Chapter 220: Victor’s downfall

Elena wiped away her tears and studied Elias again. When her eyes fell on the thick bandage wrapped around his arm, her heart ached.

"How did you get injured?" she finally asked the question that had been bothering her since she woke up. "I heard a deafening explosion. What happened?"

Elias fell silent. His mind immediately returned to the abandoned building.

He had rushed out the moment he received Elena’s call. He had expected his guards to bring Cedric out, but something had gone terribly wrong.

The explosion had ripped through the building, collapsing half of it. Elias had barely managed to escape the wreckage, but his men had been trapped beneath the debris.

He still didn’t know exactly what had happened. But he suspected Cedric had fought back.

Somehow, he must have gotten his hands on the remote control and pressed the detonator.

"It was Cedric," he finally said after a long silence. "He blew up the building."

Elena gasped, covering her mouth. Shock and horror flashed across her face.

"I somehow managed to escape," Elias continued. "But the guards are still trapped under the rubble."

He let out a heavy sigh. "The rescue operation is underway. I just hope they are still alive."

"And Cedric?" Elena asked.

Elias shook his head. "I don’t know. He must still be trapped."

"That man has gone crazy," Elena muttered, her eyes flashing with hatred and anger. "He actually planned something like this. He should be punished severely."

"Don’t worry." Elias’s voice hardened. "No one will escape without facing the consequences."

Elena glanced toward Evelyn, who was slouched in the chair nearby. Her eyes were closed, and her head had tilted slightly to one side.

"She must be exhausted. She has fallen asleep."

Elias turned and saw that his sister had indeed fallen asleep.

"Take her to my room," Elena suggested. "She needs rest."

Elias immediately called a nearby guard and asked him to take Evelyn inside.

The guard nodded and carefully carried the sleeping Evelyn away.

In the meantime, Owen approached. His expression was grim. He leaned toward Elias and lowered his voice.

"Sir, I just received an update from the accident site. The rescue operation is over. They found all our men’s bodies."

He hesitated. "But..."

Elias frowned.

Owen lowered his gaze. "Cedric’s body hasn’t been found. He might have escaped."

"What?" Elias’s expression darkened instantly.

Owen instinctively stepped back. The cold fury in Elias’s eyes was enough to make even him uneasy.

Elias was losing his temper. But when he looked at Elena, he forced himself to calm down.

"Elena, stay with Evelyn. I have to go out." His voice came out rough, his anger barely contained.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked, panic immediately rising in her voice.

"Be good. Take care of yourself and Eve. I’ll try to come back soon."

Without wasting another second, Elias walked out of the hospital, Owen following closely behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They soon arrived at the site where Elias had once seen the dilapidated building standing in the darkness. Now, there was nothing left of it.

Half of the building had been reduced to a massive pile of broken concrete, twisted metal, shattered bricks, and splintered wood.

Smoke still lingered faintly in the air, mixing with the sharp smell of dust and explosives. Rescue workers moved among the debris in tense silence.

The seven kidnappers’ lifeless bodies lay on one side, while Elias’s guards’ bodies had been gathered on the other.

Elias crouched beside his men’s bodies. His face was grim.

"They sacrificed their lives for my family," he murmured. "I won’t let their sacrifices go in vain."

He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking again.

"From now on, I’ll take care of their families. Open Rowan family funds for them. If they have children, sponsor their education. If any family member is sick, take care of their medical expenses. And provide jobs to any family members who are eligible."

"Noted, sir," Owen said. "I’ll personally handle this matter."

Elias slowly rose to his feet and looked toward the rubble. "Any update about Cedric?"

A man dressed in a black suit approached. "His body hasn’t been found, sir. But I’ve sent a team to search the surrounding area. He was injured. He couldn’t have gone far."

Before Elias could respond, a guard came rushing toward them, panting heavily.

"Sir. We found a blood trail."

Both Elias and Owen turned around.

"Where did you find it?" Elias asked sharply.

"Near the edge of the jungle, sir."

"Take me there."

The guard immediately turned and ran.

Elias and Owen followed.

The man led them deeper into the jungle.

A few meters ahead, dark drops of blood stained the damp earth. Some leaves were smeared with blood.

The trail continued deeper into the jungle. They followed it until they reached a narrow path.

Fresh tire marks were clearly visible in the soft ground.

Owen crouched and examined them. "There are motorbike tracks." He straightened, his expression hardening. "Someone helped him."

His voice was filled with certainty. "It might have been Victor. He could have sent someone to take Cedric away."

"Maybe," Elias said thoughtfully. His gaze remained fixed on the tire tracks. "Or maybe Cedric had someone waiting for him as a backup."

"I’ll send a team to find him," Owen said immediately. "He can’t disappear. Even if he is hiding in the deepest hole on earth, I’ll dig him out."

Elias straightened and looked toward the narrow road disappearing into the darkness.

"There is no need."

"No need?" Owen stared at him in surprise. "Are you not going to find him?"

"I won’t waste my time and effort searching for him," Elias said, his expression turning completely blank. "He’ll show up on his own."

Owen frowned. His confusion deepened.

"Spread the news of his death," Elias ordered.

Owen’s eyes widened slightly.

"Start the process of taking over his company. Seize all his assets. He can’t hide for long. Eventually, he’ll come to me."

Owen nodded. "Consider it done. But, sir... it’s risky. Cedric is dangerous. With Victor’s support, he could strike back even harder."

"We’ll be prepared for that." Elias’s voice was cold. "We’ll wait for him to show up."

He paused. "And for Victor..."

Determination hardened his eyes. "Release Cedric’s statement to the media. Expose him. Let’s see how Victor fights back after that."

Owen finally understood the plan.

Once Victor’s crimes became public, the police would turn their attention toward him. He would be forced to focus on saving himself. He wouldn’t have the time or the freedom to help Cedric.

"Understood, sir." A faint smile appeared on Owen’s face. "Tomorrow morning, Victor will be the most famous man in town."

Elias turned away. "Settle everything here. I’m heading back to the hospital."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Cedric’s confession became the biggest topic of discussion. Every major media outlet broadcast the news repeatedly.

The public was stunned to learn that Victor had plotted to kill the Rowan couple all those years ago. People flooded social media with outrage.

’A criminal like him should rot in jail.’

’He should be punished severely.’

’Send him to jail right away. A man like him is dangerous. He will commit more crimes if he stays outside.’

’Poor Elias. I feel so sorry for him. He saw his parents being killed when he was just a child.’

’So many years have passed, and the murderer has finally been revealed. He should be behind bars and face the consequences of his actions.’

Victor didn’t just face public backlash. His business took a devastating hit as well.

The moment the market opened, the stock price of Kane Group plummeted. Board members panicked and immediately called an emergency meeting.

"Where is Victor? Why hasn’t he come to the office yet?" one of the directors demanded.

"At a time like this, he didn’t even come to the office. He might have run away."

"We should find someone eligible to replace him," another director suggested.

"You are right. He is a criminal. We can’t let him hold the chairman’s position any longer."

Someone suddenly barged into the conference room.

Every head turned.

It was Victor’s secretary.

"The cops are here," she exclaimed, panic written all over her face. "They’ve seized the entire building."

"What?"

Everyone inside the room erupted into panic.

"The officer said no one can leave the building until we reveal Mr. Kane’s whereabouts."

"This is insane," one director shouted. "How would we know where Victor is?"

"He is such a heartless man," another director chimed in. "He disappeared just like that and left all of us to deal with this mess. He should be stripped of his position."

"Yes. Strip him of his position."

"He can no longer be the chairman."

While chaos erupted at the Kane Group headquarters, Elias watched the news calmly from his office. After so many years, he had finally exposed the man responsible for destroying his family.

But it wasn’t enough. As long as Victor and Cedric remained free, his revenge would never be complete.

Just then, Owen entered the office.

"Sir, the cops have picked up Victor," he said with a satisfied smile. "We found out he was slipping away through the abandoned dock, so we tipped off the police. They caught him before he could get away."

"Well done." The corner of Elias’s lips lifted slightly. "Hand over every piece of evidence we’ve gathered against Victor to the police. His connections to the underworld, his illegal businesses, the real estate scam—everything."

His eyes burned with years of suppressed fury. "I want the truth exposed. I want him to lose everything."

Owen nodded. "Yes, sir."

Elias leaned back in his chair, his expression cold.

For years, he had carried the weight of his parents’ deaths. Now, the people responsible were finally facing the consequences. But the war wasn’t over yet.

Cedric was still missing.

And Elias knew a desperate man with nothing left to lose could be more dangerous than ever.

"Now it’s Cedric’s turn. Let’s see how long he can remain hidden."