Chapter 599: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Melody Summers didn’t read any further. The vast majority of users were focused on the famous actress, Autumn Sawyer. Hardly anyone cared about anything else.

In fact, it wasn’t just about The Serene Leaf Teahouse. There were many similar police bulletins about crackdowns on illegal establishments. It was clear the police had been working overtime to deal with these underground venues, making a final push to restore social order after the disaster.

But because Autumn Sawyer was a high-profile celebrity, only the topics about her and The Serene Leaf Teahouse were trending. The public’s attention was completely captivated by her story, so very few people paid attention to the other bulletins.

Realizing this, Melody Summers wearily put down her phone. She knew that, once again, the Walshs had most likely gotten away with it.

But recalling Kylie Walsh’s vile expression from the day before, Melody felt a knot of resentment tighten in her chest. The police might have let the Walshs go, but she had no intention of letting them off the hook.

The problem was, aside from Kylie Walsh and her cousin, Melody had no idea who else was behind The Serene Leaf Teahouse, nor did she know how to gather them all together and take them down in one fell swoop...

As Melody sank into deep thought, she was unaware that the very people she was after were gathered at that exact moment in the Walsh Villa, just a single wall away...

******

In the study of the Walsh Villa, Kylie Walsh held her phone, her fingertip swiping restlessly across the screen.

Watching the fierce debate in the trending topics’ comment sections, she spoke with a sense of unease. "...Since the police bulletin named Autumn Sawyer as the mastermind... that means this is over, right...?"

Nearby, the brothers Shane and Brandon Walsh were also on their phones. Neither of them said a word in response to Kylie.

When no one answered, Kylie lifted her head, her face etched with worry. "Why aren’t you two saying anything? Is this really over or not?... What if—what if the police contact me?..."

Kylie had grown quite close to Autumn Sawyer recently. Now that Autumn was arrested, Kylie was terrified the police would come for her next!

Joy Jennings, sitting beside Kylie, chuckled at her words. She patted Kylie’s back and comforted her in a low voice, "Aunt Kylie, don’t worry. All the evidence was destroyed beforehand. The police can’t trace it back to us."

"Even if the police do summon you, just say that you only ever played cards with her and you weren’t aware of her other activities. They can’t find any evidence, so they won’t be able to do anything to you!"

But Joy’s words failed to comfort Kylie, who was still deeply worried. The raid on The Serene Leaf Teahouse was another alarm bell for Kylie, making her suddenly realize that the Walsh Family’s influence was truly not what it used to be...

’If this were the Walsh Family of old, they could have opened The Serene Leaf Teahouse in the busiest part of the city, and absolutely no one would have dared to investigate! They never would have ended up like this, the whole family sitting here on pins and needles.’

At this thought, a profound sense of helplessness washed over Kylie. She couldn’t help but think, ’If only I could marry Roman Rhodes. If I had the Rhodes Family backing me, I wouldn’t need to be here, terrified...’

Kylie sighed faintly, pushing the chaotic thoughts from her mind. She clutched her phone tightly and mumbled, "...But—but what if Autumn Sawyer rats us all out...?"

The more Kylie thought about it, the more she panicked. ’What happened at The Serene Leaf Teahouse is a capital offense! We arranged for Autumn Sawyer to be the scapegoat, but would she really be willing to take the fall?’

’Wouldn’t she expose everyone else for a chance to live?’

Hearing Kylie’s words, Brandon Walsh, who was standing nearby, snorted. "You don’t have to worry about that. She won’t have the chance to talk!"

Kylie’s head snapped up. She stared at Brandon, bewildered. "Cousin, what do you mean?"

’What does he mean, she won’t have the chance to talk?’

Brandon Walsh glanced at a message on his phone screen and smirked. "I had someone tamper with her food," he said in a low voice. "By now... she’s gone to see the Grim Reaper!"

Earlier, when Brandon had coaxed Autumn Sawyer into taking the fall, he had promised that he would find a way to get her out.

But getting her out was, of course, impossible.

The case against The Serene Leaf Teahouse was ironclad. The higher-ups were demanding someone be held accountable, and someone had to take the blame. Autumn Sawyer was the only choice for a scapegoat.

Only her death would allow the rest of them to be at ease.

Hayden Jennings’s lab had some new poisons, ones not yet seen on the market. When mixed into food, they would take effect the next day, and even the police wouldn’t be able to detect poison—they could only determine that the cause of death was heart failure.

Seeing the message from his inside contact—"Autumn Sawyer’s death confirmed"—Brandon Walsh finally felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

It was just that...

Remembering Autumn Sawyer’s past tenderness and attentiveness, Brandon still put on a show of sighing and lamented, "Such a shame... I was actually genuinely fond of Autumn..."

Brandon had barely finished speaking when, with a CLICK, the study door was pushed open.

Everyone in the study turned in unison toward the sound, seeing Yuri Walsh and Hayden Jennings entering.

Seeing them, Joy stood up. "You all have business to discuss. I’ll take my aunt upstairs to rest."

After saying this, Joy helped Kylie leave the study. The door shut with a soft CLICK, leaving only Yuri Walsh, Shane Walsh, Brandon Walsh, and Hayden Jennings in the room.

Hayden Jennings paid no mind to the others, seating himself on the sofa. He raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. "Is the matter with The Serene Leaf Teahouse all settled?"

Shane Walsh pinched the bridge of his nose and replied in a heavy voice, "Don’t worry. With Autumn Sawyer taking the fall, the police won’t dig any deeper... Everything inside The Serene Leaf Teahouse was destroyed, and all the lab equipment in the basement was removed. They won’t find a thing!"

After finishing, Shane frowned and looked at Hayden Jennings and Yuri Walsh, his expression grim. "...But what about you two? What exactly is going on?!"

"I heard Paige Walsh and her people are researching a new virus, one they discovered in a body from The Metropolis Residences... Jennings, what in the world are you all up to?! Don’t tell me that virus has leaked?!"