Chapter 15 An Insect

• After all, Ingrid knew Raymond was the real danger, which was why she refrained from making her move against Jacko so that she could keep the other party under her thumb.
• "Understood. I'll speak to Mr. Draconia about this."
• "Good." Ingrid nodded her head as a glacial look flashed across her face. Daniel, what can you do even though Tigre has your back? Do you really think you can use Douglas' death to topple me? How naïve!
• Soon, it was time for the press conference. When the four patriarchs showed up, camera shutters broke the reigning silence, accompanied by rapid flashlights from every angle. As soon as they sat down, the press started to bombard them with question after question.
• In the meantime, Ingrid appeared to be sitting in the middle, her glacial look making her seem intimidating despite her good looks and charming smile. In the face of the bombardment of questions, the lady only raised her hand, whereupon everyone kept quiet and stared at her.
• Soon, her cold voice was heard. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I believe all of you are aware of the topic that we're going to clarify in this press conference. As much as I feel sorry for Douglas' tragic death last night, I will not tolerate the murderer's actions of framing the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce with a fake voice recording."
• She continued, "Besides that, the murderer even tried to sabotage the relationship of Four Waves Chamber of Commerce with Mr. Berne and Mr. Bowman by driving a wedge between us. Such action is intolerable and unforgivable!" Ingrid was seen with a glacial look on her face, which was filled with anger at the same time.
• At that moment, a reporter suddenly asked, "If what you said is true, how do you think the murderer is going to be benefit from his scheme?"
• The next second, Ingrid rolled her eyes coldly and replied, "I believe everyone has heard of this man's name—Daniel Hardon."
• As soon as the lady finished her sentence, the atmosphere was filled with silence, which was then broken with murmurs of surprise shortly after. "Daniel Hardon? Is she talking about the son from the Hardon Group?"
• "Is he the guy who tried to rape Ingrid back then? Isn't he in prison now?"
• "Wait a second! Is he the murderer?"
• The place was filled with murmurs of gossip and discussions as everyone began to remember bits and pieces about Daniel. After all, the incident that happened ten years ago caused a huge sensation, which was followed by a change of leadership in the Hardon Group, the number-one company in Goldshore at that time. Because of that, the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce took over the Hardon Group's place and reigned supreme in Goldshore's business world.
• "That's right." Ingrid added, "The murder is none other than Daniel himself!"
• Meanwhile, when the reporters heard Ingrid's words, they all started to gossip again. "Could Daniel be seeking revenge on the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce? Is he trying to use Douglas' death to create a war between the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce and the two most notorious kingpins in the city?!"
• "That can't be wrong. Everybody knows the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce has been fighting for the Sky Project recently, so if this matter continues to escalate further, they are bound to lose the project!"
• "Damn, Daniel still hasn't learned from his mistake at all! He let his lechery get the better of him back then, and now he is doing something unforgivable again. What's worse is that he is trying to blame it all on the Four Waves Chamber of Commerce."
• On the other hand, Tia, who was sitting among the reporters, clenched her jaw with a pale face when she heard the gossip around her. Although she thought Daniel only got into a conflict with Fletcher because of his belligerence, she was somewhat confused at that moment.
• Come on, Daniel. Are you trying to take the Hardon Group back? If you're really going to do that, aren't you afraid that you'll drag the Hardon Family into trouble once again? If you don't think what is happening now is fair to you, why did you do what you did back then? A painful look flashed across Tia's face as she refused to relieve the nightmarish incident that took place ten years ago.
• At the same time, Ingrid, who was observing the reporters' gossipy reaction, curled her lips upward, thinking that was exactly what she wanted. Deep down, she was gleeful that she managed to mislead the press by simply just mentioning Daniel's name without having to explain too much.
• After all, she took advantage of the reporters' prejudice toward Daniel, making them see what she wanted them to by bringing up his stigmatized past in which he was charged for rape. In the end, they will all believe that Daniel is trying to retaliate against me. Manipulating people's minds is easier than I thought.
• Soon, one of the reporters quickly made sense of the situation and asked an important question. "Miss Ingrid, how did you come to know about Douglas' voice note? Did you find any new evidence about that?"
• "Of course," Ingrid answered with a smile and shifted her gaze to Cameron.
• Meanwhile, Cameron, whose legs were shivering, tried hard to pull himself together as everyone's eyes were glued to him. The next second, the man took a deep breath and said with a deep voice, "Daniel accused my son, Fletcher, of putting a hit on someone in his fake voice note, but let me tell you something—that's all bullsh*t! That's because…"
• Cameron paused and gulped, his palms covered in sweat while everyone continued to fix their gazes upon him. "That's because my son, Fletcher, was hurt by Daniel at Thunder Bar two days ago, and his injuries were so bad that he had to have his legs amputated. Due to that, he became so depressed and upset that he decided to take his own life by overdosing on sleeping pills."
• As soon as Cameron made his statement known, the silent atmosphere was instantly filled with an uproar. At the same time, their faces changed, written with surprise and disbelief as they all took a deep breath. Besides, Tia's face was also filled with shock, for she didn't expect to learn about Fletcher's death.
• "Goodness! Fletcher Doyle is dead?! Did he die because of Daniel Hardon?!"
• "Wait a second! In Douglas' voice recording, he mentioned that Fletcher contacted him about the hitman he hired, but now that he is dead, that means what Douglas said was fake!"
• "Daniel Hardon is really such a scheming and wicked man! How could he do something like this?!"
• The next moment, Cameron proceeded to present the information he had by projecting them on the screen. First, it was Fletcher's autopsy photos, which showed his absent legs. Besides that, the cause of death was indeed revealed to be an overdose.
• Then, Cameron went on to show a few clips that were taken two nights ago when Fletcher was in a fight with Daniel. One of them showed Daniel stomping and crushing Fletcher's legs, which left many viewers scared and frightened as they screamed in fear.
• In the meantime, Cameron painfully closed his eyes and looked away from those footages, speaking in a shivering voice. "I was about to bury my son and take legal action against Daniel, but he's so shameless that he even framed a dead man. Therefore, I hereby announce that we, the Doyle Family, will do anything we can to make him pay for what he's done. If anyone can provide me with any leads about Daniel's whereabouts to help in his arrest, I'm more than happy to reward you handsomely."
• By then, Fletcher's obituary will remind everyone in this city that you're the sinner, Daniel! A cold flashed across Ingrid's face as she smiled sarcastically. In fact, the reason she revealed Daniel's existence was because she was trying to mislead the public into believing that he was responsible for all the tragedies.
• While Fletcher's death was the turning point of the incident to Ingrid, she was happy that everything was going as she planned; Daniel would be deemed as the mastermind who orchestrated all the disasters just to have his revenge.
• How do you hope to fight me, Daniel? I ruined your name and took everything away from you ten years ago, and I can do that again by sending you back to jail once more. An insect will forever be an insect as it can never hope to take down an elephant. Staring at the face of vengeance from the stage, Ingrid was seen with an indifferent and haughty expression on her face.
• Suddenly, Ingrid's gaze was fixed upon somewhere in the crowd when she noticed an emerging silhouette, but as soon as she could make out the figure, her face changed and instantly turned cold. Meanwhile, everyone was able to notice Ingrid's strange reaction, whereupon they followed her line of sight and turned their heads around.
• The next moment, two men and a lady were seen walking through the door, emerging from behind the lights. While the man on the left seemed muscular and intimidating, the lady on the right looked charming yet indifferent. On the other hand, the man in the middle had an especially menacing look with eyes that were full of determination. Anyone who met his eyes couldn't help but feel goosebumps running over their skin.
• As the trio continued to walk further into the hall, their heavy footsteps reverberated through the silent atmosphere. At the same time, their cold aura filled the place with indifference and nonchalance, instilling fear in everyone's heart.
• Soon, the bystanders began to shake like a leaf as their scalps went numb; the trio looked like three hungry beasts walking toward their prey. With every step they took, their insecurities and fear grew even stronger.
• Daniel stopped in his tracks, scanning his surroundings as he quickly glanced at everyone's faces. However, no one was courageous enough to look him in the eye due to the menacing aura he was radiating. In the end, his eyes fell upon the beautiful lady on stage as they were filled with coldness and indifference. He then said in a nonchalant voice, "Long time no see, Ingrid."