On their way back to the ward, Brian received a call.

After hanging up, he asked Joanne, "You know Tan Meng?"

Brian knew Joanne's social circle and that only Freya was close to Joanne. He didn't even hear about someone named Tan Meng from Joanne.

However, Joanne readily recalled her. "I know her. What?"

Brian frowned. "You two have some history?"

"History?" Joanne widened her eyes in disbelief. "How come? She' my classmate when I studied management in College A. We've only met a few times and weren't really friends. How would we have a history?"

Brian's face grew cold. "She posted all the things about you on the Internet."

Joanne was dumbfounded. "Why did she?"

"I've got nothing to do... with her," said she, "it's just that when we're in college, Tan Meng had a crush on Shawn and chased after him. The entire school knew about it, so I remembered her too. But, we'd got nothing in common. Why would she want to post something to lash out at me?"

Brian had figured it out and shook his head helplessly. "You're lucky to have married me."

She was so stupid and if she married someone else, she wouldn't have known it even if others bullied her.

"..." Joanne blinked her big eyes to know that she was innocent and really knew nothing about it.

After an investigation, Brian's speculation was proved right. In college, Joanne and Shawn had been too intimate and gave Tan Meng the impression that Shawn had been refusing her because of Joanne. Thus, she had hard feelings toward Joanne since then. Recently, when she knew Joanne had become a murder suspect, she decided to post something on the Internet to smear her.

Brian had an assistant see to it and soon, Tan Meng stopped her posting.

However, it was not easy to remove the posts from all the Internet news portals.

The second day, several news media reported about Joanne being in the hospital. The netizens not only accused of the police department's power abusing, but also Brian's taking advantage of the loopholes in law with his mogul position and had joined to boycott Lambert Group.

Lambert Group had been severely affected in the stock market, and in the afternoon, the shareholders had convened an emergency meeting.

"If Miss Scott is convicted, Brian, you'll have to have the divorce papers ready right away!" The shareholders all snapped. "Otherwise, the company will be dragged down by this!"

"I can't say for sure if she's a murderer or not." Brian stood up coldly. "But I'll handle the matter in three days."

He left without so much as a backward glance, leaving a bunch of anxious shareholders in a heated discussion.

Following Brian, Gavin followed with his brows knitted. "We still can't find those junkies Joanne mentioned. I doubt if things are really what they seem."

The slim Brian collapsed on the dark office chair and rubbed his temple. "... Call Wesley."

Though his camp was based in Glasgow, he could even touch Arlington's grey area if he wanted. If he acted, it would be easier for them to find those junkies.

However, the world only thought Brian and Wesley were ordinary friends.

Gavin answered awkwardly, "If Wesley helps you, some people will suspect you. Once Lambert Group gets involved with Wesley, we'll forever be part of it."

Brian dark eyes looked calm. "Rowdy know the relationship between Wesley and me. If he wants to destroy Lambert Group and snatch Wesley's territory, he will finally try to link us together to drag down Lambert Group."

Though Wesley didn't play any role in Lambert Group's business, Wesley's identity would cast a grey shadow above the white Lambert Group. It would somehow endanger Lambert Group.

Therefore, sooner or later, someone would reveal Brian and Wesley's relationship.

Gavin gritted his teeth. "Alright."

Before he called Wesley, the secretary hurriedly pushed open the door and walked in. "Mr. Brian, a man called Kang Rui... argh..."

Someone pushed the secretary away from behind before she finished. Rowdy in a black coat, appeared in the office, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Gavin signaled at the secretary to leave.

Rowdy scanned Brian's office. "Good for you. Surviving 14 years ago, you've climbed so high today. I almost regret not having killed you too under my car."

Brian sneered. "You came all the way to confess your sins?"

Rowdy's smile froze but he soon collected himself. "A piece of advice. Stop your investigation and go find Ava."

He was talking about Joanne's murder case.

Brian threw a meaningful look at Gavin and the latter immediately understood. He left the office to check on Ava.

"What do you want?"

Brian didn't believe that Rowdy would help him for no reason.

"Of course I want something you treasure, your wife." Rowdy sat cross-legged on the sofa. The hem of his coat dangled from the sofa, like the demon's wings. "How can I steal her when she's still a suspect?"

A hint of sarcasm escaped from the corner of Brian's lips. "Can you dream while you're still awake, Mr. Kent?"

"We can wait to see if I'm dreaming or it's really happening, Brian." Rowdy put out the cigarette and stared at Brian with his poisonous eyes. "This time, you won't be lucky like 14 years ago. Oh, and I was just a little interested in Joanne, but got a lot more interested in her since I knew she's your woman."

A layer of frost seemed to cover Brian's handsome face and his eyes were as sharp as the edge of a knife. Seeing him like this, Rowdy smiled, satisfied.

When he walked into the room, Brian had stayed calm. However, when he mentioned Joanne, some evident emotion finally registered on Brian's face.

As expected, Joanne was his biggest weakness.

Rowdy left in satisfaction.

After one hour, Gavin hurried in. "I've got Ava's location now."

After Bennett Family's fall, only Ava stubbornly stayed at Arlington. She had been following an influential local gangster in the northern part of the city, and become "the big brother's woman" in the eyes of those minions.

During the time when Joanne was on a work trip in City Z and almost got trapped in the mountain, Ava and Mia had been in touch. However, recently, they did not see each other anymore. This was why the police couldn't find Ava in Mia's call logs.

However, they could confirm that Ava led Mia to drugs and even introduced many minions who also used drugs to Mia.

In that case, it was easy to detect who those junkies were Joanne saw that day.

The police soon conduct an act to look for Ava, who tried to run away after getting wind of it. Nevertheless, she was caught in the train station as well as those junkies who appeared on that day.

Joanne came to the police station to identify. Though she was not a person who could remember all the things they saw, Joanne had a fairly good memory and thus recognized them at first sight. She nodded. "It's them."

Then, the police carried out the interrogation. Joanne and Brian were waiting for the result in the medical examiner office.

Joanne was kind of nervous, so she had to distract herself by asking Brian, "How did you find them?"

Brian clutched her hand. "I'll tell you later."

Joanne pursed her lips and then nodded.

They didn't expect that the interrogation soon finished. The more than 10 junkies were telling the same story and revealed part of what had happened that day.

On that day, Ava called and said she and Mia would take them out to "play". She also said the girl they sent for was pretty and sensible. The only requirement was: They would have to record while they played.

They knew that the girl must have messed with Mia and Ava.

To help the big brother's woman seek revenge and to indulge themselves for a little while, why would they refuse it?

They didn't expect that the girl who came was Joanne. Within a few words, Joanne scared them away. Later, they heard that Mia was dead and they didn't know what happened. Their big brother ordered them to stay at home, so they did as the big brother told in fear.

In the end, the junkies offered a very crucial clue-on that day, Ava was supposed to be show up on the crime scene. However, she later said that she got caught up in something and would arrive later.

The junkies failed to know if Ava really showed up later.

Ava answered the question with a shaky voice. She said she did not went there, and the lie-detector showed she was lying.

Ava became the top suspect.

The subsequent investigation had been surprisingly smooth. The police found a piece of blood-stained clothes in Ava's place, and the blood test showed that it was Mia's blood.

In the final interrogation, Ava cried and admitted that she killed Mia.

However, she said that she didn't it on purpose. On that day, she arrived late at the old public house, only to find the room empty and Mia in a trance.

She was angry and thought they had made such effort to have tricked Joanne here, and Mia actually wasted the rare opportunity.

Ava and Mia got into a fight and the former accidentally stabbed Mia in a vital place.

Mia lay on the bed, twitching in pain and bleeding.

Ava was startled. She didn't dare to call the ambulance or the police. While thinking that the building was not wired for surveillance, nor was there any camera outside, she wiped her fingerprints on the knife and put it in Joanne's hand. After cleaning the floor, she left as if nothing had happened.

She failed to seek her revenge by ruining Joanne. However, turning her into a murderer sounded nice as well.

However, she didn't expect that the man who promised to cover her and protect her suddenly pushed her to the public. He also said if she did not confess to the police, she wouldn't have a peaceful life even if she escaped from Arlington.

Ava was charged with murder and Joanne left the police station after a simple procedure.

Just in an afternoon, the murder case had been heading to a completely different direction. The news media couldn't figure it out so they swarmed to Joanne.

Joanne turned to look at Brian. "I don't want to answer their questions."

"Then don't. Pretend they don't exist." Brian held Joanne with one arm and elbowed his way through the crowd with another. He pushed away all the flashing cameras and microphones and helped her into the car.

It was already night and the city readily showed its luminous side. The black car drove through the lights, which flashed on Joanne's face from time to time. She buried her head into Brian's arms, silently.

Brian knew why she was still unhappy.

The truth came out and she got rid of the groundless charge.

However, Mia was really dead, which was something she could not stop.