Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1694

Tarquin's brow tightened. "...Besides those two countries, were any others involved?" Punikon's grandfather quickly shook his head. "I don't know about that. You'd have to ask them. They might not be the masterminds, but they definitely know more! Oh, right. Besides them, there must have been someone from the Warner family's own circle involved in the kidnapping. Otherwise, it couldn't have gone so smoothly." In short, there was a mole in the Warner family. They had colluded with foreign powers, working from the inside and out to pull off the kidnapping. In the end, it got the mentor's wife killed and brought ruin upon Jake Warner and Jeremy Warner. Tarquin's jaw clenched, the fury in his eyes deepening. "Do you know who the mole in the Warner family was?" The old man quickly shook his head. "I have no idea." Tarquin was silent for a moment, his face cold, then asked, "Do you have any proof of what you've told me?" "Yes!" Punikon's grandfather said. "When they came to me, I made an audio recording! And I still have the confidentiality agreement." Without waiting for Tarquin to ask, he said, "I'll get it for you right now!" Tarquin watched as he scrambled up from the floor and went into an adjacent room. "The items are in the safe in my study." Tarquin didn't reply, just followed him to get the evidence. Punikon's grandfather was a smart man. At this point, his entire family's fate rested in Tarquin's hands; he didn't dare resist. Besides, his family weren't the masterminds behind the Jake Warner affair. Even if Tarquin wanted revenge for Jake, he wouldn't come after them. Punikon's grandfather opened the safe, took out a file folder, and handed it to Tarquin. "The recording and the agreement are in here, along with some photos." Tarquin opened it and glanced at the contents in front of him before closing it again. He looked at the old man. "Act as if I was never here tonight, and I will hold off on making any moves against the Punikon family for now." The old man nodded vigorously. "I won't say a word to anyone!" Tarquin left with the evidence. Before he went, he added as a courtesy, "Don't worry about the others. They'll wake up naturally by morning." Punikon's grandfather stood stunned for a few seconds, then rushed out to look. Tarquin was already gone from the courtyard. He mulled over Tarquin's last words, then saw a bodyguard standing in the yard and hurried over. "What kind of guards are you? Didn't you hear someo—" He stopped mid-sentence, frozen. The bodyguard was standing in place, but he was unconscious. He checked on the others, then ran to the other rooms... He couldn't believe his eyes. The entire Punikon household was in a deep sleep. Punikon's grandfather gasped for air, his face pale with terror. So many people... how did he do it?! It was over. It was all over. The Thyania martial arts world had just picked a fight with the wrong man... Outside, as soon as Tarquin got back in the car, Lowell asked, "How did it go? Did you find anything?" Tarquin's expression was dark as he lit a cigarette in frustration. Whenever a mole was involved in anything, it made him think of the mysterious figure, and his chest would tighten. Enemies just made you angry, but traitors broke your heart. If Bernard's case only involved foreigners, he could just focus on revenge. But with a mole in the mix, the day of reckoning would surely break the old man's heart. "Start by investigating everyone connected to the Warner family." Lowell was surprised. "There were insiders involved in my grandpa's kidnapping?" "...Apparently. Start digging. Besides them, run a deep check on the people in these photos." Tarquin handed the file folder to Lowell. Lowell looked at the photos first, then read the agreement, his eyes widening in shock. "So Nipponora and Koryon were the masterminds?" Tarquin took a drag from his cigarette but didn't nod or shake his head.