Chapter 109: Regaining The Lindsay’s Honor

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Regaining The Lindsay’s Honor

Once the family affairs had been discussed, Reginald’s expression grew serious again. He turned toward Damien Lindsay, who had remained silent throughout the conversation.

"Damien, have you found any leads on Graham Cole, the man who killed my son and Pat Marty?" he asked.

Although Collins had been Reginald’s youngest son among six, the family head did not consider himself so sentimental that losing one child would leave him unable to function.

He had other sons, and years of experience had taught him to put the interests of the family above his personal feelings.

But that did not mean he could accept his son’s death without seeking revenge.

Collins was his own flesh and blood. No matter how many children he had, he would never willingly allow an enemy to kill one of them and walk away unpunished.

Even while dealing with the government’s investigation, Reginald had continued searching for the person responsible.

According to the witnesses, only one man had attacked Collins and Pat.

Several people had managed to get a clear look at the assailant, allowing the Lindsay family to commission an experienced portrait artist to reproduce his appearance.

The resulting portrait had been distributed throughout Valemont, reaching both legitimate martial arts circles and underground organizations.

The Lindsay family had considerable resources at its disposal. If Graham Cole was anywhere in the region, they intended to find him.

Two days earlier, they had finally obtained a useful lead.

They located Steven Holloway, the former owner of Renewal Martial Academy, whom Xavier had discarded after using him for his own purposes.

The Lindsay family handed him over to Damien for interrogation.

Steven had been unable to conceal his reaction when he learned that Graham Cole was suspected of killing the Lindsay family’s young master.

The man’s distinctive appearance had immediately caught his attention, and martial arts school personnel had noticed his unusual behavior, ultimately exposing his connection to the matter.

Now, Damien was the family’s best hope of finding the killer.

"Graham Cole hasn’t appeared anywhere over the past two days," Damien reported.

"It’s almost as if he vanished into thin air. However, I’ve figured out a way to draw him out."

Reginald’s eyes brightened slightly.

"Really? What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"At this point, the simplest approach is to capture Mira."

Reginald stared at him for a moment, surprised by the suggestion.

Mira was a name he knew well. After Collins’s death, he had investigated his youngest son’s recent activities and the people he might have offended.

Mira’s name had surfaced during that investigation.

Reginald knew perfectly well that Collins had developed an obsession with her.

However, he had never considered his son’s behavior particularly unreasonable. Collins had been the heir to one of Valemont’s most prestigious families and a gifted martial artist in his own right.

In Reginald’s eyes, a woman like Mira should have considered herself fortunate to attract his attention, regardless of whether she was already married. If she dared to reject Collins, Reginald believed she simply did not understand the position his son occupied.

Consequently, he had never regarded Collins’s pursuit of Mira as wrongdoing. Instead, he considered her resistance an insult to the Lindsay family. Now that his son was dead, that resentment had only grown.

"Are you certain Graham Cole has something to do with Mira?" Reginald asked.

"I’m fairly confident," Damien replied with a nod. "Steven Holloway told me this afternoon that Graham Cole once rescued Mira’s mother, Helena, from the Bloodshadow Cult and the Heavenly Eye Cult."

He continued, laying out his reasoning.

"Even if Graham’s relationship with Helena isn’t particularly close, he clearly cares about Mira," he said.

"My suspicion is that he learned about Collins’s interest in her and decided to kill my cousin because of it. If we take Mira into our custody, we should be able to force Graham Cole to show himself."

Reginald’s expression hardened as he considered the proposal.

Before he could respond, Harold Lindsay frowned.

"Damien, that might not be as easy as you think," he said.

"I heard that Victoria Quill has already accepted Mira as her personal disciple. Their relationship has effectively been established since the Barley Cup ended. If we touch Mira now, we could provoke Victoria and give the authorities another reason to intensify their campaign against us."

As one of the Lindsay family’s senior figures, Harold kept a close eye on the movements of influential martial artists.

He knew that Victoria had approached Mira immediately after the competition and had begun spending time with her.

Even without a formal announcement, the relationship between master and disciple was already taking shape.

Damien was not surprised by the objection.

" Uncle, you’re right," he said. "Mira isn’t someone we can target openly. But that doesn’t mean we have no way of dealing with her." His eyes narrowed as he explained further.

"If we can lure her away from the academy and make her disappear without leaving evidence, who will be able to prove the Lindsay family was responsible? Without proof, even Victoria will have difficulty holding us accountable."

Reginald leaned back slightly, his interest growing.

"Tell us your plan," he said.

Damien immediately began explaining the details.

"Mira spends most of her time at Arcadia Academy or with Victoria. Approaching her directly would be difficult," he said.

"But there’s one weakness we can exploit: her concern for her husband." He paused briefly before continuing.

"As far as I’ve learned, Xavier Kane is a low talent alchemy apprentice. Despite spending most of his time at the academy, he has a childhood friend named Marcus, whom he treats like a brother. If we capture Marcus and use him to draw Xavier out, we can then use Xavier to force Mira to come to us."

The plan was straightforward. They would seize Marcus to lure Xavier away from the academy.

Once Xavier was in their hands, they would use him as leverage to make Mira leave the protection of Victoria Quill.

Reginald listened carefully before nodding.

Sometimes, a simple plan was more effective than a complicated one, and this approach seemed worth attempting.

He understood that targeting Mira might anger Victoria, but his desire for revenge outweighed his reservations.

He had no intention of allowing everyone connected to his son’s death to escape punishment.

Nevertheless, he was not foolish enough to underestimate their enemy.

"We must take precautions," Reginald said firmly.

"I heard there is also a man named Graham Cole who is acquainted with Xavier. The man is not an ordinary martial artist. The death of Selene, the Bloodshadow Cult’s deputy leader, is already suspected to be his doing. If he really killed Selene, we cannot afford to treat him carelessly."

The room grew quiet as the family head considered their options.

"Besides, with the authorities watching us, we cannot openly ask the Bloodshadow Cult for assistance," he continued. "We’ll have to handle this ourselves."

He turned toward two men who had been waiting nearby.

"Let the Bloodthirsty Monk and Ruthless Blade take charge of capturing Mira," he said.

"Afterward, you and Harold will work together to deal with Graham Cole. Harold is already a 1st-Level Star Sea Realm martial artist. With both of you working together, you should have enough strength to eliminate him as soon as he appears."

Bloodthirsty Monk and Ruthless Blade were well known nicknames in the martial arts world.

Both men had become guests of the Lindsay family after the family helped them avenge the deaths of their relatives.

Having lost everyone they cared about, they no longer had much to live for.

Repaying the Lindsay family’s kindness had become their primary purpose, and they were willing to undertake dangerous missions on its behalf.

There was another advantage to using them. If the operation went wrong, the Lindsay family could distance itself from their actions and avoid drawing further scrutiny from the authorities.

Most importantly, both men had reached the peak of the Spirit Platform Realm.

With them handling the initial capture and two powerful martial artists waiting to ambush Graham Cole, Reginald believed they had prepared enough safeguards to carry out their plan.

For the Lindsay family, this was no longer merely about recovering its reputation. It was about making the man who had killed Collins Lindsay pay for what he had done.

********

The weekend market was bustling with activity, and the aroma of freshly prepared food drifted between the crowded stalls.

Among the shoppers, Marcus Reed moved from one vendor to another with an unusually wide grin, looking as though he had just won a fortune.

"Boss, how much for the poached chicken?" he asked.

"Two pounds, please. Go easy on the chili. My wife is pregnant, so I don’t want her eating anything too spicy!"

The vendor stared at him in surprise before handing over the food.

"Wait, you gave me an extra half pound?" Marcus said.

"Thanks, boss! You’re a good man!"

Marcus accepted the package happily, his smile growing even wider.

He had received the best news of his life that morning.

His wife, Clara, had been feeling unwell, and after checking her condition, they had discovered that she was pregnant.

He was going to be a father! Even more incredible was the timing.

They had barely begun trying, yet she had conceived almost immediately.

Marcus felt as though his feet weren’t touching the ground.

He had spent the entire morning grinning like a fool, unable to stop imagining what life would be like once their baby arrived.

When Clara asked him to buy poached chicken from a nearby cooked food shop, he had immediately grabbed his things and headed out.

How could he possibly refuse a request from his pregnant wife?

As he left the market with his purchases, another thought occurred to him.

It’s the weekend, so I won’t see Xavier until Monday. Just wait until then. I’ll make sure he hears all about this!

He chuckled to himself. Xavier and Mira may be ahead of us in almost everything else, but Clara and I have beaten them to the baby making stage.

Heh, let’s see what Xavier says when he finds out!

Lost in his happy thoughts, Marcus paid little attention to the people around him.

That proved to be a costly mistake.

A bald, middle aged monk approached him from the opposite direction.

Before Marcus could even react to the stranger’s presence, the man suddenly struck him at the side of the neck.

Pain flashed through his body, his vision went dark, and he collapsed without making a sound.

The package of food slipped from his hand as the monk caught him and dragged him away.

Marcus’s happy morning had come to an abrupt end.