Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 108: Investigation

Chapter 108: Investigation

Leander walked out of his office with Steve’s gun. He had managed to stop Steve at the last moment. After assuring Steve that he will protect his family, Steve opened up about some things.

He said only a little. But that is enough.

Steve said that there are rumors that the don killed his cousin Russo because he disagreed with what happened in Abenney that year. But he made sure to let Leander know that they are only rumors and that he never believed that.

Steve also added that after Russo’s death, the don was very gracious to their family and even gave a tidy sum of money to Russo’s daughter. That money helped them with cancer treatment. Otherwise, they might have sunk into debt.

Maybe Steve is too scared and too loyal to say much. But Leander knew it is not a simple rumor if it survived this long. He remembered attending Russo’s funeral and his grandfather talked about how much of a loyal man he was.

There should be something more.

Without knowing, he had walked to his room to look for her. He wanted to look at her face. Whenever he’s in trouble he wanted to look at her. She was still in the bathroom. He couldn’t hear her crying, but another song was playing.

I cannot go to her!

He walked out of his room and to the office. Steve was still on the floor.

"Whose plan was Heberden Blowout?" he asked.

It took a few seconds for Steve to gather himself, but he stood up immediately. He became enthusiastic as he still had his job. "You planned it all, Capo," he said.

Leander nodded. He was not planning on actually burning the place though. It was the bomb maker’s fault. He taught a good lesson to him. But suddenly he had a question.

Was that an accident? Or was the bomb-maker asked to switch the duds with real bombs?

Unfortunately, they cannot ask the bomb-maker. He’s already digested by the earth and bones don’t talk much. Even if bones could talk, he didn’t remember where he buried him. He didn’t think he could get to chat with his ghost either.

But he remembered that his grandfather thought that a scare of bombs won’t be much effective. He thought that an actual bomb would be better and that an actual blast was necessary for the money paid by Heberden.

He thought that his grandfather trusted him when he explained his side. Times are different and they don’t have to take lives for money. Fear is a big factor and social media is a great weapon to be used. Just the threat to life would have been enough for Heberden to win the race.

But was his grandfather really convinced? Or did he sneak behind his back?

"Have you ever had a feeling that the don doesn’t trust me, Steve?" Leander asked.

He did not want that to be true. He wanted Steve to refute that.

Heh!

He wanted to hit himself to alleviate his guilty feeling. Just one word from that woman and he is already doubting his grandfather. When it comes to that woman, he is acting a lot unreasonable. How can he be this easily influenced by a woman?

Steve said nothing and bowed his head.

"What?" Leander asked.

"Nothing, Capo. I’m sure the don loves you more than anyone," Steve said in a blunt tone.

That told Leander everything he wanted to know. Maybe his grandfather was careful around him? He never noticed much because he never cared about it much.

But it was his grandfather who raised him under his loving care since he never got his mother’s love. How could his grandfather not trust him?

He was very disappointed. He even felt guilty wondering if he never acted as a trustworthy person.

"Find out if any of the Blaster’s men would talk to us," Leander said rubbing his neck. "And keep it a secret."

It was not even evening yet and he felt so tired. But he did not want to let this rest. If his grandfather or Evander was involved in the operations of the Heberden Blowout, he wanted to know.

He knew it was entirely his project and no one would have done anything sneaky. He wanted proof to show that woman that he is indeed the sole implementer of that blowout. That he is the one...that he killed her parents!

He ran his fingers through his hair. He is turning stupider by the minute. But he wanted to know if his grandfather was involved in the bomb blast.

And about the fire... he’ll do the research himself.

"I know one of the lackeys. I’ll bring him to the warehouse," Steve said and walked away.

Leander sat on the couch and watched Steve leave with a skip in his step. At least his mood became better!

He leaned on the backrest of the couch. The fire in Abenney, the death of Russo, his scars and memory loss, and possibly his meeting with his wife... It all was centered around Abenney and the fire there.

He used to have a lot of nightmares about the fire he was in. He would walk up in the middle of the night, screaming for his mother. Only his mother never was by his side. His grandfather had to seek the help of medical professionals and he was medicated heavily for his depression and anxiety attacks.

Only when he stopped thinking about the fire did he start to have a normal life. His grandfather asked him to not think about that fire or even research it as it obviously affects his mental health. He abided by his grandfather’s affectionate request till now.

He never promised his grandfather or anything. So, it is not wrong if he looks for it, right? And he is a f*cking adult. He can do whatever he can even though he feels guilty about it or if he might regret it later.

He searched for news articles and there were a lot of them. They all talked about how tragic it was. He doesn’t have children and so he might not know what it feels like to lose a child, but he had lost his father and he remembered how terrible it was.

And he was not that hard-hearted to feel sad seeing the burnt corpses of little kids and the crying parents around them. There was a picture of the coffins of all those who had lost their lives in the fire set out in the graveyard. It was pretty woeful to see.

There were some articles praising the Kastello family for their help in rebuilding the community after such a great loss. There was extensive coverage in various news articles on how the Kastello family is spearheading the relief efforts.

A children’s park was built in that spot with a marble fountain in the middle. The architecture was splendid that could almost be equated to the best works of Michelangelo. In the middle of the fountain was an angel with his hands extended as if he was blessing the two ornate marble plaques. On those plaques were engraved the names of everyone who died in the fire.

A worthy tribute, Leander thought. He was glad his grandfather paid for that fountain and built the park. That’s the least anyone with money could do for a community that lost their children.

There were a lot of pictures of his grandfather with the mayor of the city, and other politicians getting awards and accolades for his help in rebuilding Abenney to the resort capital of the South, bringing millions in the economy over the years.

Leander didn’t mind that as he knew it was then their family was trying to come out of the "Mafia Family" image as the laws were getting stricter against organized crimes in their country. His grandfather, over the years, has tried to whitewash the Kastello image and with Evander’s help, they’ve successfully turned their identity into that of an international business family.

Their mafia business is only run underground these days.

He really thought that his grandfather used the fire as an excuse to rebrand their family image. The Waldorf family too joined hands in the relief efforts turning people’s opinions about their families.

He didn’t even think that his grandfather would in any way be responsible for the fire and the deaths of innocent orphans and nuns. He too was in the fire. That was proof enough for him that his grandfather wouldn’t have started to fire. Because if it was his grandfather’s plan, he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near those buildings.

But maybe the Waldorf family is involved?

He wanted to check further but his eyes and head hurt staring at his phone screen for this long. He decided to continue his search on his laptop.

But his heart skipped a beat realizing that his laptop is in his room. And in his room is...

Taking in a deep breath, he walked to his room. To get his laptop and to check on her.