If it had been the old carefree Brian Sullivan, the death of Mark Brooks would have meant nothing to him. After all, with Mark Brooks dead, he couldn’t stay in Donghua any longer anyway, so why would he care whether Mark Brooks died while taking a bath or while with a woman?

Mark Brooks was the old man’s secretary, considered an official from the Song family’s faction. If he really died on a woman’s belly, it would negatively impact the Song family’s reputation, as well as the prospects of the Song family’s descendants and their protégés and former subordinates. If it were the old Brian Sullivan, he might even have wished for such an outcome.

But now, the soul inside this body had changed. At this moment, Brian Sullivan was still hoping for a chance to gain the Song family’s forgiveness, still hoping to enjoy the shade under the great tree that was the Song family, so he couldn’t just stand by and watch things spiral in the worst possible direction.

What were Henry Parker and Paul Morgan trying to do?

Of course, they wouldn’t directly say that Mark Brooks died on a woman’s belly—after all, whether such a woman even existed was uncertain, and there was no solid evidence. All they needed to do was insist that Mark Brooks died suddenly of illness, naked in his room at noon, and that would be enough.

People always have a habit of speculating about others with the worst intentions, and that alone would be enough to ruin Mark Brooks’s posthumous reputation.

But what benefit would this bring to Paul Morgan or Henry Parker?

Chapter 10: An Unspeakable Conspiracy

Although he had been kicked out by the municipal party secretary, Brian Sullivan knew he couldn’t just slink away in defeat. Even if he had to shamelessly stick around and keep an eye on how things developed, it was still better than just patting himself off and leaving.

After spending several years holed up at the city steel plant, Brian Sullivan understood deeply that sometimes excessive pride was of no benefit; seeking a turning point in the situation was what mattered most.

The two doctors who had rushed over to help, along with the two service staff assigned to be on duty in Building Six by the Nanyuan Hotel, were still in the lobby on the first floor.

The two girls were both delicate and pretty, but had been frightened by what had happened today. At this point, they didn’t even dare to sit down, their faces drained of color.

Brian Sullivan went over and, seeing how terrified they looked, wanted to get them to talk, so he first tried to comfort them.

“Mayor Brooks missed the window for rescue. It’s very unfortunate. But it’s not your fault. Even if I had called when Mayor Brooks was resting, I might have gotten scolded too. Don’t be too upset.”

“That’s right, it was Mayor Brooks who told us not to disturb him at noon. We only stepped away for a short while at noon—who could have imagined something like this would happen? Even if Secretary-General Reed was at Nanyuan, by the time the ambulance was called, it was already too late, wasn’t it?”

The ponytailed girl’s voice was crisp and clear, but her words made Brian Sullivan’s heart skip a beat: John Reed was at Nanyuan when Mark Brooks fell ill?

Brian Sullivan clenched his fist, left the lobby without showing any emotion.

Building Six was right next to Cui Lake, separated by a stand of dawn redwoods; across the way was the main building of Nanyuan, and at this moment the setting sun was shining on the top of the deep coffee-colored, sail-shaped high-rise, making the lake shimmer with golden light. Only the main building of Nanyuan was reflected in the water, like a patch of dark cloud.

Who could imagine that in this seemingly warm and tranquil dusk, such dangerous undercurrents were hidden?

Brian Sullivan pondered to himself. At first, he didn’t understand why the director of the municipal guesthouse and manager of Nanyuan Hotel, Paul Morgan, was deliberately muddying the waters, but after learning that John Reed was also at Nanyuan when Mark Brooks fell ill, things started to make sense.

Brian Sullivan didn’t go anywhere else, but circled around to the parking lot in front of the small building. For now, all he could do was sit in the car and think.

By late September, the days were already getting shorter, and dusk fell before you knew it. For a long time, no one came out of Building Six.

After four or five days of exhaustion, Brian Sullivan was utterly worn out. Even sitting felt tiring, so he lay down on the back seat of the car, holding his head, thinking things over. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard footsteps approaching.

Just as Brian Sullivan was about to sit up, he saw John Reed’s gaze sweep over, as if checking whether anyone was in the car.

John Reed only glanced quickly at the front seats, not expecting Brian Sullivan to be lying in the back.

John Reed’s excessive caution made Brian Sullivan even more alert, so he stayed still, watching as John Reed stood outside the car, took out his brick-sized “Big Brother” mobile phone, and leaned against the car door to make a call.

Once the call connected, John Reed could be heard reporting to the person on the other end.

“…The first to arrive at the scene was Paul Morgan, there were no other staff present, and Mark Brooks was indeed found naked, dead in the bedroom, with his clothes left outside. The two girls came up afterward, but they panicked and didn’t notice any details in the room. I’ve already tidied up the bathroom, so the traces of showering aren’t so obvious. The province is sending people down, but as long as we stick to the story that Mark Brooks was upset about Nanyuan not providing hot water at noon—which is actually on record—then this will just be a muddled account.”

“Mm, mm.” John Reed responded a few times, then continued, “Nanyuan still doesn’t have surveillance equipment. Although there were staff on duty in Building Six at noon, they happened to step away for about an hour. As for whether anyone came or went at noon, no one can say for sure. The key is that Secretary Parker seems a bit undecided—he should be able to see what’s going on. He’s reporting this to the province alone in a small room; I just worry he’ll try to downplay the whole thing.”