Chapter 327 Crawlers in the Dark
Kelly looked anxiously at Zev. “What did Oscar say?”
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Zev frowned slightly and gestured for Kelly to calm down. “Clarissa might be the major shareholder of the club, but others also hold shares. She’s never directly involved in its operations–only the profits. There’s no evidence directly tying her to what happened, so for now, only the on–site managers have been arrested… But tracing the source is only a matter of time.”
Zev assured Kelly that soon, they would pin everything on Clarissa.
And this time, she wouldn’t be able to wipe her hands clean.
“Was there anything else?” Kelly still looked uneasy, her gaze fixed on Zev.
He hesitated briefly but eventually said it. “Darren, he …”
“What happened to Darren?” Kelly shot to her feet in panic.
“Darren was helping Oscar stay in touch with the informant. Then they lost contact. The boy at the club was discovered–they tried to silence him. Darren couldn’t reach him by phone, so he rushed there on his own… He got hurt trying to save him.” Zev gently took Kelly’s hand. “Oscar already got him to the hospital. He’s going to be okay.”
Kelly’s head buzzed as she gripped Zev’s hand tightly.
Even after all these years, even with Zev by her side now, fear and anxiety still triggered the same physical response in her.
In that moment, her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Zev quickly wrapped her in his arms, trying to calm her down. “Kelly, it’s okay. It’s really okay. Oscar’s people were there.”
“Michael…” Kelly’s whole body was trembling. “He’s Michael’s… brother. I promised Michael I would protect Darren, that nothing would happen to him … ”
She clung to Zev’s shirt like it was her only lifeline in a storm. She couldn’t fail Michael again.
For two years, while she was gone, Darren and Melody had secretly been building their case. It was inconceivable that Clarissa’s network hadn’t detected their activities. Darren’s sudden rescue attempt tonight revealed his hand, and the Lynches, along with their backers, would undoubtedly retaliate.
“I can’t let anything happen to him … ” Kelly was terrified. She already owed Michael too much.
She couldn’t let Michael’s parents suffer another loss.
“Nothing will happen. I promise, as long as I’m here.” Zev cupped Kelly’s face, forcing her to focus. “I won’t let anything happen to Darren. Trust me.”
Kelly clung to him as if he were the last piece of driftwood in an endless sea.
Wounds like hers never truly healed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fully escape the shadow of her past.
How many nights had she woken from nightmares, reliving the moment Michael died in front of her, over
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Chapter 327 Crawlers in the Dark
and over, tormenting her again and again?
How could she ever let go?
How was she supposed to let go…
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On the way to the hospital, Kelly sat in silence, staring out the window.
Michael had loved freedom, loved adventure, loved the night sky–but he would never see it again.
“Kelly, continue my journey in the world… ”
In countless dreams, Michael would appear, smiling as he said those words. “Kelly, continue my journey in the world.”
“Darren’s okay. Took a knife for the kid. It went through his right calf but missed all the deep fascia layers. It won’t affect his ability to walk. He just needs rest.” Oscar had been running around handling everything. He came over and patted Zev on the shoulder.
Kelly rushed into the hospital room, only to find the young boy sobbing uncontrollably at Darren’s bedside, as if he’d lost a family member.
Darren had both hands clamped over his ears like a tortured monkey trying to block out a curse. When he saw Kelly and Zev enter, he sat up like he’d been rescued. “Please, please take this kid away. He’s been crying for over an hour!”
Kelly inspected Darren’s wound and glanced at the medical chart at the bedside. Once she confirmed it wasn’t serious, she finally let out a breath. “Why were you so reckless…
She didn’t want to scold Darren, but he really had been too impulsive.
Darren looked guilty. “It was urgent … The kid panicked when the police arrived. He’s timid, and he tried to run but got caught. If I hadn’t gone, he’d be dead.”
The boy sobbed even harder.
He said nothing else. Not a single word.
Kelly sighed and gently patted his shoulder. “You were terrified, weren’t you?”
The boy stopped crying, nodded…
Then cried again.
“I’m not even dead yet … ” Darren muttered in defeat.
“They… won’t let me go… “The boy trembled all over.
He wasn’t wrong. That illegal operation behind the club didn’t stop with the Lynches–there were people
above them too.
Within the shadows, a distinct hierarchy existed. Larger predators consumed smaller ones, and those smaller ones, in turn, fed on the lowest creatures.
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Chapter 327 Crawlers in the Dark
“The police will protect you,” Kelly reassured gently.
The boy shook his head. “They can’t…”
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He lowered his head so far it almost disappeared into his arms. After a long pause, he finally choked out, “I had… a friend from the club. Three years ago. We were both underage. He got forced into doing something he didn’t want… He called the police…
He took a shaky breath, eyes wide with fear. “He was still so young. He demanded a lot of money and said he wouldn’t testify unless they paid. At first, they refused. Later, they gave in. And then… he disappeared.” The boy suddenly looked up at Darren and Kelly, desperate. “He didn’t run off with the money. He told me–no matter where he went, even if he left Scaville, he’d tell me. But I never heard from him again. It was like… like he just vanished from the earth…
Kelly’s brows furrowed deeply.
The Lynches really were feeding off the blood of others.
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