Chapter 182 Reversal
There was a reason he’d asked Gordon to keep Mabel in the city.
The system item “No Cancer” came with a time limit. If it wasn’t used within a week, it would automatically expire, and once expired, it couldn’t be repurchased for an entire year.
Alistair was confident he’d get through this crisis unscathed. But if he was released only to find Mabel had already left town and couldn’t be reached in
for nothing. He’d have then everything would have been
chance.
the cure and possibly her last
Better to ask Gordon to postpone her trip than to tell him outright that Mabel was sick and needed him to save her.
Gordon would’ve taken one look and assumed he’d gone off the deep end.
Alistair understood Gordon’s frustration.
He and Caroline were deeply in love, and Mabel had always held him in high regard. Emotionally, no matter what anyone else said, they trusted him completely.
But now the authorities had shown up with an official arrest warrant. That meant they had what they believed was solid evidence. Gordon was terrified that Caroline, Mabel, or even little Eloise might witness Alistair being taken away in
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Chapter 182 Reversal
handcuffs.
And truthfully, even Alistair didn’t want the people he cared about to see him like that. It wasn’t about guilt. It was about preserving dignity.
But he needed Gordon to agree. He met his gaze head–on, voice steady, firm–rarely so serious, yet deeply sincere. “Three days,” he said. “Give me three days. That’s all I ask.”
Gordon narrowed his eyes. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“There are things I didn’t get the chance to say tonight,” Alistair replied, “and they matter.”
Gordon almost laughed. He glanced at the officers standing nearby, gave them a polite nod, and then turned back to Alistair. “You think you’re getting out in three days?”
Alistair didn’t flinch. “Of course. I’m innocent. The justice system doesn’t put innocent men behind bars.”
Gordon said nothing. He turned away, refusing to look at him again.
The officers moved in and snapped cold silver cuffs around Alistair’s wrists.
The metal felt icy against his skin, glinting under the sunlight with a steely sheen.
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Chapter 182 Reversal
***) 20 min left
Gordon, unable to resist, turned just in time to see Alistair glancing down at the cuffs with mild curiosity, like a kid examining a new toy. Not a hint of fear. Just intrigue.
Gordon said nothing.
He watched as Alistair was led away, his brows furrowed for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, he let out a quiet chuckle, shook his head, and turned to leave with his hands clasped behind his back.
Moments later, Eloise came running up, her face flushed from play. “Grandpa!” she called out breathlessly, glancing around behind him. She didn’t see the person she was looking for. Confused, she turned her head from side to side, her eyes scanning for Alistair.
Gordon paused, studying her closely.
When Caroline had first brought her home, the rumors had been relentless.
People whispered that Caroline had a shady past and that Eloise wasn’t adopted at all, but her biological daughter.
Even his own sister, Paige, had hinted that he should get a DNA test done.
Gordon had never believed Caroline to be the kind of woman
Chapter 182 Reversal
*) 20 minte
they painted her to be, but the pressure eventually got to him. He tested anyway.
The results were… interesting.
Caroline and Eloise weren’t mother and daughter. But there was a faint biological link.
Which meant Eloise wasn’t just a random adopted child. She was somehow connected to the Ashbourne bloodline.
Ever since then, whenever someone tried to stir up gossip, Gordon would simply ask them to bring proof. Over time, people stopped questioning Eloise’s identity.
He knelt in front of her now. Her fine hair was damp with sweat, her ponytail askew. The once–pristine little face was smudged and streaked.
She wasn’t used to him, and her gaze was hesitant, unsure.
“Grandpa,” she said softly, “have you seen my daddy?”
Gordon replied, “Oh, your dad had to leave for something important.”
He reached out and gently wiped her cheek with his thumb, his ~ as he added, “What happened to your face, little
Chapter 182 Reversal
20 min lof
Alistair had officially been “taken into custody.”
At the station, he finally learned the full scope of the case. Police claimed they had both eyewitnesses and physical evidence proving he was behind the deaths of Nathaniel and Cordelia.
The case had made national headlines, and the department had formed a special task force to tackle it. After days of chasing leads and working overtime, they believed they finally had their breakthrough. The officers were energized, excited to finally bring closure to the victims‘ families and the watching public.
They launched into Alistair’s interrogation with renewed vigor.
The star witness was the cousin of the driver who had caused the crash. He claimed that Alistair had taken advantage of the driver’s unstable mental state and manipulated him into killing Nathaniel and Cordelia.
He said he hadn’t spoken out earlier because he feared
Alistair’s power, worried his entire family would be targeted in retaliation.
Alistair, facing it all, remained calm. He stated firmly that he was innocent.
The task force was prepared to grind him down. But just as they were about to go all in on “breaking” him, everything flipped on
Chapter 182 Reversal
→ 20 min left
its head. New evidence came to light. A new witness stepped forward, and it was the cousin’s own wife.
She testified that her husband had accepted two million dollars to lie and colluded with someone to fabricate the entire story.
Two million dollars. Again.
Alistair leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling tiles above. He wasn’t really seeing them. In his mind, the sky was bright, the clouds slow and unbothered. He dropped his gaze and tapped the scuffed floor with the toe of his shoe, brushing against some forgotten grit near the leg of the table.
Back then, he gave up his future for two million dollars.
Now… now he’s got several versions of that number in his bank
account.
To the rich, two million dollars was just a figure. But for someone like he once was, it had the power to purchase dignity, freedom, and even lives.
But Alistair wasn’t that boy anymore. Not the one who sold off his future for survival.
“You’re really smiling right now?” one of the officers asked, staring at him in disbelief.
Alistair had spent the night in the precinct. But thanks to the
Chapter 182 Reversal
* 20 min 1 In
last–minute evidence and the testimony that cleared him, he was released the next morning at exactly 10 AM.
Caroline hadn’t gone to work that day. How could she? The moment Alistair was taken away, she’d been beside herself with worry. Work was the last thing on her mind.
Her faith in him had never wavered.
Even if the police had dumped a mountain of evidence in front of her, she still would’ve believed in his innocence.
She was afraid he’d be tortured for a confession.
She was afraid he’d be scared or humiliated.
She wanted to kill whoever was doing this to him.
If Gordon hadn’t dragged her away behind Mabel’s back, she might’ve completely lost it. She was seconds away from doing something reckless–something irreversible.
When she finally saw him, she threw her arms around him and held him tight, her voice catching in her throat.
Alistair held her back, breathing her in, comforted by the solid weight of her in his arms. “I told you I’d be fine,” he murmured.
Caroline choked out, “If you hadn’t made it, I don’t know how I would’ve gone on.”
Flash Marriage to a Stunning CEO
