Feeling nervous, I followed Riley to the study. She unlocked the door, took out an old book from the drawer, and handed it to me, gesturing at me to open it.
“That thing you asked for is inside.”
For some reason, I felt very nervous all of a sudden. I carefully opened the book with bated breath and found that it was full of the methods and recipes for making poison. More importantly, it even had the formulas for antidotes.
This was perfect!
“Oh, my God! Thank you so much, Riley!” I was so excited that I kept thanking her. “This book is going to be very helpful!”
I immediately laid the book on the table and started taking pictures of the relevant information. Then I forwarded the photos to Brian.
If everything went well, Caleb could be saved.
Riley had been watching me with a gentle expression while I worked
Seeing that I had cheered up, she smiled and sighed wistfully.𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.𝘤𝘰𝘮
“It seems that you still love Caleb very much, or you wouldn’t be willing to take such risks for him.”
This time, I didn’t deny it.
After returning the book to Riley, I solemnly said to her, “I promised you that I would explain everything to you after you helped me. Please be warned: what I’m about to say may change your perception of everything. But I promise that it is all true.”
“Okay.” Riley pricked up her ears and also became serious.
“Truth be told, I came to Roz Town on a mission. Not long ago, Adam began to make plans to sell the town. Caleb was the first potential buyer. I was sent here to investigate it.”
Riley’s eyes went as wide as saucers.
“Sell the town?”
I knew she would react like this, so I pressed on.
“I know it might sound unbelievable, but it’s true. Even though Adam already had a potential buyer, he didn’t sell the town to Caleb right away. Instead, he intended to meet up with other potential buyers at the carnival to compare their offers. That’s why Adam never let you enter the study.”
I looked at her gravely.
“Do you remember the time he came home drunk and beat you? It’s because there was a list of buyers in the secret room in the stud: the names on the list corresponded with the names the people we invited to the party. Adam was so angry because he was afraid that you’d find out and ruin his plans.”
Riley was so shocked that she covered her agape mouth tightly, and all the color drained from her face. “So that’s why you were so absent-minded when we were making the invitations!”
“Yes.”
I didn’t expect Riley to be so smart that she could piece it together so quickly.
I continued to explain, “Adam is very cunning. He plans to run away as soon as the town has been sold. Gale caught wind of his plot a long time ago. She didn’t want the innocent residents of the town to suffer, so she didn’t storm into town to fight Adam. Instead, she asked Harlan and me here to collect enough evidence against him. Only in this way could we convict Adam and save the town.”
The more Riley heard, the wider her eyes became. At last, she fell into stunned silence.
