Chapter 323
Briar was driving this time. With one hand on the steering wheel and her other arm resting casually on the open window, she looked straight ahead, driving toward the city’s outskirts.
Their destination was an uninhabited mountain valley outside the suburbs, the same place where they had captured members of the Lopez family last time.
Just as Briar had said before, there weren’t many places for those people to hide in Shoneport, right under Ashton’s nose.
One was the Summit One, which had already been bombed to rubble.
The other possibility was a deserted mountain pass in the suburbs.
Summit One was home to Shoneport’s wealthiest and most famous residents. The constant flow of people in the villa complex made it an unsuitable hiding place.
So the only place that could offer them even temporary safety was the deserted mountain valley outside the city. The caves, abandoned laboratories, and dense thickets there provided excellent cover.
Briar had gone through the surrounding surveillance footage and quickly spotted signs of someone sneaking into the mountains. So, they had rushed over overnight.
If they could take this opportunity to eliminate all those people at once, it would be even better.
Before setting off, Briar had kicked Ashton into the back seat as punishment for deliberately hiding the news of Tristan’s return to the country from her.
Squeezed into the backseat with Reece and Hamish, Ashton looked at Briar’s expressionless face, wanting to speak but holding back.
But in the end, he did not dare to say anything. Fine. He had managed to make his wife angry again.
Reece nudged Ashton with his shoulder and passed him his phone, gesturing for him to look.
The screen read: [Your wife doesn’t look like she’s going to find someone. She looks like she’s going to kill someone.]
Ashton glared at Reece, thinking, ‘As if I couldn’t tell.‘
But he wouldn’t dare try to reason with her at this moment.
Hamish also held out his phone, motioning for Ashton to look.
[Does Briar think we deliberately let Tristan back into the country?]
Ashton’s face was full of exasperation. He almost wanted to curse out loud.
Didn’t the three of them know perfectly well whether it was intentional?
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Chapter 323
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Tristan, a man deemed dangerous, managed to sneak into Shoneport and bypass all the checkpoints without the secret approval of the three of them.
That was why Briar was angry. She knew perfectly well that they had done something underhanded.
Feeling guilty under Ashton’s glare, Reece and Hamish both shrugged with an “it’s not our fault” expression and fell silent.
Alright, they did it on purpose.
There was no other way. With how much Briar hated the laboratory incident, if she had known Tristan was coming back at this time to practically walk into his own death, she might have arranged for him to be assassinated the moment he got off the plane.
To avoid putting Briar in a difficult position, they had chosen to hide it from her in advance.
Tristan deserved to die, but not yet. They still needed to use him to draw out more of the buyers hiding behind the scenes.
Ashton irritably shoved his two friends aside. “My wife doesn’t like people chattering when she’s angry. You two, shut up.”
Reece and Hamish were speechless. They didn’t say a word the entire time. He was the one who had just been talking.
But after Ashton finished speaking, he leaned forward to please Briar, completely ignoring the resentful glances from Reece and Hamish.
“Honey, if they’re really in the deserted mountain pass, should we call someone to arrest them?” Ashton asked.
The best way to soothe his angry wife was to tell her what she wanted to hear.
Sure enough, Briar’s expression softened slightly. “Call who? In Shoneport, is there anyone left who even dares arrest them?”
Those people were powerful figures who acted recklessly even in Shoneport. It wasn’t like just anyone could catch them.
Ashton said, “Others may not dare to, but there’s one person who absolutely can and will arrest them.”
Briar’s curiosity was piqued. “Who? Do I know them?”
Ashton leaned in closer, his face almost touching Briar’s neck. “Honey, you know him. My great–uncle, Thiago. Ring a bell?”
Briar realized it. “Thiago is the head of the regional office and has leverage over almost every powerful family in Shoneport. He’d definitely dare to arrest them.”
It seemed that besides the current leaders of Dasmieca and other heads of state, only Thiago could arrest those people.
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Chapter 323
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Ashton rested his chin casually on Briar’s shoulder. “Exactly. If Uncle Thiago takes action, then everything will be perfectly legitimate.”
“Have you contacted him yet?” Briar asked, pretending not to notice the extra weight on her shoulder.
Growing bolder. Ashton’s lips brushed against the soft skin of Briar’s neck. “Not yet. I’m waiting for my wife’s permission. You know I always put you first and do whatever you say.”
Before Briar could respond, retching noises came from the back seat.
Reece outright criticized him. “Have some shame, Ashton. You two aren’t the only ones in this car.”
“My dignity comes from my wife,” Ashton said, unfazed, continuing to flatter Briar shamelessly.
With his nonchalant and sycophantic demeanor, there was no longer a trace of the cold, ruthless, and arrogant crown prince of Shoneport.
Briar had been fuming the entire way, but Ashton’s antics quickly dispelled her anger.
She pushed his head off her shoulder and laughed. “Alright, enough fooling around. I’m not mad anymore. Call Thiago. Let’s not waste time.”
“Alright.” Ashton finally sat up straight.
Ashton took out his phone and called Thiago.
But as soon as the call connected, before he could say anything, Thiago’s furious voice roared through the speaker. “You brat! Can’t you go one day without causing trouble? I spent all day cleaning up after you today!”
The others were stunned.
Briar had already closed the car windows as Ashton was making the call, making the inside of the car very quiet.
Thiago’s angry roar echoed through the quiet car for several seconds.
If not for their strong self–control, the three of them would have burst out laughing right then and there.
Ashton rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, “Uncle Thiago, Briar is sitting right next to me.”
On the other end, Thiago’s breathing paused, then his tone softened instantly. “Oh! My dear niece–in–law is there too! Briar, don’t be afraid. You two just go ahead and do whatever you need to do. I will back you up all the way.”
The warmth in his voice and the kindness in his tone were a complete 180 from the way he had been yelling at Ashton just moments ago.
Briar glanced at Ashton’s gritted–teeth expression and tried not to laugh. “Thiago, I’m sorry to trouble you…”
“No trouble at all!” Thiago said cheerfully, “We’re all family. Your problems are my problems. Don’t worry about a thing.”
