took over from his father and became his uncle’s true enforcer, handling all his dirty, underhanded dealings.
While Dennis Donovan was driving Victor Donovan’s family out of Brynn, he didn’t spare the uncle and nephew, either. He secretly gathered a great deal of evidence, intending to uproot the power base they had cultivated in the shadows.
Everything had been proceeding smoothly. But the man had been scheming under Dennis Donovan’s nose for so many years, and he was undeniably capable. No matter how cautious Dennis was, he failed to catch everyone in his net; a few fish slipped through.
The fish who slipped through the net wasn’t Vincent Vaughn, of course, but someone close to him. The truck driver was most likely hired by one of his associates.
"Chief, we just got an update." The good-natured Mr. Hughes, whom they’d met at the wedding, walked in carrying a new stack of files. He even gave Arabella a quick smile.
Ron Cole took the file and glanced at it, his brow furrowing slightly.
Seeing his expression, Dennis Donovan and the others grew tense. "Is there... a problem with the file?"
"Do you recognize this person?" Ron Cole pushed the file forward so that everyone present could get a clear look at the photograph on top.
"This man..." Arabella and the others exchanged a look and shook their heads in unison.
Only Justin Donovan’s expression changed the moment he saw the man’s face clearly. "It’s him!"
All eyes in the room swiveled to him like spotlights. "Justin, you know this man?"
"I wouldn’t say I know him, but I’ve seen him once." Justin glanced instinctively at Arabella. Remembering what his sister had just endured, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes. He paused for a moment before answering truthfully, "He’s a bodyguard for Jacobs."