The Abandoned Wife (Lucian) novel Chapter 906

Chapter 906 Something Is Not Right
After confirming that the fire was put out and getting the green light from the firemen, Roxanne was finally able to get near the research institute that was engulfed in an inferno.
Her heart sank the moment she managed to get a closer look.
She had been worried sick all morning, overcome by the apprehension that the medicinal herbs that she had just retrieved the day before were all gone.
Alas, her worst nightmare came true. The very store that caught on fire was the one where the medicinal herbs were stored.
Not only were the medicinal herbs the batch that they had just retrieved the day before destroyed, but the other medicinal herbs they previously stocked up were also burned to ashes.
Fortunately, Colby had managed to call for help in time and managed to stop the fire from spreading to other areas.
“This…” Standing beside Roxanne, Colby found himself to be at a loss for words as he stared at the shambles before them.
Roxanne let out a soft sigh. “Well, luckily no one was hurt, and the fire didn’t spread to other areas of the research institute.”
Colby sighed and said in a defeated manner, “There goes the hard work you guys did yesterday.”
It took them the whole morning to move all the herbs into the store. Moreover, Colby knew that it must have been difficult for Roxanne and Jack to get the herbs from Herbscape Group in the first place.
Roxanne furrowed her brows in response.
It would be difficult to get her hands on medicinal herbs of the same quality.
Nonetheless, that was the least of her concern right then.
She turned to look at Colby and said, “Dr. Galloway, could you please investigate the root cause of the fire at the research institute?”
If it was due to the flammable nature of the herbs, Roxanne knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent the disaster.
However, if someone had deliberately set the place on fire, she knew she had to expel the culprit from the research institute.
Colby immediately led a group of people to the surveillance room.
Meanwhile, Roxanne sought the firemen’s help to locate the ignition source.
However, they couldn’t find anything after looking for quite some time.
“We seldom encounter cases of research institutes catching on fire. However, more often than not, it is due to inappropriate storage of medicinal herbs,” a fireman commented. “Perhaps the fire at your research institute is also due to the same reason.”
Roxanne reckoned that the ignition source must have burned away in the fire under such circumstances. That would explain the reason they couldn’t locate the ignition source.
Despite feeling that something was off, Roxanne could only nod along doubtfully to the fireman’s remarks as she thanked him.
The fireman returned to his post afterward.
The chief fireman bade goodbye to Roxanne and left with his team.
Roxanne and the staff of the research institute were left at the entrance of the research institute.
She remained unconvinced by the fireman’s conclusion.
However, since they couldn’t locate the ignition source, the fireman might be right.
Then again, the research institute had always been fine, and there were only the usual few types of medicinal herbs in store. The staff in charge of the store were all experienced as well. Thus, Roxanne was baffled by the fact that they would commit a mistake that could lead to a fire at the store.
Utterly confounded, Roxanne was overcome with frustration.
After some time, she turned around to face the staff who had all been standing behind her with a solemn look on her face.
“Who was the first one to arrive here in the morning?” she asked.
Someone replied in a small voice, “It was Dr. Galloway. He’s the one holding the keys, and he’s always the first to arrive and unlock the entrance for us every morning.”
Roxanne frowned slightly, plagued by a gnawing feeling that something was not right.
According to the staff, nobody else would have access to the research institute even if they arrived first, seeing as only Colby had the keys.
Then again, what could be Colby’s motif?
Moreover, he was the one to report the fire to the authorities.
Roxanne found it incredulous that Colby would do something like this.