Chapter 190: THE DEAD BODY UNDER THE RIVER
Hazel’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. "Wh—What did you say?" She must have heard him wrong, right?
"They found a dead body under the river near the factory," Ranon repeated what he said without thinking, as he was texting someone.
Therefore, he didn’t notice how the color drained from Hazel’s face. Her hands were slightly trembling.
"Which factory?" Ranon had so many factories. It couldn’t be the same place, right? Hazel consoled herself, but deep down, she knew it even before Ranon said it.
"The factory in Aspen City, the one near the old bridge that the company collaborates with the Barlowe Family," he answered her without thinking twice, as he was texting several people at the same time.
Ranon had stopped coming to the office, which caused a problem, but he couldn’t ignore this one.
Not long after, Denzel called him. He must have heard what happened. Yet, Ranon ignored his call and continued to give some instructions to his people.
He was too preoccupied to the point that he didn’t realize the change in Hazel’s expression.
"I need to go and check this..."
"I am coming with you," Hazel hastily said. She got off the bed. She felt the cramp in her stomach.
"No, you can’t..."
"I am coming with you!" Hazel said furiously; she raised her voice, which made Ranon lift his head to look at her and see the anger. She was very emotional.
"Hazel?" This confused him.
"I am coming with you," Hazel demanded. She didn’t even wait for Ranon’s approval as she grabbed her jacket, but Ranon stopped her.
"What happened?" Ranon turned her body around so she would face him. He saw tears in her eyes. "What happened?" He asked again with confusion, but Hazel shook her head; she only said that she wanted to go with him.
Seeing Hazel’s strange behavior, Ranon couldn’t do anything and agreed to her demand, but not before he asked her to change into warmer clothes since the night wind would be too chill for her.
Hazel did it without saying anything. Her mind was running miles away; she didn’t even feel her body, nor did she remember how she got into the car and arrived at Aspen City hours later.
Her mind didn’t work properly. She was very distracted, so Ranon didn’t bother her with questions. He kept his eyes on her.
When they arrived, police had surrounded the place. Police lines stretched out around the factory, and there were many people there, including Arlo, who had been there since the place was closer to him.
Hazel didn’t pay any mind when she saw him; she was too busy with her own thoughts. She wanted to see the dead body, but of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.
"They have evacuated the body," Arlo said. He frowned to see Hazel standing next to Ranon. What was she doing here? Why would Ranon bring her to this place?
Hazel faintly heard the conversation between Ranon and Arlo; she picked up a few things from it: they couldn’t find any identification on the dead body, and they were going to investigate this case further. They would have the result the next day at the earliest.
"In the meantime, they will close down the factory."
That was the last thing Hazel heard as Arlo finished with his explanation, and Ranon talked a few more words to him.
It was River. Hazel was sure it was River’s body...
***
Arthur dropped the glass he was holding when he heard the news. He gripped the edge of his table to find his balance because his world was spinning.
By this time, he knew River had fallen from the old bridge, and if they found the body, it could be her.
"No way... That woman has been in contact with her." Arthur tried to rationalize it. Hazel had been in contact with River.
There was no way River died that night and it was her body, if she had been alive and was hiding all this time. But he couldn’t shake this feeling.
Fear crept in, and he had never been so scared in his life before.
What if...
Arthur tried to call Ranon, as this was his only way to get in contact with Hazel, but he didn’t answer.
Therefore, against his better judgment, he grabbed his car key and rushed outside.
***
"You have a fever," Ranon said, placing his palm against her forehead and noting that her skin felt rather warm. "We’re going to the hospital."
They were in the car now going back home, but Ranon ordered the driver to get them to the nearby hospital first.
Hazel was unusually quiet, which worried Ranon. She leaned her head against Ranon’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t care less where Ranon would take her.
"What happened?" Ranon asked in a gentle tone. He caressed her cheek and looked at her closely, trying to figure out what was bothering her so much, but he couldn’t think of anything.
Did she know something about the dead body in the river? Did she have anything to do with it?
Ranon couldn’t shake the feeling that Hazel wasn’t innocent and had some connection to the situation, especially given her strong reaction despite her best effort to conceal it.
There were thousands of questions Ranon wanted to ask Hazel, but she was not in the condition to answer any.
Things have become very serious now. It was no longer about Ranon’s curiosity about this woman and the mystery surrounding her.
She was... dangerous and could become a potentially big problem for him if he kept her around. He was well aware of that.
There was also a possibility that she had killed whoever that person was since it was not the first time she had done it.
After all, she killed someone without flinching a long time ago, and it didn’t even bother her sleep.
The question was, who was this person? Even if she killed this person, why would Hazel be very shocked?
Everything didn’t make any sense.
The best and most logical thing for Ranon to do was to drop her and end things with her before she dragged him to whatever wormhole she headed to.
However, Ranon held his wife’s trembling and burning body a little bit tighter...
***
"Why are you drinking again?" Noah clicked his tongue. It was not the first time he saw his friend like this; whenever he drank excessively, there must be a major problem. But what now?
Aubrey gave birth to his son a few months ago, and he had not seen him once; yet, he didn’t come to drink away his anger.
What kind of news did he receive that was more devastating than not seeing his son?
"Leave me alone," Arlo said. He was irritated; he waved his hands aggressively at him. The last time Noah tried this, he got a punch or two from him. He should have known better and left him alone.
"You are going to die soon if you keep drinking like this."
"I want to die."
Noah shook his head. "I will call Michael to get you," he said before he left, but Arlo didn’t hear what he said amidst the blasting music that blared in his ears.
Right after Arlo got all the information he could get, he went straight to the bar. He wanted to numb his mind and feelings from thinking about the discovery of the dead body on the riverbed.
He didn’t want to think of the possibility that it could be River. He refused the idea that River had died. She was alive. That woman... Ranon’s wife knew her; she had been in contact with her all this time, right?
And despite Arlo’s effort not to think about this, the question and the reality before his eyes kept haunting him even in his inebriated state.
Now, there was nothing they could do but wait for the result.
Michael came not long after to get Arlo. He also wondered what the cause of it was, as his brother was not very down even when he couldn’t see his baby.
"What happened with you?" Michael frowned as he watched his brother sprawl on the table, face down. He looked so pitiful, and Michael was a little bit angry because he used to look up to him.
As Michael couldn’t take Arlo on his own, he asked Noah to help him carry his brother to the car. On their way back home, Arlo kept rambling about random things, but faintly Michael heard River’s name.
That was not a surprising thing for him, since he knew how much Arlo loved her. Even now, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact Arlo let River down for Aubrey.
"If you loved her so much, why did you hurt her?" Michael shook his head. "I can’t understand you."
"She can’t give me a child..." Arlo surprisingly replied to him; he stared outside the window as the sun rose.
"Aubrey gave birth to a son for you, but you don’t even care about them." Michael was being harsh; he didn’t even try to be nice to him.
But this time, Arlo didn’t say anything when Michael scolded him for being very callous to his son.
"I don’t care about that woman, but the baby is yours. You are the father, and he is my nephew. Get your act together, Arlo. I want my nephew."
However, Arlo tuned him out.
Right now, there were so many people waiting for the result of the autopsy on the dead body.