Chris Bolton almost jumped up, trembling as he took the photo, staring at his son with an incredulous look: “Where did you get this photo?”

“Don’t worry about where I got this photo for now. The provincial inspection team will soon see similar photos,” Adam Bolton said calmly. “If Uncle Harris is convicted of bribery, Dad, won’t your leaving Haizhou at this time make people think you’re deliberately avoiding the provincial investigation…”

Chris Bolton broke out in a cold sweat. These days, he’d only been thinking about escaping, without considering deeper issues, and it took his sixteen-year-old son to point it out in one sentence. He’d been in the circle for seven or eight years and knew the rules inside out. By then, even if he was innocent, he couldn’t guarantee others wouldn’t try to smear him. The position of deputy secretary-general wasn’t prominent, but there were still people eyeing it.

But are these words really coming from a sixteen-year-old? On the other hand, Julia Evans wished her son was the most outstanding and intelligent boy in the world, so she didn’t find it too strange. In fact, she thought her husband was making a fuss, but she also felt it was odd that the photo ended up in her son’s hands, so she asked, “Where did this photo come from?”

Adam Bolton knew his words and actions would shock his father greatly, and if he didn’t make things clear now, it would delay the timing: “Dad, after all these years with Uncle Harris, why does Uncle Harris still not trust you? Why did he have Secretary Reed pass on a message for you to leave Haizhou and lay low?”

“What else do you know?” Chris Bolton didn’t understand why his son would suddenly say these things out of nowhere, but it did point out the doubts in his own heart—doubts he could never see through or figure out. In the city government, everyone knew he came in with Henry Harris, and they all avoided him with schadenfreude, so he couldn’t get any information.

Adam Bolton saw his father sitting upright and knew he was finally taking his words seriously.

Of course, Adam Bolton wasn’t foolish enough to say he knew what would happen five years later. If he was going to tell the truth, he had to make up a reason his father would believe. He’d already thought of this reason on the way home: “This woman,” Adam Bolton pointed at Yvonne Clark in the photo, “I saw her once on the back hill of Xiangshan, just recently, outside a villa on the back hill. I saw her with a man, but it wasn’t Uncle Harris—it was someone no one would ever expect…”

“Who was it?”

“Don’t worry about who for now,” Adam Bolton still wanted to make his story airtight. “Yesterday, when I heard Mom say Uncle Harris had that kind of relationship with this woman, I thought it was strange, so I went to the back hill of Xiangshan early this morning. Sure enough, I saw that man in the villa again…”

Adam Bolton took out the photos he’d taken in front of the red-brick villa on the north slope of the mountain: “I rented a camera at the entrance of the forest park. The photos turned out pretty well. Take a look—who does this look like?”

The first photo showed a black Nissan driving into the red-brick villa; the second photo showed William Grant bending down to get into the Nissan. Although it wasn’t William Grant’s official car, it had the city committee’s license plate. A red Corolla was parked next to it. William Grant’s head wasn’t captured, but Adam Bolton believed his father would recognize him at a glance; the third photo showed the red Corolla driving out of the red-brick villa. This red Corolla appeared in the background of the group photo of Henry Harris and Yvonne Clark. Although the light in the woods was dim and he hadn’t used a flash, the photos turned out pretty well, and the shooting time was displayed in the lower right corner.

Adam Bolton believed that if he stuffed two eggs into his father’s mouth right now, he wouldn’t even notice.

“After taking the photos, I went to a photo shop on the south side of the mountain to develop the film. I didn’t expect to run into this woman there picking up photos. In the photos she picked up, there was a group photo of her and Uncle Harris. While she wasn’t paying attention, I took one,” Adam Bolton picked up the group photo of Henry Harris and Yvonne Clark, “This is the one…”

Dad wasn’t stupid, and Adam Bolton believed he’d soon figure out the whole story. He rubbed his hands and asked his mom, “Isn’t dinner ready yet? I’m starving…”

“How did you know to go take these photos?” Julia Evans put her arm around her son’s shoulders and pushed him into the kitchen. “Don’t bother your dad… Since you weren’t home, we didn’t feel like eating either. Come with me and I’ll make some noodles, and crack two eggs in to make do…”

“Xiao Ke…” Adam Bolton had just followed his mom into the kitchen when his dad called him from the living room, “Tell me in detail what you saw today.”

Adam Bolton didn’t know how deep Yvonne Clark was involved, and was afraid he’d have to think of another way, so he couldn’t tell everything about what happened between him and Yvonne Clark. He just recounted what had happened that morning.

“Why was it William Grant?”

Adam Bolton heard his father mutter William Grant’s name to himself and knew he’d already guessed part of the truth.

The province had received a report, and before obtaining any substantial evidence, had sent an inspection team to investigate, targeting Henry Harris and putting him under isolated review. At the same time, so many things unfavorable to Henry Harris had happened in Haizhou. There must be a powerful figure at work behind the scenes. Dad knew this too, but didn’t know exactly who or why.

“What exactly is the relationship between Uncle Harris and this woman? This group photo looks pretty ambiguous, doesn’t it?”