Chapter 188 - 187: Will Erin Whittaker Die?

Chapter 188: Chapter 187: Will Erin Whittaker Die?

"Cece..." he began, wanting to explain, but he just looked flustered and hesitant.

I was getting frustrated, so I turned to find a quiet place.

Asher’s phone rang. It was a call from Lucas Grant.

"Erin Whittaker is missing. We can’t find any leads. It’s just like you predicted—a diversion. There’s been some movement at the hospital. Zeke Shaw was injured, but at least we caught the attacker. Get over here. Julian Fletcher is causing a scene at the police station, demanding we find Erin Whittaker as soon as possible. Come and help me look."

Asher hung up on Lucas Grant, making it clear he didn’t want to deal with him and just wanted to explain things to me.

I looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Cece..." Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang again.

It was Lucas Grant again.

Asher irritably hung up again and was about to block the number.

I reached out to stop him. "Just take the call. You took such a huge risk getting close to Victor Quinn in the mental hospital. Don’t let it all be for nothing."

Asher fell silent and answered the phone.

"Sebastian Lancaster! So you burn the bridge after you cross it! You kill the donkey when the grinding is done!" Lucas Grant howled from the other end, and the line was filled with chaotic noise.

I could hear Julian Fletcher’s angry, accusatory voice, claiming the police were doing nothing.

He was furious that Erin Whittaker, who was supposed to be under special police protection, could be taken right from under their noses!

"Kill you," Asher replied, hanging up again.

It took me a moment to realize what had just happened. Asher had actually cursed at someone...

Lucas Grant had said "kill the donkey when the grinding is done," and Asher had replied, "kill you." That made Lucas the donkey.

I figured it probably took Lucas Grant a moment to get it, too.

"Cece..." Asher started to speak again, but his phone rang once more.

Asher just turned his phone off completely.

"Cece... I’m not saying the killer isn’t important. I am investigating. All of these things are connected. I’m just... I can’t be sure. My suspicions might not be right..." Asher explained anxiously, but he didn’t seem to be a very good liar.

’His suspicions might not be right, but he clearly had a prime suspect. And he was hiding it from me...’

’I don’t know why he’s hiding it from me. Based on all the evidence we have so far, it seems like... he’s ’protecting’ the killer.’

"Sebastian Lancaster," I said after a long silence. "My death... it felt like a dream. Before I died, I was convinced you were the killer. So many of your actions made me suspicious..."

’Looking at everything on the clue wall now, I’m fairly certain Asher isn’t the killer. But he’s deliberately hiding something.’

"Now, I believe you aren’t the killer. But if... you help the killer hide, or get away with it, then you become one of the people who killed me..." My voice was hoarse but firm. I was warning Sebastian Lancaster not to let me find out he’d helped the killer.

Asher looked down in alarm, his hands clenching helplessly. "Cece..."

"If I can forgive the person who brutally murdered me, then what does that make me?" I gave a bitter laugh and took a step back. Staring at the wall covered in photos and clues, I said in a low voice, "Asher, if it really comes to that... let’s get a divorce."

"Let me go." ’Now that the child is gone, there’s nothing left tying us together.’

’I already believe he isn’t the one who killed me...’

"Cece, I don’t want a divorce," Asher said, shaking his head in a panic. He didn’t want a divorce.

"But from where I’m standing, that killer is more important to you than I am." My finger pointed to the very center of the area dedicated to the serial killer case, where two pieces of paper with question marks were pinned.

’In other words, Asher’s investigation had basically confirmed it: there were two masterminds at the very top of the serial killer conspiracy.’

’One was responsible for the planning, the other for the execution.’

’The so-called enforcer.’

’And Ash was beneath them both, which meant he was just a pawn being used by those two. Yet Asher, knowing full well that Ash was connected to the serial killer case, had still taken him in...’

’I didn’t think Asher was doing it just to investigate the killer.’

’It seemed more like he was trying to hide something.’

"Cece, no one is more important than you..." he said, his voice hoarse and choked with emotion. "It’s really... it’s just a suspicion. The killer is very clever... I lost, Cece. I lost."

’Asher was saying things I didn’t understand. He was probably talking about the time I died—he had played a game against the killer and lost.’

"You say you love me so much, but when it comes to the person who killed me, I don’t see any hatred from you." I shook my head. A rift had finally formed between me and Asher.

’He was making it all too obvious.’

’He knew something, but he wouldn’t tell me.’

’He had clearly identified the inner circle, yet he kept it from me.’

’He didn’t tell the police...’

Asher’s head dropped in defeat, tears welling in his eyes. He opened his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbed, but in the end, nothing came out.

"I want to know the truth..." I looked at Asher, my own emotions starting to spiral. "I want to know how I died! I want to know why they hated me so much... I want to catch the killer!"

Asher rushed forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. After a long moment, he seemed to finally make up his mind. "Okay... Cece, I’ll help you. I’ll help you... You know I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll help you..."

’I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and lowered my gaze. I felt a little guilty. I was forcing Asher to choose between me and the ’killer.’ For now, it seemed he had chosen me.’

"Cece... I’ll help you," he repeated, trying to soothe me, saying it over and over again.

"Okay..." I nodded, slowly closing my eyes as hot tears streamed down my face. "Asher, we can’t keep avoiding this. It’s time to fight back..."

"Okay," Asher nodded firmly.

’It seemed he would do whatever I said.’

’The ’killer’ was the only exception.’

’I was growing more and more curious about who the killer really was.’

’Why would Asher, who acted like he would die for me, cover for ’them’ time and time again, to the point that he didn’t even seem to care about my own death?’

"First, we need to find Erin Whittaker. The dismembered body case isn’t over, and we can’t let the serial killings continue." I didn’t care whether Erin lived or died, but if she survived, then the next person on the list might live too.

I just didn’t want to see anyone else die.

"As for Victor Quinn, his position is too high, and he has too many weapons at his disposal... We need to approach that slowly." I looked up at the photo wall and pointed to Master Lancaster. "First, we need to protect ourselves. To make sure we survive, we have to deal with the threat that is Master Lancaster."

Asher nodded. "Okay..."

...

「The Police Station」

Owen Foster pulled up to the entrance of the police station. Asher subconsciously reached for my hand.

I pulled away, almost instinctively, and got right out of the car.

Asher lowered his gaze, a flash of hurt in his eyes.

I looked away, too. The truths I’d uncovered in the basement had left me cold.

Especially Asher’s attitude toward the serial killer.

"I don’t care how you do it, you have to guarantee her safety!"

When we entered the station, Julian Fletcher was still losing his mind.

Erin Whittaker’s disappearance had clearly set him off.

"Weren’t you protecting Erin Whittaker around the clock, President Fletcher? How did you manage to let her go missing?" I sneered, looking at Julian Fletcher with disdain.

Julian Fletcher froze for a second. Seeing it was me, he seemed to grow nervous. "Cece... I’m just worried. After all, the killer is inhuman."

I ignored Julian Fletcher and walked over to Madeline Quinn. "Any leads?"

Madeline Quinn shook her head. "A plague like her lasts a thousand years. I doubt she’s dead."