Meanwhile, Miles and Lana were sitting on the couch. The TV was on, rolling the scene where Linford got beaten up by that man who lost his family.
Lana popped open a bottle of wine. She didn’t feel any joy seeing that, but she could tell Miles loved it.
“I heard Bradley’s stocks just took a huge troll. Is this your purpose?”
“No!” Miles’s eyes fixed on the widescreen, the smirk on his lips a bit maniac, “I want more than that. Do you want to see Cristelle Friesley fall, Lana? Do you want to see her fall like her mother?”
A ghost of a smile finally showed on Lana’s lips, “It’s my biggest dream. You know how to do that?”
Miles shot Lana a laughing stare, and Lana suddenly felt an involuntary coldness run down her spine. She forced out a smile and asked, “Your plan surely doesn’t involve the White family, does it?”
Miles stared at Lana for a short second and laughed, “What are you talking about, silly? Why would I ever want to hurt your family? Besides, your grandma must have already made preparations for situations like this. She’s smarter than you thought she was.”
Lana wanted to believe Miles, but his eyes were wild. He didn’t look like a sane person before her.
Her Granny thought Miles was a snake, and she was wrong.
Realizing her action, this man was not a snake but a maniac. Lana suddenly started to question her decision for the first time.
She swallowed down her fear and pulled out her fiercest look, “NO! Miles, we made a deal. You can’t hurt my family!”
Miles cast her a careless look, “Don’t talk to me like this, Lana.”
Lana flinched.
She was seldom afraid of anyone. But now, she suddenly became so scared. She decided to inform Granny secretly about Miles’s plan. But she knew she couldn’t afford to lose Miles’s trust at this point.
So she took a deep breath and kept her voice steady, “What are you gonna do to Linford Bradley next, then?”
Miles smiled as he gestured at the television, “Watch. You will see the next step of my plan really soon. It’s a huge surprise. Linford Bradley will love it.”
****
The next morning, all the Daicom employees heard a loud voice above their heads when they went to work.
“Linford Bradley! You’re such a bloodsucker! You only care about money, and you lied about the houses you sold! I lost my son because of you! You will be doomed! You will be doomed!”
And then, a figure fell from the top of the building and smashed against the concrete.
The crowd started to run and scream, running away from the suicide scene. The man’s body was shattered into pieces.
****
Alfred’s hand was still trembling as he held the piece of paper, “The man who jumped off the building was called Leon Fox. He had lost his parents last year, and he only had a five-year-old son left. The boy was murdered after moving into that neighborhood, and he just went unhinged.”
Linford clenched his teeth as he heard the report, “Someone taught him to do that.”
Alfred still sounded sad, “His wife ran away with another man, taking away all the compensation money. I guess that’s why he chose to do that, to commit suicide.”
Linford didn’t say anything as he stared at his laptop screen.
Drew looked around, “What are we gonna do now? The internet has gone crazy. They’re starting a trend.”
Hashtag #BradleyBloodsucker
“Host a press conference,” Linford clenched his teeth, “NOW!”
****
Cristelle came to send new suits for Linford to pick up a couple of hours later. Her slim hands were trembling as she buttoned Linford’s shirt.
Linford grabbed her small hand and left a kiss on the tips of her fingers, “Don’t be scared, Cristelle. Everything will be fine.” Cristelle looked up and let out a weak smile.
The PR department of the Daicom Corporation acted fast enough, making the criticizing voices on the internet subdued a bit.
Linford showed up during the conference on time. He wore a crisp suit as he went on the stage, showing no fear or anxiety. He still looked as composed and in control as a King.
However, the questions those journalists threw at Linford hardly had anything to do with Leon Fox.
“Mr. Bradley, is your wife really Cristelle Friesley, the second daughter of the ex-corrupt mayor, Isaac Friesley?” Linford answered calmly, “She is, but there is one thing I need to correct. She’s Cristelle Bradley now.”
A low murmur of discussion erupted among the crowd.
“Mr. Bradley, did you marry your wife out of political interests or financial interests between different groups? Is Bradley having any sort of trade with the politicians?”
“Bradley House is absolutely clean,” Linford answered without flinching. “And I married my wife simply because I love her!”
The crowd stirred with low murmurs as Linford gave out the answer.
This excuse might sound like an excuse coming out of another man’s mouth, but Linford was too intelligent to marry a woman of such a complicated background. That somehow made his words more believable.
However, most journalists still wouldn’t stop throwing questions at Linford. They didn’t want the truth. They only wanted big news.
“Mr. Bradley, you must have known that the murderer had been shot on sight, right? Why did you decide to hide it from the victims of those families?”
Linford said -matter-of-factly, “I only got to know this after coming back from the murder scene.”
“So, you’ve already known?”
Linford was composed, “I don’t understand what you’re trying to imply. But I only got to know this slightly earlier than the public. That amount of time surely wasn’t enough for brewing any conspiracy.”
“Well…” That journalist didn’t appear to be listening, trying to lead the conversation in the direction he planned, “You’ve already known, but you still decided to collude with the police.”
“Collude?” Linford arched an eyebrow, “Please mind your words. I need to work with the police for the sole purpose of finding out the truth. No one would believe that the murderer who got shot on sight was the only criminal in this case, would they?”