Reborn Cave Queen of the End Times novel Chapter 95

Chapter 95 A Criminal Empire

Autumn raised an eyebrow. “He’s ruthless. What kind of past does a man like that have?”

Leonel replied with a smile, “Good guess. The leader of the Steel Claws is Declan Simmon, better known as Bigfoot. He was a convicted mass murderer. He murdered a family of 12 in his hometown and was sentenced to death, though the execution was delayed for a year. The apocalypse began before the sentence could be carried out.”

Autumn frowned. “Declan should’ve been locked down tight when the apocalypse began. So how did he build that kind of fortune so quickly?”

Leonel gave Autumn an approving look. “That’s the right question to ask. The Steel Claws’ second-in- command is Steven. He and Declan married daughters from the same family, so they’re brothers-in-law. Steven always thinks several steps ahead. The first skyfire convinced him that the old order was collapsing. During the heat and drought that followed, he quietly recruited a crew of seasoned criminals. Then he used the chaos to rob a wealthy businessman and burn his home to the ground.

“The prison was hit by the skyfire too. Steven paid off several people inside the prison and got Declan out of his cell. Then he left the businessman’s body in Declan’s cell to make it look as if Declan had died.”

Autumn pieced it together at once. “You mean the businessman looked enough like Declan for the body to pass as his? And then Declan took the man’s identity?”

Leonel nodded. “Exactly. Once he was out. Declan took the businessman’s identity and told the authorities he didn’t want the fire investigated. He claimed he had started it by accident. With no apparent homicide and the supposed owner insisting it was an accident, the authoritjes let the matter drop.”

“But didn’t anyone at the prison question whether the remains were really Declan’s?” Autumn asked.

Leonel replied, “Even if anyone had doubts, it was too late to prove anything. The skyfire killed too many people. More than 100 other inmates died in the same fire, and most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. You know what that fire could do. The whole country was in crisis. Actually, the whole world was. Police departments were overwhelmed just trying to help the living. No one was going to spend time identifying the remains of a prisoner everyone believed was dead.”

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