“Alright, fire away,” Anthony Levis said in a low voice as he walked into his office.
“Do you want Jasper to be the President?” Stella Grace tossed the straightforward question.
“Of course, I believe that the Chief will do better than Sean. This is my long-cherished wish. If Chief becomes the next President, I will work harder to serve the country better,” Anthony’s voice was full of excitement.
“I’ll send you a recording later. This recording can prove that the mission was fake. The murderer is Bettany Hadley. Jasper will not be involved.
Besides that, I kidnapped Ralph in order to force Bettany to reveal the mastermind behind the scenes. I promise that I will never hurt Ralph.
However, Bettany had told Jasper about this matter, completely disregarding Ralph’s safety. According to my understanding of Jasper, he would never wish to know about the man behind the scene by using this dangerous method.
Now, once Bettany’s recording was exposed, she would be in danger. She might be killed and silenced by the man behind the scenes, but it was also an opportunity for us to know who the mastermind is. Therefore, you must arrange it carefully.
Lastly, if Ralph goes back to Bettany now, he will be in grave danger. After this matter is settled, I will let Ralph return safely to Jasper. So, you can relax in the task of finding Ralph,” Stella said one by one.
After a pause, Anthony asked in suspicion, “Are you helping us?”
“Jasper is my husband. What do you think? Or do you think that my actions are harming you and Jasper?” Stella asked coldly.
“I see. I know what to do now. Don’t worry. Please give me the recording,” Anthony said in a low voice.
Stella hung up the phone and turned on the recording. Bettany’s voice started playing, “They deserved to die. Natalie, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know anything. If they don’t die, more people will have to die.”
“Don’t you think that what you had said is like a joke? Many illegal organizations also regarded themselves as world saviors and killed many people. Therefore, you are destined to grow old in anguish and pain.”
“Believe it or not, I’ll kill you.”
“Of course I do. Anyway, you’ve killed so many people. However, if I die, both you and Ralph won’t be alive too. Jasper’s Dark Shadow has been protecting me. You should know.”
“Natalie, what do you want?”
“Tell me the truth behind that mission.”
“He will never let me go.”
She extracted the content and sent it to Anthony. Then, she lay on the bed with her hands on her belly as she went deep into her thoughts.
Soon, everyone would know that she was the one who got this recording. The mastermind would definitely not let her off.
However, it didn’t matter to her anymore. She merely hoped that Anthony would be able to trace the mastermind so that all her efforts would not be in vain.
Lying on the bed, Stella tossed and turned but she was unable to sleep. Jasper Milton had yet to come back.
She got up again and turned on the TV. She watched a soap opera for a while, but she couldn’t bear to continue. The more she watched it, the more restless she felt. She cast a look at the clock and realized that it was already 1 a. m.
Elvis’ call came, and she answered it immediately.
“Miss Wheeler, something is off,” Elvis Zachary said urgently.
Stella’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She rose from the bed in alarm and asked, “What happened?”
“Your recording has caused a big uproar in court. Now the people are divided into two sides. Some believe that the mission was fake, while others think that the recording was made-up.”
“Made-up? You can send the recording for technical appraisal. I did not make it up,” Stella frowned and said.
“It has already been done, but many people insisted that there is a loophole in the words. They are in a hot debate now. The President is on our side, so we should be able to win. However, Chief Levis and Director Milton are now trapped. Chief Levis is worrying that those who are against us will send men to kill Bettany. He is unable to contact his men, and Director Milton can’t contact the Dark Shadow either,” Elvis explained.
“Can’t you do it?”
“I only know the members in my team, and all of them are having their respective missions. I’m afraid that I can’t help,” Elvis said apologetically.
“It’s too late to think that much now. If Bettany is killed without us knowing who the murderer is, it will be more difficult to find the actual mastermind in the future. Send those who are protecting me to protect Bettany immediately,” Stella said urgently.
“If something happens to you, it will be difficult for me to explain it to Director Milton,” Elvis did not dare to do so.
“Who is more important to you? Me or Director Milton? Besides, I have nothing to do with our enemy. Nothing will happen to me. We can talk about this after you transfer Bettany to a safe place,” Stella ordered.
“Alright.”
“Send me the address of Bettany’s residence,” After that, Stella hung up the phone.
After receiving the address that was sent by Elvis, she sent it to the mercenaries and sent a photo of Bettany. She called them and ordered, “Go to the address, protect this woman, and transfer her to a safe place. It’s best if you catch the people who want to kill her.”
“What about the payment? This is not just one mission, is it?” the mercenary asked.
“You are top mercenaries, and we will cooperate a lot in the future. A million dollars for the task. How about that?” Stella asked.
“There are five of us. That means 200 thousand dollars each. Isn’t that too low?”
“I’ll pay you 2 million dollars for each mission. Transferring Bettany to a safe place is one mission, capturing the people who want to kill her alive will be another mission. That will be 4 million dollars. You can earn up to 4 million dollars in a few hours. It’s a lot, isn’t it? Moreover, there will be chances for us to cooperate in the future. What do you think?” Stella negotiated.
This was the maximum she could afford for the time being. She could not keep asking Allen for more money, could she?
“Deal. Remember to pay us tomorrow.” The mercenary hung up the phone and set off.
Stella was still consumed with worry. Hence, she personally drove to Bettany’s house and parked her car at her front door.
Bettany’s house was in the downtown area. She thought that surely the mastermind behind the scenes would not dare to send a heavily-armed team to Bettany’s house in such blatant defiance.
After waiting for about half an hour, she heard gunshots all of a sudden. Without any hesitation, she ran straight to Bettany’s house.
The door was opened, and Bettany rushed out of it. When she saw Stella, her sharp eyes swept to her right side.
Stella saw a masked man on her right, holding a gun and pointing it at Bettany.
If Bettany died, the clues would end here.
She could not let Bettany die so she shielded her with her own body.
The gunman somehow betrayed a moment of hesitation.
Bettany froze for a second before she dashed back to her room.
Stella looked at the gunman in surprise.
Why didn’t he shoot? Could it be that he did not want to hurt the innocent?
No, she was not innocent at all. She was the one who sent the recording and thus exposed the hidden side of the story. The mastermind behind the scenes should hate her to the core.
The gunman disappeared into the building. Stella didn’t have time to think too much, because Bettany’s safety was more important.
She pushed the door open, just in time to see Bettany trying to stab her neck at lightning speed with a razor-sharp blade in her hand.