One Hundred and ninety

CHAPTER 190

The squeal of tires sounded loudly as the car driven by Ace entered the forest area. Still with his sweaty face, Ace held the steering wheel firmly. He winced when his foot hit the brake. While beating the edge of the steering wheel, Ace cursed.

"Damn it! Nicholas is an asshole!"

Ace was furious. He grabbed his hair in frustration, then got out of his car. Slamming the car door, he yelled, "Arrrgh!!!"

He spat on the snow-covered leaves, then his brown eyes darted around. There was nothing but big tall trees covered with snow. Since using Amanda's house as a basecamp, Ace had gotten used to the quiet atmosphere of the forest near Amanda's house. He left his car there, in the middle of the dark and silent forest, and went back to Amanda's house.

Ace entered, then threw himself roughly onto the sofa. He comes close to getting Alicia, but Nicholas thwarts his plans. Ace intended to take Alicia out of the city, even planning to leave New York so they wouldn't have to deal with Angela. But all these plans failed because of Nicholas. No wonder Ace was so angry with Nicholas.

The worn ceiling of the living room had brown paint and was covered in cobwebs. But Ace had shut down all the hidden cameras that had been set up in Amanda's old house, knowing that Amanda wouldn't just let them go. And this escape wasn't going to be easy.

****

Nicholas sat with Noel, Hendrick, Peter and Elden in the internal meeting room. Christmas Eve had passed. The day, when they were supposed to share happiness with their parents, siblings, and even lovers, had passed. There was nothing special. Everything was just going badly, considering that the situation had become increasingly difficult.

Nicholas cleared his throat, he saw all his subordinates in the room and immediately started the meeting.

"We may have gone through a tough Christmas Eve, no gifts, no holidays, even after celebrating Christmas, you all have to come back to the office to take care of this case. However, there is nothing we can do. It's our duty, isn't it? So, let's get this over with quickly. Is there any good news I can hear today?"

Noel looked hesitant, but then he started to speak in front of his colleagues. "The mayor has heard about this case. The murder cases of Jill and his daughter, Jason, Michelle, Edward, and... the disappearance of Jason's wife."

Nicholas' eyebrows furrowed. This was not the good news he wanted to hear. So, Nicholas tapped his fingers on the wooden surface of the table. "You mean... the mayor has made a decision?"

"The media released the news quickly and the Mayor commented on the case, as we saw on television, he asked the police to investigate the case quickly." Noel explained. He shrugged both shoulders, then looked at everyone in the room in confusion. "I don't know why the breaking news on Christmas Day sounded like it was against us."

During the internal meeting, Nicholas was secretly watching Hendrick. He wanted to know if Hendrick would give an opposing response, or if he would agree with all of them. So, Nicholas baited Hendrick. Nicholas opened his voice. "Speaking of this case, there's no way Ace is working alone. He must have connections in the police force."

"The police?" asked Peter, innocent and naive as he was.

"Um, yeah, Ace couldn't have committed all these crimes without a trace, if there wasn't anyone helping him." Nicholas threw Hendrick a look, he was trying to provoke. "You agree with me, right, Hendrick?"

Hendrick looked nervous. He looked at everyone in the room and mumbled an affirmative. "Yeah, you're probably right, Chief."

But Hendrick didn't know that Nicholas already suspected Hendrick.

"But who would dare to betray in this police force?" Noel chimed in, he understood what Nicholas meant and Nicholas looked directly at him.

Nicholas, with a calculating expression, continued the meeting, his suspicions growing like a storm inside him. He decided to play it cool for now, not opening his cards. The room became quiet and still as everyone absorbed the implications of the possibility of Ace having connections in the police force.

Noel, sensing the tension, cleared his throat before suggesting, "Maybe we should dig deeper into the police force. See if there are any unusual activities or personnel that might be related to Ace. If he has an insider, that could be our key to unraveling this mystery."

Nicholas nodded in agreement, appreciating Noel's proactive approach. "Good idea, Noel. I want each of you to investigate discreetly within the police force. Look for irregularities or connections that could lead us to Ace's accomplices. But remember, we need concrete evidence before making accusations. Evidence and witnesses are the two things we need most right now and we can't afford to miss them."

As the team split up to carry out their assigned tasks, the atmosphere remained filled with suspicion. Nicholas couldn't shake the feeling that someone in the room might be involved. He decided to keep a close eye on Hendrick, subtly observing his every move without revealing his true intentions.

"What would we do if we knew the traitor was inside the police force?"

It was a question thrown by Noel, Noel secretly noticed the change in expression from Hendrick and it made him want to dig deeper.

Nicholas made a face. "We'll go after him, we need to know who he's working for and, he'll be expelled from the force if it's proven that he's working for a murderer."

Everyone now looked at each other with suspicion. They were busy with their own thoughts, except for Nicholas. He knew that he was thinking about Hendrick. If Hendrick was involved, Hendrick would call Ace in a panic and at that moment, Nicholas would step in to trap them all. Nicholas would get Ace, and imprison him in a place where he couldn't get out.