Chapter 341: Finding an Opportunity to Catch the Watcher

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: Finding an Opportunity to Catch the Watcher

"Huh? What happened? Wasn’t he doing fine before he was sent to the hospital?"

Hearing Officer Lee’s words, Evan Keller was confused. Warren Thorne had fainted at the villa, but his vital signs had been stable.

How could he just be dead?

"Warren Thorne regained consciousness shortly after arriving at the hospital. Just as a doctor came to examine him, a patient’s relative happened to pass by his room. They stopped, phone blasting a news report. The story was about the Thornes engaging in fraudulent charity, their public image collapsing, and how they were involved in archaic superstitions, even trying to find an innocent person for a ’life-swap.’ The whole thing has blown up, and some of their business partners have already announced they’re canceling their contracts.

"Warren Thorne was already in poor health. After hearing that news report, he flew into a rage that triggered a cerebral hemorrhage. They couldn’t save him," Officer Lee explained.

As for that "coincidentally" passing patient’s relative, it was anyone’s guess if they had been hired by a rival.

When Milton Thorne heard the news, on top of the emotional shock from Butler Taylor’s confession, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out cold.

"What now?" Officer Lee glanced at the unconscious Milton Thorne, then back at Evan Keller, his expression tinged with confusion.

"It doesn’t matter," Evan Keller said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We have all the evidence we need. The butler’s confession and evidence are more than enough to convict them."

When Evan Keller returned to the office, Zoe Sawyer asked with curiosity, "Would what the Miller Family did count as an unfair business practice?"

"No. They might have guessed the Thornes’ intentions, but the Thornes made all the decisions themselves. Butler Taylor’s only role was to gather evidence.

"We know the Miller Family had a hand in it, but strictly speaking, they weren’t directly involved," Evan Keller explained to Zoe, shaking his head.

Zoe Sawyer couldn’t help but pat her cheeks. "And here I thought corporate warfare was one of two extremes: either petty stuff like messing with office plants, or an all-out assault with hackers and lawyers."

To be honest, she had never seen anything like the methods used by the Thorne and Miller families.

Especially the Thornes. On the surface, they cultivated a reputation as great philanthropists, but in reality, they couldn’t bear to part with the money and secretly swapped out the aid supplies.

"What about Leo Bell? The Thornes will have to compensate him, won’t they?" Thinking of him still lying in the hospital, Zoe Sawyer pressed on. "How is he doing? His face looked so pale in the video. He wasn’t seriously injured, was he?"

Evan Keller shook his head. "He just lost a bit too much blood. The red markings painted on his and Warren Thorne’s faces were all Leo Bell’s blood.

"Given the circumstances, the Thornes will definitely have to pay him a substantial amount in compensation. It should be more than enough to cover his mother’s medical bills and his own tuition."

To get a lighter sentence, that was one expense Milton Thorne couldn’t afford to skip.

After getting the gist of the situation, Zoe Sawyer breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. At least he won’t be out of both blood and money."

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Elara Sterling and Leo’s homeroom teacher received a call from the police informing them that Leo Bell had been rescued and was now at the hospital.

Wasting no time, the two of them rushed over, arriving just in time to find Leo awake.

"I told you it was fake! You didn’t believe me! And now look at you, you’re hurt!" Elara Sterling stood at the foot of the bed, glaring at Leo as he sat propped against the headboard. Her voice was a mixture of anger and residual fear.

’If the police hadn’t acted so fast, my friend would’ve been turned into jerky!’

His homeroom teacher stood with her hands on her hips, looking Leo up and down. She then pulled aside a passing nurse to ask about his condition.

After confirming that Leo was just a bit anemic and shaken up but otherwise fine, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness nothing serious happened!’

Hearing Elara Sterling’s scolding, the teacher couldn’t help but chime in. "Your actions were far too reckless! You got lucky this time, and nothing truly terrible happened, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be so fortunate a second time.

"Leo Bell, when you get out of the hospital and come back to school, you will submit a written report on this incident to me."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Leo Bell lowered his head. He apologized without hesitation, promising it would never happen again.

Elara Sterling and his teacher saw his remorse and decided to back off. Leo had only just been rescued, and the scolding was enough. Pushing him any further might trigger bad memories.

The homeroom teacher recalled something Evan Keller had mentioned on the phone. After a moment, she decided to tell Leo, "The police said that the Thornes’ actions caused you serious physical and mental distress, so there will definitely be compensation. They’ll fight to get you the largest possible settlement.

"However, they do have one request. They want you to attend a few anti-scam workshops at the station after you’re discharged."

At this, Elara Sterling couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Leo Bell’s face flushed beet-red, and he simply nodded to show he understood.

「A few more days passed.」

The Thorne family’s case finally came to a close. Just as Evan Keller had predicted, Milton Thorne substantially increased the compensation payment in an effort to secure a formal statement of forgiveness from the victim, Leo Bell.

Meanwhile, the Thorne Family’s retail traffic was completely devoured by competitors who swooped in on their moment of weakness.

With so many partners also pulling their contracts, the family’s bankruptcy and ruin were now a foregone conclusion.

As Heath Hale returned to the station, he subtly scanned the building next door.

Just as he’d expected, a corner of a curtain was drawn back, revealing the glint of a camera lens.

’I don’t know if it’s because we’ve been pretending not to notice, giving them a false sense of security, or if they’ve just gotten sloppy.’

’But we’re seeing exposed lenses like that more and more often.’

’Looks like it’s time to make our move.’

Heath Hale coolly averted his gaze and, feigning ignorance, walked back into the office.

"We need to find an opportunity and arrest those surveillance teams. Otherwise, we’re being watched every time we come in or go out. Sooner or later, we’re going to expose something classified," Heath Hale said from his desk, offering his assessment.

’Lately, because of them, every time we head out on a call, we have to consciously worry about whether we’re carrying anything that could expose Zoe.’

"True," Evan Keller agreed, picking up where Heath had left off. "We’ve cleared our recent caseload, so we finally have the bandwidth to deal with them. But we need a good pretext. We can’t afford to spook their bosses.

"Otherwise, they’ll just pull back, and catching them later will be a much bigger hassle."

"I’ve been tracking their financial flows and have intercepted fragments of their communications. That should come in handy."