Chapter 486 A Dark Night
Soon, an ambulance pulled up alongside a bridge near Highway 908. The driver promptly stepped out of the car and opened the rear passenger door.
As soon as they saw Norman Cooper in the backseat, the two doctors got up to greet him, “Mr. Cooper.” Norman removed his face mask, a weary smile tugging at his lips. “How’s the young Mr. Gomez doing?”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Cooper. We’ve already helped to stabilize Mr. Gomez’s condition. He should be able to hold up till we reach the hospital,” one of the doctors said with a reassuring smile.
“That’s good,” Norman muttered as he stared grimly at the young man on the stretcher.
As it turned out, the latter was none other than Quinton Gomez, whose fight with Jonathan had left him severely wounded.
The elderly Norman Cooper, on the other hand, was the owner of several chain restaurants in Lumonburg’s Petalgrove county.
Even though Norman and Philip seemed completely unrelated, the truth was that they were bosom buddies some twenty years ago.
After Philip had built his business from the ground up, he wanted nothing more than to rope Norman in to share the fruits of his labor. However, the latter refused to have anything handed to him on a silver platter, so the final consensus was to have Philip loan him some cash to start a small restaurant.
Surprisingly, Norman was quite an astute businessman and subsequently built a good reputation in Petalgrove.
Later, when the Gomez family became a branch family of the Osbornes, Philip erased all traces of his relationship with Norman out of fear that the Gomezes might one day get overturned.
That way, even if their family were to get into trouble in the future, he could always depend on Norman to lend a helping hand.
There was no doubt Philip was a shrewd visionary, but not even he had expected that he’d need to call on his old friend so soon.
“Anyway, I’m sure Philip has already told you, but everything that has happened today must be kept strictly confidential,” Norman uttered as he glanced at the two doctors.
“Of course,” one of them replied. “We’ve received Mr. Gomez’s money, so you can rest assured that we’ll keep our lips sealed.”
Upon hearing that, Norman gave a slight nod.
“Good. Since Mr. Gomez’s condition has stabilized, you guys can alight here and return to Lumonburg.”
“Mr. Cooper, are you sure we can leave now?” the second doctor asked as he stepped out of the ambulance with a look of confusion. “The thing is, we’re in the middle of nowhere. How will we find our way back?”
“Make your way to the path by the river. We’ve prepared cars for you,” Norman instructed while pointing into the distance. “You’ll each get one. Take it as a bonus gift from Philip.”
Having heard that they’d be getting cars, the first doctor jumped out excitedly from the ambulance and looked toward the river. “Really?”
“Move forward a little more. You’ll see it when you’re on the bridge.”
Even though Norman was chuckling as he spoke, he had reached his right hand toward his back and pulled out a gun with a silencer.
“Where is it, Mr. Cooper? Why don’t I see any—”
Alas, when one of the doctors turned to look at Norman, all he could feel was the cold barrel of a gun pressed against his forehead.
“Mr. Cooper—”
Bang!
As a shot rang out in the dark, blood spurted from the back of the doctor’s head, staining the ground a deep crimson.
“Y-You’ve murdered him! Mr. Cooper…” the other doctor stammered as he fell to his knees.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After three consecutive shots, silence filled the air.
With that, Norman tucked his gun away and mustered up all his strength to push the bodies into the river.
Splash!
Splash!
“I’m sorry, but only the dead can keep secrets…” he muttered, huffing and puffing as he watched the roaring rapids below the bridge.
When he saw the puddle of blood on the ground, Norman quickly fetched a large bottle of medical-grade alcohol from his car trunk while removing his shirt.
Having bundled his shirt with several combustible items he had prepared earlier, Norman threw it onto the blood puddle and doused it with alcohol.
Then, he whipped out his lighter and set the bundle on fire, the bright orange flames instantly illuminating his face.
After looking at the ID card in his hand for one last time, Norman tossed it into the fire and returned to his car.
Quinton, who had removed his oxygen mask by then, choked back tears as he asked, “M-Mr. Cooper, my family’s done for, isn’t it?”
Six years ago, Philip had deliberately cut off all contact with Norman, and when Quinton pressed for the reason, his answer had been incredibly solemn.
“If you see Norman Cooper again, it means the Gomez family is in grave danger.”
Norman was somewhat perplexed as he turned behind to look at Quinton. According to my calculations, the amount of anesthetic used should be able to knock him out for more than twelve hours. And yet, he’s already awake before the three-hour mark. Is that the difference between a martial arts cultivator and an ordinary person?
“Quinton, your grandfather will handle the Gomez family matters. You must remember that from now on, I’m Silas Leiter, your grandfather, and you’re my grandson, Ryan Leiter!”
Meanwhile, the Gomez residence had descended into a chaotic mess as numerous servants scrambled to put up funeral decorations around the house.
The living room had also become a mourning hall, and Philip and Zane stood silently at the door while staring at the black-and-white photo of Quinton.
“Have you informed the Osborne family?” Philip asked.
“I have,” Zane replied. “Their people are already on the way here.”
Philip nodded in response.
“Good. I, too, want to see how strong the Osbornes are. Everyone aspires to become a respectable family like them, so I’m really excited to see how they’ll live up to their name!”
At that moment, a taxi slowly pulled up outside the Gomez residence, and out came Jonathan and Xiara.
As the latter looked at the man, she couldn’t help but sigh.
When they were in the taxi earlier, Jonathan had taken a nap in the passenger seat while Xiara sat behind him.
She had formulated dozens of methods in her mind to kill Jonathan, but in the end, she chose not to take action because of a strange feeling that kept bothering her.
For some reason, she knew that if she had made any move, she’d have been the one to lose her life!
“Jonathan, why have you brought me to a funeral in the middle of the night? Are you trying to make me uncomfortable?” Xiara grumbled as she stared at the wreaths at the entrance.
Alas, Jonathan merely ignored her and strode toward the door.
Just then, one of the guards at the entrance stopped him in his tracks. “Who is it?”
“I’m Jonathan Goldstein. I’m here to look for Philip Gomez.”
“How dare you! Who gives you the right to call Old Mr. Gomez by his name—”
Bam!
The next second, the guard was sent crashing into the door with a painful scream.
“No one can stop me from going where I want to go!” Jonathan thundered before marching into the Gomez residence.
Xiara, on the other hand, was bubbling with excitement.
“Well, well, well. It looks like it’s going to be a bloody night! Who knew tagging along with Jonathan would be so much fun?”
