If It's Not Me
While Daniel's voice sounded calm, his words felt like a bolt in the blue to everyone else. "Daniel Hardon! That's him! He's Daniel Hardon!" Someone among the crowd shouted, drawing everyone's attention while making them snap out of their trance. The reporters were all immediately surprised, unable to believe their eyes. With their eyes glued to the man's silhouette, they had no idea what to say as their minds went blank. In the meantime, Tia, who was sitting among the reporters, was stunned to see Daniel's arrival. When she saw Tigre behind Daniel, she couldn't believe her eyes, wondering why the man would show up together with Daniel. I don’t believe Tigre is here because of the Hills, but that means he knows Daniel. At the thought of that, she tried to calm herself down and made sense of the surprising turn of events. Soon, Daniel's words began to reverberate in her mind. According to him, he is Tigre's boss. Was he telling the truth? Is it true that Daniel didn't go to jail but instead joined the military and even became Tigre's superior? Maybe I was wrong about him. Tia covered her mouth, struggling to calm herself down. On the other hand, Aidan was also surprised to see Daniel's presence, his face darkening. Although he knew the Hill Family was not strong enough to convince Raymond to join them against the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce, he couldn't understand how a rapist like Daniel was able to get Raymond on his side. While looking at Daniel, Aidan's eyes were filled with grudge and hatred. How can this be? That guy is a rapist, isn't he? How did he come to know the likes of Mr. Tigre? In fact, Tigre is standing right beside Daniel, seemingly treating him with respect and politeness. Recalling how he once boasted about his relationship with Tigre in front of Daniel, Aidan felt humiliated when he noticed the difference between the way Tigre treated him and Daniel. This rapist knew Tigre but decided to keep us in the dark. Was he trying to embarrass me? How cunning of you, Daniel! At the same time, Ingrid, who was on the stage, quickly regained her composure and acted as if she was a graceful queen with a cold smile on her face. She then looked down, setting her eyes on Daniel while radiating an intimidating aura. "It looks like the past ten years you spent in jail has really changed you a lot, Daniel," the lady said with indifference and sarcasm. "I have you to thank for getting to where I am today," Daniel replied. It's all thanks to you, Ingrid. If you hadn't framed me back then, I would have never gone down the path to become a warlord. Although he had been through a lot of pain in the war he had fought for the past ten years, he had grown much stronger and become more influential. In fact, the power he possessed exceeded the one that the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce had, so much so that those people wouldn't stand a chance against him at all. However, Ingrid wasn't aware of that as she thought Daniel was referring to the fact that she had framed him back then. Thus, she chuckled, her eyes filled with nonchalance. "Is that why you've plotted against me? To have your revenge?" Evidently, she didn't want to talk too much with Daniel; her insecurities were prompting her to direct all the attention back to the man whom she was trying to make everyone believe to be guilty. Nevertheless, she was caught off guard by Daniel's unexpected presence, which was something she didn't account for previously. "Revenge? Thanks to your false accusation, I was sentenced to jail. Also, I have you to 'thank' for taking the Hardon Group away from me. Don't you guys remember that?" As soon as Daniel finished his sentence, the reporters' faces changed. After all, they could all remember what happened back then as some of them were involved in reporting about the incident. In fact, many people in Goldshore agreed that there were still a lot of unanswered questions revolving around the incident, particularly the fact that the three great families that joined forces and took over the Hardon Group. However, none of them wanted to say anything about that. On the other hand, Tia, who was among the crowd, gritted her teeth with a complicated expression on her face. Set up? Were you really set up, Daniel? Tia's beliefs began to be swayed as she started to trust Daniel's words. At the same time, the hatred she felt for him slowly started to dissipate and was replaced by her sisterly love. When Daniel finished his words, Samuel chuckled and questioned his accusation, asking, "How dare you accuse us of setting you up! You were convicted with evidence, so what makes you think you were set up? Furthermore…" He paused for a second, propping himself with his arms on the desk while straightening his body. At the same time, he glared at Daniel haughtily and added, "Furthermore, we have the evidence necessary to put you back in jail, so be prepared for what's coming to you." Sensing Cameron's hostility, Daniel curled his lips upward and asked, "I wasn't the one in jail, was I, Mr. Doyle?" In that instant, Ingrid's face quickly turned cold just as Samuel and Asher's expressions changed. At the same time, Cameron, whom Daniel was referring to, looked up and saw his unfathomable expression, shaking like a leaf while his guilt began to gnaw at him. He then bit the tip of his tongue to keep himself alert and pretended to be angry. "You killed Douglas and indirectly caused my son's death. You're a murderer!" "Is that so?" Daniel suddenly chuckled, stunning everyone with his reaction as they wondered why he would do that. At the sight of Daniel's smile, Ingrid couldn't help but feel a strong sense of insecurity inside of her. "What's so funny?" she asked. Daniel looked up, his eyes filled with an intimidating indifference as if he was the devil himself. To Ingrid's surprise, she somehow didn't dare to look the man in the eye due to his powerful aura. Soon, she heard Daniel saying, "I have news that the murderer who killed Fletcher Doyle isn't me, but his father—Cameron Doyle!" As soon as Daniel finished his sentence, his words came like a bolt in the blue, shocking everyone who heard his voice. In the meantime, the three patriarchs could be seen with a terrified expression on their faces each while Cameron's face simply just blanched. At the same time, the reporters exchanged eye contact among themselves, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes due to the shocking news. Did he just kill his own son?! I can't believe he did that! None of the reporters could believe their ears. In that instant, Ingrid's face darkened as she clenched her fists tightly. Deep down, denial was the first thought that came to her mind. This cannot be! I had my men erase all the security footage in the hospital, as well as everywhere else. Moreover, the people who were responsible for shipping Fletcher's body and preparing his death certificates had been secretly taken care of, not to mention the fact that the body has already been cremated right away. No way there is any evidence left behind. Are you bluffing, Daniel? At the thought of that, Ingrid stood up, trying to regain control of the situation. "This is absurd. Are you so scared that you're starting to make up stories to accuse Mr. Doyle of killing his own son?" the lady asked with a chuckle. At the same time, Asher stood on the stage, squinting and speaking in a nonchalant voice. "Tigre, it looks like you bet on the wrong person this time. I wish you were calmer and wiser before you made your move." "Haha. Let's see who has the last laugh, then." Tigre stood beside Daniel with a menacing expression. Although he hadn't heard anything like that from Daniel, he had faith in him that he was telling the truth because he was his superior. That's all the reason I need to put my faith in this man. "Why don't you show us the evidence you have? If it turns out that you're just making up stories, you're going to go back to prison to spend the rest of your life there," Ingrid said coldly, glaring at Daniel who seemed rather calm and unconcerned. Deep down, she didn't believe the man had any useful evidence to testify against her.
Font
Background
Contents
Home