At the police station, Samson sat there, clutching a water cup, his face a picture of pure innocence. “Officer, you’re asking me? I really wouldn’t know. I was just driving by when I noticed that guy following a young girl.


    “Our boss, bless his kind heart, thought he had bad intentions and told me to check it out. By the time I got there, the guy was already lying on the road, beaten half to death. My boss? It’s Bowen.”


    The officers exchanged nces and said, “Mr. Turner?”


    Samson said, “Why did I even call the cops? I honestly didn’t realize at the time-onlyter did I find out this troublemaker was actually Mr. Turner’s brother-inw, you know?”


    “So you’re saying your presence at the scene was just a coincidence?” the officer asked skeptically.


    There was barely any surveince on that street-just a clip of Jacob leaving the bar, clearly tailing a girl, though her face wasn’t caught on camera. Now that Jacob is in aa, you’re the only one we can question.


    Samson feigned innocence. “I was just trying to be a Good Samaritan, but it backfired. You’re not suggesting I was the one who beat him up, are you?”


    “That’s not what we meant,” the police said.


    The officer’s lips twitched. Anyone with eyes could see that Jacob had been beaten to a pulp, but in all of Rithol City, very few had the power to pull that off.


    ‘And, wouldn’t you know it, the one sitting right in front of them was exactly that,’ they wondered.


    Samson continued, “For a bodyguard like me, I’m on call 24/7 to protect Mr. Turner. How could I just leave without his orders?


    “If I actuallyid hands on someone, wouldn’t that mean Mr. Turner wanted him dealt with? Does that sound usible to you?”


    With no evidence, the police had no choice but to let Samson go for now.


    As Samson was leaving the police station, he ran into Gareth, who was just arriving. They exchanged a brief nce-they were no strangers to each other.


    Gareth’s heart sank. ‘Isn’t that Bowen’s man? What’s he doing here?’


    As he made his way over, Gareth’s initial anger gradually subsided. A sense of dread crept in. “This is bad,’ he thought. ‘Could that damn kid have actually provoked Bowen this time?’


    But the next instant, his rage red up again. ‘So what if it’s Bowen? That doesn’t give him the right to beat my son within an inch of his life, Gareth thought..


    Samson walked straight past him without so much as a nce.


    When he reached the duty room, only a handful of officers were inside.


    “Mr. Timbeke, you’re here. Please have a seat and rx. We just wanted to get your statement,” the officer said.


    “I don’t give a damn about the details. Just tell me whoid hands on him.” Gareth snapped. He wasn’t about to sit around sipping coffee-he wanted answers now.


    38


    “Mr. Timbeke, we asked you here to let you know that the surveince footage is missing. At the moment, we only have one eyewitness, and beyond that, there’s not much else we can confirm,” the officer said.


    Gareth red at them, refusing to back down. “You’d better think this through. Chief Rourke and I go way back.”


    The police, however, simply stuck to their original statement.


    Faced with Gareth’s furious threats, the officers exchanged knowing nces, their eyes gleaming with thinly veiled derision.


    They’d lost count of how many times they’d had to clean up Jacob’s messes. Every time, the Timbeke family would just buy their way out of trouble. This time, while they couldn’t say for sure, it was clear Bowen’s influence was definitely at y.


    ‘If Gareth had really managed to get through to Chief Rourke, why would he bothering down here in person?’ they wondered.


    “Mr. Timbeke, please calm down first. Chances are, Jacob was probably the one who started this,” the officer said.


    Gareth snapped, “Even if he was at fault, beating him to that extent-isn’t that excessive self-defense?”


    “All I want to know is-who the hell did this?” demanded Gareth.


    “Honestly, we really don’t know. And even if we did, we wouldn’t be at liberty to disclose that information,” the officer said.


    The officers’ derisive buck-passing made Gareth tremble with barely contained rage.


    Gareth snapped, “Fine. You all just wait. I’m not done with you yet.”


    As soon as they left the police station, Gareth barked at his secretary, “Keep trying to get through to Chief Rourke. If he still won’t answer, go pay him a visit in person-and don’t forget to bring some gifts.”


    In Gareth’s eyes, anything money could fix wasn’t even worth a second thought.