Eugene squinted for a moment before responding, “It’s highly unlikely that they want to force you into compliance. Perhaps they just want to create a situation where you owe them a favor, which would then make you fulfill a promise for them. However, if it is indeed their doing, it seems a bit excessive to go to such lengths.”
Olivia also felt that it was too excessive. She said, “Considering Jewel hasn’t been in Mastar for long, who would go to the extent of killing someone and framing her just to settle a score? Damian and Phantom, who had grievances with her, are already dead. Who else could have the motive?”
Eugene looked at her skeptically and asked, “Could it be someone from the Double Dragon Court?”
Olivia responded, “Could Phantom even inform the Double Dragon Court? How would she explain the incident where Jewel was nearly burned to death by her? It’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to expose her own misdeeds, right?”
Eugene squinted and a glint of sharpness appeared in them. “You mentioned that two people were involved in targeting Jewel, right?”
Olivia suddenly realized, “You mean Blood Rose?”
Eugene nodded. “Phantom might not contact the Double Dragon Court, but she would definitely inform Blood Rose. After all, they both participated in this. Phantom wouldn’t want to shoulder all the blame herself. It’s highly possible that she asked Blood Rose to seek revenge and gain an advantage.”
Continuing the train of thought, Olivia added, “But Blood Rose isn’t foolish either. She wouldn’t follow Phantom’s orders for no reason. So, she used this opportunity to frame Jewel and shift the blame?”
Eugene nodded. “That’s very likely.”
Olivia furrowed her brows and questioned, “But Blood Rose and Phantom were close, right? How could she go so far as to kill Phantom just to cause harm to Jewel? That seems excessively ruthless.”
Eugene looked at her and asked a soul- searching question, “How do you know they were close? Is it just based on their collaboration in the incident where Jewel was almost burned to death?”
Olivia was momentarily speechless. Indeed, at a place like Double Dragon Court, there couldn’t be true friendship. The friendly relationship they had was hardly worth mentioning when compared to the interests and lives at stake. In fact, relationships like the one she had with Jewel and George were extremely rare.
Phantom and Blood Rose’s jealousy stemmed from the unconditional trust Olivia and her friends had for each other.
Eugene reassured her, “But this is all just speculation for now. Don’t worry too much. We’ll have to wait for the investigation results to know for sure.”
Olivia nodded in agreement, but she couldn’t shake off the validity of Eugene’s analysis.
It was past 9.00PM when Alex returned, looking exhausted and somewhat dejected. He slumped onto the couch, his body still recovering from the strenuous activities of the day. Olivia approached him and asked, “How did it go?”
Alex lifted his gaze, noticed Eugene and Olivia in the room, and briefly greeted them before recounting the investigation at the hospital.
“At around 1.00AM on the 3rd, the night nurse found Phantom lying on the ground with the word ‘Jewel’ written in blood. The hospital checked the surveillance shortly after, but strangely, the surveillance footage was destroyed. I also questioned the nurses on duty, but they didn’t notice any suspicious individuals.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes and a cold smile played on her lips. “They think destroying the surveillance footage will stop us, huh?”
Alex looked at Olivia, his eyes gradually lighting up. He was no longer the despondent figure from earlier. Leaning closer, he cautiously asked, “North is skilled with computers. Can he recover the footage?”
Olivia replied, “Most likely. I’ll go ask him.”
She headed straight to North’s room, where he was video chatting with Nathan. Their robot project had encountered numerous setbacks, and they were constantly working on improvements.
The three little ones also gathered around Olivia, calling out “Mommy” in unison. After North finished his call with Nathan, he turned to Olivia seriously like a little adult.
“Do you need something, Mommy?”
Olivia didn’t treat him like a child and quickly explained the situation to him. She then asked, “Can you try to recover the footage?”
