Chapter 158: UPHOLDING JUSTICE

Her hands had been trembling as she tried to call again and again, but to no avail. Zade didn’t pick up her call, and it had never happened before.

"Seara, Seara..." Leia tried to get the phone from her hand, but she clutched it tightly as she tried to call the number repeatedly. "Breathe. Seara, breathe..."

Seara didn’t even realize that she was breathing raggedly. "He—he didn’t pick up the call. He didn’t pick up my call."

Fear gnawed inside her. This was not a great feeling, to say the least. She felt like she was drowning as panic washed over her.

"Calm down, Seara. Breathe. Breathe with me. Zade is fine. He will be fine." Leia hugged Seara and caressed her back, but she shook her head.

"But the police. Jeremy said... Oliver’s older brother... Ace, they will take Ace... They will take Zade too." Seara was frustrated because she couldn’t get the words out; she was stuttering, and this made her even more upset with herself. Why did she always end up so pathetic like this?

"Don’t worry about that; everything is still under his control. If Zephyr said Zade had predicted it, he must have prepared something to face it." Leia kissed her forehead while taking Seara’s phone. "It’s okay, honey. He will be fine."

Seara was tempted to reach for her phone, but Leia disagreed with that. She put away the phone so Seara could calm herself down.

The news still reported the situation around the residence, and many police cars arrived. This was clearly an overreaction to a situation that was still based on suspicion. To put it simply, the entire situation was staged. Something like this wouldn’t happen if the order didn’t come from the higher-ranking people.

In this case, the chief of police, Owen Brooks, was involved.

Other people might not understand and didn’t have any idea of the chief of police’s involvement, but they knew what was going on.

Either Owen Brooks was under the influence, or the devil had used him. Either way, it was bad news because of the power that he held.

Chloe turned off the television because it was rather depressing to see. "You are overreacting. By now you should have known Zade’s influence. Ace will be fine. He is hard to kill."

Zephyr kicked her under the table because her comment didn’t help. "This is just like what Zade has predicted. This is within his plan. If he were in trouble, I would not sit here enjoying my dinner with you. He must have sent me to run a lot of errands." Zephyr nudged Seara’s cheek. "Let’s eat, or I will finish your portion."

Seara didn’t feel better, but she tried to finish her food, though she stopped halfway.

Meanwhile, Jeremy had become very quiet. He ate without saying anything, and Leia tried to ask whether he was fine, and he always said that he was alright.

The truth was, there was nothing right about it.

Jude and Oliver were two people who were close to him, and now they were—gone? Could he say that?

Jeremy put down his cutlery. He didn’t want to think about it, because he thought he was going to explode. This was not right. His friends were present there, but they seemed to be gone. Since when did that happen?

When was his last interaction with them? The real Oliver and Jude. He felt sick to his stomach.

"I am sorry." Jeremy got out of bed and then went to the bathroom. He vomited all the food that he had eaten, emptying his stomach because he couldn’t accept the reality that he was losing his best friends.

There was a soft knock at the door, and his mother’s voice traveled inside.

"Jeremy, are you okay? Open the door, please."

"I am fine. I will be out in a while." He tried to keep his words steady. He should have acted better. The threat was so close, and the devil had made their move. He should have worried more about it than his personal sentiment.

He should have had a better reaction than this.

And Jeremy vomited again.

***

Ace was taken, and a lawyer accompanied him. No evidence could be used against him that he had killed Jude. There was no motive, nothing. It was just a wild accusation.

However, the media had already painted him as a criminal.

In this era, the power of the media was real. Overnight, the stock of the Blaze Company plummeted because of Ace’s scandal, since he was the face of the company.

"Owen! What is the meaning of this?!" Grant slammed his fist against the table. He was enraged.

The sun was not yet up, but he was already in his son’s study. Owen didn’t live with him anymore, as he had his own family, but a few days ago, when he visited, he didn’t show any indication that he would attack the Blaze Company.

Of course, it affected Grant too, since he was one of the company’s business partners.

Owen looked at his father coldly. It was a sight that Grant had never seen from his son. He was always a respectful and reliable son, but now he looked like someone else.

"Explain this to me!" Grant demanded.

"This is still so early in the morning," Owen said. He was still in his shirt and boxers. His hair was disheveled, indicating that he had had a good night’s sleep after creating chaos outside.

"Cut the crap! Why did you target Ace?" Grant was losing his patience. His family and Sol’s family were close; their sons were best friends. It was a perfect dynamic, but his first son rocked the boat. "What is your intention?!"

Owen tilted his head, as if he was bored listening to his father’s outburst.

"He killed Jude," he said lightly in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hearing that, Grant was baffled. "You have no proof for that, and even if he did, you don’t need to be the one who handles the matter."

"I am merely upholding justice, Dad."