Chapter 279
They drove to the villa district in the city center. The moment they stepped into Ashton’s villa, just like at Moonspring Estate, all signals throughout the building disappeared.
This left their secret followers baffled and furious.
No one knew how many secrets the group had uncovered from Brody after spending the entire day at the villa.
However, judging by the wide smiles on Ashton’s and Briar’s faces as they left the villa, it was clear their efforts had been fruitful.
Moreover, the most unsettling part was that the two people who had sneaked into Ashton’s villa were never heard from again, even after Ashton and the others returned home.
They vanished without a trace.
It was eerie, yet logical.
On winter nights in Shoneport, the moonlight seemed dimmer and less white.
After dinner, Frank was picked up by Connor.
Ian and Brandon remained at the villa.
As night fell, the outside world was quiet and peaceful, while the villa was warm and harmonious.
Only the courtyard lamps were on, illuminating layers of white frost.
At two in the morning, a time when people were most tired, the lights in the villa slowly went out.
From the outside, the entire villa seemed to be in a deep slumber.
Under the courtyard lamps, several dark figures flashed past, so fast they barely left a trace on the ground.
In the pitch–black master bedroom on the second floor, a fully dressed Briar and Ashton stood by the window. Their eyes met in the dim light. Briar scoffed, “They’re so impatient.”
Ashton picked up two phones from the table. He handed one to Briar and put the other in his pocket. “Perfect timing. These guys are just what we need to make an example of.”
Instead of using the door, they opened the window and climbed one after the other into the adjacent bedroom, which was Ian’s and Brandon’s room.
Ian and Brandon were responsible for protecting Ashton and Briar, so they hadn’t planned on sleeping. The moment they heard a noise at the window, they opened it to let Ashton and Briar in.
In the darkness, Briar gave them a hand signal to proceed.
Ian and Brandon nodded silently, then quietly opened the door and stepped into the pitch–black hallway Ashton and Briar climbed out the window again, landing in the yard just a few seconds later.
Briar easily dismantled a time bomb and raised an eyebrow at Ashton. “Hubby, how dare they plant a bomb on your territory? They clearly don’t respect you at all.”
Ashton accepted her sarcastic tone without missing a beat. “You’re right. They’ve gone too far. If we don’t fight back, we’ll look like easy targets. Dear, care to join me in making a big move?”
As Ashton spoke, Briar dismantled two more time bombs. She chuckled and replied, “I’m in.”
Briar had dismantled so many bombs that she couldn’t hold them all. Ashton thoughtfully grabbed her small backpack, and they filled it with more than twenty time bombs.
Firearms were banned in Dasmieca, and dangerous weapons like bombs were also strictly prohibited by the authorities.
Even if those people wanted Briar dead, they wouldn’t dare use the world’s most advanced gourd–shaped bombs to attack Ashton’s villa.
Who was Ashton, after all?
He was the powerful heir of Shoneport’s elite. The Wade family’s status was unshakeable, and his own shadowy connections were enough to make anyone hesitate.
So, even though the men were ordered to capture Briar, none dared to cause a disturbance in Ashton’s villa.
The twenty–something time bombs dismantled by Briar were naturally not as powerful as the small gourd- shaped bomb.
However, if all twenty–something bombs exploded at once, it would be enough to level the villa.
Of course, they never expected that all the bombs they planted would escape the notice of Ashton’s men and detonate at the same time.
Just a few of them exploding would have been enough to cause big trouble for Briar.
No matter how capable she was, being an 18–year–old girl, what could she do against the power of a bomb?
But who would have thought their meticulously planned assassination plot would be foiled so easily?
The entire process, from planting the bombs to their complete dismantlement, took less than ten minutes..
“Stay still.” Brandon and Ian restrained five burly men in black, leading them from the house into the courtyard, and kicked them to their knees before Ashton and Briar.
Brandon said, “Mr. and Mrs. Wade, we caught them all. There are five of them. They have mediocre skills, yet they had the nerve to come here and cause trouble.”
Ian cracked his knuckles. “Briar, they walked right into our hands. Can we just take them out?”
Briar’s mouth twitched. She stole a glance at Ashton, who had an ambiguous smile on his face. “What are you thinking? They’re not like chickens delivered to our door for us to just kill and eat.
Ian glanced at Ashton, his expression serious. “Yes, Briar, you have a point. We should win them over with reason, not force.”
Ashton couldn’t be bothered with their dramatic act and looked at Brandon. “Have you interrogated them? Who sent them?”
In fact, Ashton didn’t need to ask to guess the outcome. These five were just disposable pawns sent by the masterminds, and they had no idea who was really behind it all.
As expected, Brandon shook his head. “They’re useless. They don’t know a thing.”
Ian sidled over with a smile. “They don’t know anything? Let me question them.”
Brandon warily blocked Ian. “What do you think you’re doing? Mrs. Wade said not to kill anyone.”
Ian smiled. “Brandon, come on. Do I seem like a ruthless person to you?”
Still unconvinced, Brandon continued to block the way. His eyes drifted to the unnaturally bent arms of the five men on the ground. “You’re not?”
Ian awkwardly rubbed his nose and laughed sheepishly. “I might have gotten a bit carried away. Who knew they couldn’t take a hit?”
Ashton glanced at the five men on the ground, their arms bent at an unnatural 180–degree angle. “Ian, you certainly don’t hold back.”
The breaks were precise. They wouldn’t cause permanent disability, but it would be impossible for the five men to use a gun again.
If a professional assassin couldn’t use a gun, wouldn’t that effectively end their career?
This was a crueler fate than simply killing them.
Ashton calmly glanced at Briar, who stood nearby, casually juggling a bomb. He asked tentatively, “Dear, how do you plan to deal with these five?”
Briar put the bomb back in her backpack. “Deal with them? Why should we? Wouldn’t it be better to send them back where they came from?”
“You’ve already figured out who’s behind them?” Ashton asked in surprise.
