Chapter 169: Chapter 169

“I might betray you?” I tried to be as calm as possible. “No way….

Howard sighed in relief. “I doubted it too. No way you would betray us,”

My palms started to sweat as I clenched my fingers and said, “So, Howard, any instructions from…

Sir lately?”

Who was this “Sir” anyway?

“Our recent operations haven’t been going smoothly. Sir had requested for some funds. several times, but all have been denied. Some kids even got beaten up too. And without the funds, we can’t locate the children’s biological parents.”

Howard sighed and continued, “Sir mentioned that now that you’ve married into a wealthy family, you’re preoccupied with your upper class lifestyle. He thinks that you’ve lost interest in the children and might even betray us.

“Children?” I found myself asking. I didn’t get what he was saying.

“When we rescued those trafficked children, we made some enemies. Those people came yesterday and smashed Sir’s windows,” Howard said with a frightened expression. Those guys are crazy!”

I stared at Howard for a long while.

So… Stephany, Howard, and this “Sir” saved a group of trafficked children? Were they some sort of charity organization?

Stephany’s secrets never failed to surprise me.

“Howard, um… sorry. Actually, I fell sick a few days ago and somehow lost my memories after I woke up. That’s why it took me a while to come find you. If I’ve caused any delays… “I said guiltily.

“Oh, so you were sick. That explains it.” Howard waved his hand and said, “No worries. I’ll talk to Sir and clear things up.”

“Sir is…”

“Sir is a good person. He never complained when he supported the both of us in the past. And now, he’s fully devoted to these children too, so we should help out however we can, Howard comforted me.

Chantes Tax “Oh, by the way, Stephany… How did you suddenly end up marrying that… lunatic from the Lincoln family?” Howard looked at me warily. There was a clear sense of fear in his eyes when he mentioned Steven.

“You know… He’s probably a murderer,” Howard whispered to me.

But I pretended that I didn’t understand what he was saying, “Why?” I asked.

What made him think that Steven was a murderer?

“Well… It’s a long story.” Howard scratched his head. “You know, I was an orphan. I was adopted by my foster parents when I was in my teens. Later on, my foster parents went bankrupt, and life was tough up until I met Sir.”

“I used to stay in the same orphanage with that lunatic. Steve used to be a genius, but then he went mad.” Howard gave a vague explanation.

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about today. Can you tell me more about. Steve?” I said, gazing at Howard with a serious expression.

That day at the class reunion, I could tell that Howard was a person with some leadership skills and was actively involved in charity work. Hence, I assumed he wasn’t a bad person.

But what on earth actually happened at that orphanage?

“You’ve heard about that serial killer case too, haven’t you? All those victims were from our orphanage.” Howard stared at me.

I nodded. “Aren’t you scared, Howard? I heard that the murderer specifically targeted the people from the orphanage.”

“Oh, come on. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’ve never hurt those people either. They have no reason to kill me,” Howard confidently replied. “But those victims deserved it.”

I looked at Howard curiously.

“The first victim’s name was Mandy Fry. She was the leader of the bullies in our class. She enjoyed picking on people, especially those who joined the orphanage later than her. Whoever disobeyed her would be in big trouble.”

Then, Howard glanced around and said, “She was the first victim. And I saw from the news that her death was the most gruesome one too. Her stomach was full of bugs! It seemed like she died in pain.”

I swallowed hard.

I’d also heard that the first victim’s death was the most brutal one. And when the police found the body, it had already been devoured by insects and was beyond recognition.

“When I was at the orphanage, I saw with my own eyes that… she ordered her underlings to hold Simmy down and force him to eat bugs,” Howard said in a low voice.

Then, he said, “Simmy was a genius. He joined the orphanage later than Mandy and was weak and skinny. So, Mandy enjoyed picking on him. She even ordered some guys to strip him naked so the bugs would bite him.”

So, Howard was a witness, But why didn’t he tell the police about this? Surely Zion must have talked to him.

“Did you tell the police about… all this?” I asked nervously.

Howard’s expression shifted slightly. Then, he nodded. “I told the police when they questioned me.

They suspected Simmy, but Simmy had died long ago in that fire!”

So, this clue was a dead end.