Chapter 324: Accused and memories
Bzz.
Veronica turned her head and lowered her gaze, only to find Amanda’s name flashing across her phone.
She raised an eyebrow. That was unexpected. Today was not one of Veronica’s working days, and Amanda should have had little reason to call her.
After all, Kyle had told Veronica that he would be spending the entire day with Amanda.
So why was the girl calling her now?
Surely, she wasn’t calling just to taunt her... right?
The silver-haired woman set her book aside and answered the call.
"Hello?"
{Hello, Commander. Have you heard anything from Kyle since this morning?}
She sounded panicked, and her breathing uneven.
Veronica hummed, surprise flickering across her face. "No. But wasn’t he supposed to be spending the day with you?"
{He was, but he isn’t answering his phone, and he isn’t at home either. I thought he might be with you.}
Veronica’s brows furrowed.
"No, he isn’t. Have you tried calling his brother?" He was the only other person Kyle could have contacted or gone to meet.
{Yes, I did. But Brother Blake isn’t answering either.}
A moment later, she added,
{I have a bad feeling about this.}
Veronica couldn’t shake the same feeling. Kyle wouldn’t simply disappear without leaving a message, and the fact that Blake was unreachable only made the situation more concerning.
Before she could say anything else, her phone buzzed again.
She glanced at the screen and saw Timothy’s name.
"I’ll talk to you in a minute. Let me know immediately if you hear from him."
{I understand.}
The call ended.
Veronica immediately answered Timothy’s call.
"Yes, Timothy?"
{Good morning, ma’am. Sorry to disturb you while you’re resting, but this is important.}
Another piece of bad news, it seemed.
"Tell me."
{Last night, Astortia Mathew was killed in his office.}
"What?!"
Veronica’s eyes widened.
"How?"
{Someone snapped his neck and left him to die in his office.}
Veronica let out a slow breath. It wasn’t particularly surprising that someone in Mathew’s position would have enemies. There were countless people he had tormented in the past, not to mention those who might have wanted revenge on behalf of Blake.
Yet her assumptions were nowhere close to the truth.
{Ma’am, we managed to recover the footage of the murder. The killer didn’t make any attempt to conceal his identity.}
Veronica frowned.
"Who is it?"
{It’s Kyle, Commander.}
"!!!"
Veronica’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you sure? It could be someone else using a skill to disguise their appearance..."
{No, ma’am. We have confirmed his identity. His Genesis signature, the way he maneuvered through security, and the conversation he had with the Patriarch all provide enough evidence to conclude that Astortia Mathew was killed by his adopted son, Kyle.}
Veronica was left stunned.
Adopted...
She had always harbored her suspicions, but it seemed they had finally been confirmed.
Still...
"Did the revelation become the reason for Mathew’s death?"
{Most likely, ma’am. But there are a few other things that caught my attention.}
Veronica immediately rose from her seat.
"Send me the footage. I’ll go through it myself."
{Un-}
Timothy’s voice suddenly went flat.
Veronica blinked.
"Timothy?"
No response.
Her frown deepened. She waited another moment before disconnecting the call.
"What could have happened?"
....
On the other side of the call, Timothy stared at the very person he had been discussing about on the call.
He was still standing outside the Astortia mansion, where he had arrived to investigate the murder. He knew he was surrounded by people. He could see them moving around the mansion, going about their duties as if nothing had changed.
Yet none of them could see him.
Nor could they hear his voice.
"This... is a Field, isn’t it?" Timothy asked, staring at the man standing across from him. "I never knew you could create one, Kyle."
The accused murderer of Astortia Mathew stood before him in complete silence, his expression devoid of emotion.
The fact that everyone around them seemed to be looking straight past them sent an uneasy chill through Timothy.
This wasn’t how a Field was supposed to work.
They hadn’t been detached from the world.
Rather, it was as though a small, isolated dimension had been carved out from reality, one where only Timothy and Kyle existed.
"Why did you kill your father, Kyle?" Timothy asked.
He kept his voice steady, refusing to let the nervousness he felt show on his face.
Something was different about Kyle.
Something was ominously different.
Every instinct Timothy possessed was screaming at him to turn around and run.
Yet a rational part of him already understood the truth.
There was nowhere to run.
Kyle took a step forward.
Timothy reacted instantly, unleashing several chains of Genesis toward him in an attempt to restrain him.
"Huh?"
The moment the chains reached Kyle, they disintegrated into countless golden fragments.
Timothy’s shoulders tensed.
He summoned another barrage, then another, pouring more Genesis into each attempt.
The result remained the same.
Every chain fell apart before it could touch Kyle.
Yet Kyle continued walking, completely undisturbed, as though reality itself bent around him and yielded to his will.
Timothy’s expression hardened. He suddenly pulled out a steel baton and raised it defensively.
"Surrender now. This will be easier for both of us."
Kyle didn’t stop.
Timothy’s eyes sharpened.
He lunged forward and swung the baton toward Kyle’s shoulder.
TNG!
The instant it struck, the steel bent like a ribbon before disintegrating into golden fragments.
Timothy froze.
He was now standing face-to-face with Kyle.
No weapon.
No defense.
No path of escape.
He gritted his teeth.
"What do you want from me?"
For the first time, Kyle spoke.
"To see the truth."
Kyle raised his hand and gently pressed two fingers against Timothy’s forehead.
A torrent of memories surged into Timothy’s mind.
Memories of a future that would never exist.
A future that, for a time, had been real.
And in that future...
Timothy had been responsible for several deaths.
And one betrayal.
He betrayed the woman who trusted him the most.