To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 124

“Ah, Aaaaaaah!”

The morning after the engagement ceremony, the White mansion was shaken by the scream of one of the servants.

The first person to react was Susan, who had spent a sleepless night due to her insomnia. Her nervous breakdown, triggered by a tax investigation, had been worsening day by day.

“What’s going on?”

Susan was holding a hunting rifle. Through the backlit window, she saw the figure of a person hanging upside down from a tree.

“Oh my… go—god…”

She gripped the rifle tighter. At a glance, she recognized the unconscious man, beaten to a pulp. She immediately ran to the West Wing, where Aaron lived, and burst into his room.

Aaron had just come home at dawn after struggling all night with financial problems and was fast asleep.

“Wake up! Aaron White!”

“What—what is it? Is it a break-in?”

Startled by Susan slapping his face, Aaron instinctively pulled out a gun from under his pillow. He was quickly briefed on the situation.

One of his subordinates had been attacked and strung up unconscious at the White mansion. Instead of getting angry, Aaron lit a cigar and calmly sorted through the facts.

“What are you going to do now? The mansion’s security was breached!”

“Wait. I’m thinking.”

“I told you not to get involved with the mafia!”

“Susan White, for heaven’s sake, think before you speak. Just shut that mouth for a second.”

Aaron tapped the table with his fist as he exhaled cigar smoke. He usually overreacted to trivial matters, but in serious situations like this, he was the calmest one.

Susan spoke up.

“Behind Isaac’s kidnapping—Cotra Banco, those bastards must be involved.”

Cotra Banco was a mafia group allied with Aaron.

“The investigation concluded that Isaac’s kidnapping was an attempt by his friend’s bankrupt parents to demand ransom.”

“No sane parent would do that to their son’s friend. This is clearly Cotra Banco’s doing—”

“Liam almost died! He’s been with me for over ten years! And Isaac needs to learn how to protect himself!”

“Isaac is your nephew.”

“And he’ll be an adult in three years. It’s time he learned how to carry his own weight and take responsibility as a member of the White family. You’ve been coddling him too much—that’s probably why he keeps trying to escape from you.”

“Are you saying my way of raising him is wrong?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Aaron let out a deep sigh. He was holding back a lot to endure this situation.

“This is your problem. Things have gotten this bad because of your mistakes.”

“No, this is all Noah Ashford’s scheme.”

Aaron continued.

“Susan, now’s the time we need to work together. That man has been watching us for a long time, gathering evidence to bring down the White family. Now he’s finally decided to hunt—baring his fangs and sharpening his claws.”

Their successful business had started to crumble, and Susan was facing an intense tax investigation due to various issues. Scott had been framed and imprisoned, and John had been forced to give up everything he had.

As his cigar burned down, Aaron tried to take out a fresh one but realized he’d run out. Irritated, he threw his lighter.

“Scott’s trial is in two hours! They did this on purpose, knowing that!”

“Scott’s trial is in two hours, and our loan repayment is in three days. But the bank loan was rejected, and our house is a mess…”

Due to the tax investigation, it had been revealed that Steel King Scott White had been receiving favorable loans from White Bank. As a result, he could no longer borrow money as easily as before.

Especially in the current climate, where the media was constantly attacking the White family, things had become nearly impossible.

“Damn it! First, I’ll talk to Cotra Banco. Scott will have to go to trial with just Andrew.”

Aaron left the mansion, saying he would make contact with Cotra Banco.

Meanwhile, Andrew met John in front of the courthouse. Scott’s trial was scheduled for the morning, and they had come to observe.

“I didn’t think the trial would be scheduled this early. Things must be worse than I thought.”

Walking down the hallway, Andrew asked.

“The case could become a diplomatic issue, so the trial was pushed up more than usual. Plus, Democratic lawmakers are trying to use Scott’s case to attack the Republicans, making things even worse…”

“Damn bastards.”

“By the way, yesterday was Scarlett’s engagement ceremony, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, right. Aaron told you?”

John answered with a nod.

“Aaron drank so much—he was so embarrassed in front of Wilhelm he looked like he wanted to die. Later, he grabbed me as I was trying to sneak home and cried like a baby. Then he went to work like nothing happened. It was annoying.”

“He’s just happy, that’s all.”

John looked a bit down, as if saddened by not being invited. Andrew noticed and tried to comfort him.

“Someday, Scarlett will understand you.”

“I don’t need her to understand. I just want her to be happy.”

“Anyone would think you were her father.”

With a bitter smile, he took a seat in the courtroom. Soon after, Scott came out with his hands cuffed.

John and Andrew immediately looked at Scott’s face. He had become noticeably gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes.

Their eyes met in the air, but Scott was the first to look away.

He seemed humiliated by the situation, his face stiff with pride. John let out a frustrated sigh.

“John, we hired the best lawyers in Wifland. He’ll be okay, right?”

With tension filling the courtroom, Andrew asked anxiously.

“It’s going to be tough—the evidence is solid. And Peter Weavers isn’t someone to take lightly. He’s aiming for a political career, so he’ll be extra serious about this case.”

The trial soon began.

“…The defendant, over the past three years, on eight occasions, supplied weapons from Cravitz to pirates operating near Wifland’s seas… and as a result…”

Andrew kept sighing during the trial, finding it painful just to see his brother in cuffs and a prison uniform. He couldn’t concentrate.

John, though more used to courtrooms, was turning paler for different reasons.

“If Scott White really traded with pirates, he would have confidential information about them as well as records of profits from the deals. But regarding this…”

The trial was intense. As time passed, Andrew bit his lip while watching John anxiously rub his chin.

Scott kept his head down the entire time, seeming resigned, as if he already knew the outcome.

“That’s not how I was supposed to resign from Congress…”

In John’s bitter mumble, the judge gave the verdict. Andrew felt John’s shoulder flinch.

“…Due to solid evidence of the prosecution and the severe nature of the crime, Scott White is sentenced to death.”

As the sentence was given, John suddenly stood up and shouted.

“I object! The prosecution’s claims and the supporting evidence—!”

He rushed toward the judge, face red, only to be blocked by the court security.

Andrew stared blankly at Scott being dragged away. The twisted smile on Scott’s face reminded him of the past repeating itself.

The ghost he tried to ignore now overwhelmed him. Unlike John, who quickly composed himself, Andrew trembled uncontrollably, lost in confusion.

“Andy, it’s okay. We’ll prepare for an appeal.”

Andrew remembered the time Scott had been sentenced to death in the past. Back then, Scott hadn’t even been involved in illegal arms trading.

But the same sentence had been given again. Andrew clenched his teeth in fear that he might lose his brother once more.

“Andy, Andrew!”

John shook Andrew’s trembling shoulders. Andrew covered his ears, trying to block out the echo of the past like an explosion.

“Andrew White!”

“…I—I’m fine… Just a bit shocked. That’s all…”

“Are you really okay?”

“Don’t worry.”

“You need to stay focused from now on. I think… this is a war with the Nortons.”

“Norton?”

“When my lawyer’s license was revoked, Norton threatened to expose the Julia Ashford case unless I resigned from Congress. I don’t know how that got leaked, but…”

“Why are you only telling me this now?!”

“I wanted to handle it quietly. But think—why would they threaten me if they didn’t already expect this situation?”

The Norton family had always wanted to enter every field the White family was in and had repeatedly failed against them.

In the past ten years, the Nortons had started showing interest in the arms industry, worsening the conflict.

“So it all comes down to that case…”

A sharp light entered Andrew’s eyes. He had no intention of watching his brothers fall again in this life.

“Scott said he got some information. We’ll find it in his office.”

“But Cravitz’s mercenaries won’t let you in.”

“While he was in jail, Scott gave me full rights over Cravitz. It’s my information now. John, it’s time to speed up the investigation.”

Andrew’s eyes gleamed. He and John had recently come to suspect that the real culprit behind Julia Ashford’s murder might be the Mage Guild of Natalia.

Though there was no direct link between Scott’s illegal arms dealings and Julia’s murder, their instincts told them both crimes might share the same root.

“Let’s go together.”

“No. You meet the lawyers. I’ll sort through the evidence and hand over the files.”

With that, Andrew headed straight for Scott’s office. Meanwhile, the White mansion had fallen into total chaos.

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