It's Your Turn To Cry and Beg, Dear Uncle
Chapter 26: The Footage

Chapter 26: The Footage

Every private room in Paradise Dynasty was equipped with CCTV because most of the decorations inside were antiques worth a lot of money. Hence, aside from a matter of privacy, art appreciation was also one of the reasons why people tried to reserve it.

It wasn’t just a symbol of status but a place of inspiration and art criticism which evaluated one’s knowledge. After all, this was one of the ways the upper crust flaunted their status.

Hence, Killian’s first instinct was to check the camera inside the room. To keep a complete lookout for their antiques, surely they would install a 360 degree camera that covered the whole space, so it was highly possible that the balcony was within the range.

Unfortunately, Killian had to be disappointed. When he watched the footage, the balcony was completely blocked by the sliding door. It was as if Lila had planned this beforehand.

Killian somewhat felt a little annoyed despite his composed appearance. "Why was the camera placement odd? Even if the door wasn’t blocking the view, you could barely see the balcony."

The restaurant manager was speechless. In the first place, why did they have to record the balcony where nothing usually happened? The main purpose of this private room’s security camera was to ensure that no thief could escape with their valuables. Meanwhile, there was nothing of value on the balcony besides an ordinary flower pot.

In addition, guests usually hung out on the balcony to enjoy the open view of the lotus lake and the surrounding garden that was created to depict a royal garden, not to commit murder. So far, nothing like this has happened before.

The cases they received were at most the clumsiness of children who slipped and fell into the lotus lake or careless parents whose children got lost in the wide garden. And they had taken measures for these several issues, such as fencing the lake and installing security cameras inside the garden even if the aesthetic effect was somewhat lowered.

"Then what about the security cameras in your garden?" Killian asked again. With a garden as vast as that and plenty of trees being there, surely the supervision would be even stricter.

However, Killian’s hopes were dashed once again. "Yes, of course there is, but there is no camera that focuses on that specific balcony."

Killian, "..."

The manager immediately shrank under the man’s dark gaze. From the moment Killian came to him with the intention of investigating this incident, he was already feeling intimidated then. This man’s aura was ever so daunting that he easily overpowered his conversation partner. Not to mention his flat expression that looked as if he possessed a scary face by default.

It was difficult to guess what this man was thinking as Killian had been maintaining a poker face so well since earlier. He just kept mum when the progress of his investigation continuously hit a dead end.

On the side, the manager kept his eyes on Killian. Either this person was thinking of the next course of action or contemplating a lawsuit against this restaurant for being negligent in their security, related to the installation of CCTV.

Just thinking about this possibility made the manager weak because he would definitely suffer the consequences. Not only would his salary be cut, but his reputation as a manager would be ruined. The manager was very much aware of this man’s identity and who he worked for. The Synders family was absolutely capable of ending his career with just a single phone call.

Thinking that his life was hanging in the balance, the manager cracked under pressure and went all out on his suggestion. "How about we try checking all the security cameras?"

When that sentence fell, the two security guards who were in charge of monitoring the CCTV immediately stared at the manager with wide eyes. Their hands trembled in response even though they had yet to start working.

How could they not? Although they would only check on a certain timeframe, they had yet to determine the specific hour when the incident occurred. Hence, the first inspection would be dreadful since they had to watch the same scenery for several hours.

However, when they glanced at Killian who stood unbendingly with his eyes locked on the rows of monitors in front of them, they immediately turned towards the screen again. Their hearts bled in horror.

"How about it, Mr. Killian? We can check security cameras that might have captured the scene, even if it’s from a tricky angle. After all, most of the cameras installed near the lotus lake and the garden are the newly released 180 degree cameras," The manager explained carefully despite failing to hide his pride.

In any case, he should be in the safe zone after giving a reasonable suggestion. It was another matter if Killian refused it, at least he would not be regarded unhelpful.

Killian glanced at the manager, who was visibly drenched in anxiety, then shifted his focus back to the screens. He nodded. "Do it as soon as possible."

It was as if the sun had just risen, the manager’s face was filled with hope again. He immediately ordered the two security guards to check the footage of several cameras at around 18:00 to 20:00 PM.

"You heard Mr. Killian, do it quickly!"

The two security guards furiously complained in their hearts, but eventually went on to check the recordings. They were extremely careful. They did not dare to watch several recordings at once and even peeled their eyes wide open in order to make sure that nothing passed their eagle eyes.

By the seventh security recording, they were starting to feel dizzy. The manager was also growing weary of watching the same thing repeatedly. Maintaining his focus became quite a struggle.

Glancing at his watch, he noted it was already ten o’clock into the night. Great, it’s been ages since I last worked overtime, he thought with a sigh.

The clock continued to tick away. Seconds by seconds, minutes by minutes, until it bled into hours, but the result was still zero. Yet, the manager and the guards had finished two cups of coffee each. The aftereffect of the caffeine had already kicked in minutes ago.

Meanwhile, Killian’s cup remained untouched. His tea had gone completely cold, yet the man remained standing without a hint of exhaustion. His eyes hadn’t moved an inch from the screens.

Everyone in the room watched this amazing feat with their jaws wide open. Their expressions twisted with envy. What on earth did this man consume to gain such monstrous physique?!

However, the man who had been standing still suddenly spoke loudly, "Stop."

One of the guards flinched and reflexively punched the pause button. They all turned their heads towards Killian at the same time.

"Sir?" The manager looked confused and a little worried. He thought Killian was fed up and told them to stop because it was a waste of time.

But he was wrong as in the next second, Killian pointed to the top right corner of the screen with full confidence. The others turned their heads. Following the man’s finger, they saw the balcony of the main private room appear on the spot where Killian had pointed.

A woman was seen approaching the balcony railing. Killian immediately recognized her as Kyra. Even though they were not close enough to be regarded as friends, Killian knew Kyra’s body shape very well.

And the woman in the recording was clearly Kyra.

"Continue!" Killian commanded firmly. His voice immediately knocked the security guards out of their reverie. He pressed the play button.

The footage continued and Kyra’s figure gradually became clearer. She was right at the edge of the screen, even a little part of her head and shoulders were slightly cut off.

Then, the young woman was seen leaning on the balcony railing before she subtly turned her body. Killian guessed this was when Lila arrived. Moments later, had her back against the camera. The recording seemed frozen for several minutes, showing the same image. Then, without warning, Kyra fell from the balcony. The rapidness of the event startled everyone in the monitor room.

"Gosh! She really pushed her!" one of the security guards exclaimed in horror. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. It was as if they were watching a murder documentary. The silence of the recordings also added a layer of terror.

"How cruel. No matter how much you hate someone, do they have to go as far as committing murder?" another officer muttered, feeling sorry for the Synders family’s daughter.

However, amidst their chattering, Killian was oddly composed. His eyes never left the screen that froze right at the moment when Kyra fell into the lake. The manager who was standing beside him felt anxious under Killian’s haunting silence.

"Mmm... how is it, Mr. Killian?" He finally asked despite his nervousness.

Killian glanced at him briefly before moving closer to the desk. "Teach me how to operate this recording."

The security guards looked at each other before glancing at the manager who immediately nodded. With his permission, they rushed to teach Killian, it was quite simple and only took two minutes.

After that Killian nodded and requested, "Leave me alone. I’ll watch it one more time," then he turned to the manager. "I hope that’s allowed."

"Of course!"

The manager and the security guards happily left. After everyone was gone, Killian sat on the middle bench. He played the recording again. Once, twice, three times, up to five times.

Each repetition, Killian slowed down the video more and more, observing each frame carefully. Finally, he precisely stopped the footage where Kyra’s body had just toppled over the railings and in that split second, Kyra was seen holding Lila’s wrist.

Lila’s hand was positioned as if she were about to shake hands, rather than raised like the typical stop sign gesture seen when someone pushed another person.

This detail might have been easily overlooked by most, including the officers and the restaurant manager. However, being a perfectionist with an eye for details, Killian spotted the anomaly on the first playback. As a result, he requested to review the footage alone.

Killian stared silently. His index finger was tapping the table in a steady rhythm. Meanwhile, his other hand supported his chin. His cold eyes were shrouded in darkness.

The next step should have been to inform his boss directly. However, Killian didn’t even take out his phone. He remained in his seat motionless as if he was considering something.

He snorted. It would be easy for him to destroy this evidence, let alone edit the video into fake evidence that could land Lila in prison. Her father was also of no concern to him; even the general couldn’t stop his daughter’s downfall if he so desired.

But that would be too easy for James. He wanted James to waver, to wrestle with his morals and emotions, to the point of near madness. He wanted the decision as well as the consequences to fall in James’s hands.

He wanted James to choose between Kyra and Lila.

He wanted Kyra to see James for who he truly was.

It was the only way to ensure Kyra wouldn’t falter again in her revenge.