Ch 614 - Riley’s Trap

Timothy felt a little embarrassed by his brother showing up. He obviously didn't agree with him, but to keep the peace, he told Brian he would stay away from Alex.

Alex didn't really care. It didn't matter to him whether the two brothers helped him or not. If he wanted to get out of prison, he could. But he wanted to stay and discover his enemies' plots and lure them out of their hiding place.

After Brian and Timothy had left, Tamara brought Alex some breakfast.

She resumed the interview, but this time, her tone was polite.

Regardless of Timothy's support, it was clear Alex had plenty of important contacts. They didn't dare offend him, lest someone with more authority than Timothy showed up to help.

Alex didn't argue with them. He simply told them, yet again, that Michael had committed suicide in order to frame him for murder.

Although Tamara and the other officers thought it was ridiculous, they wrote it all down in detail.

**

That afternoon, Riley and Louisa were riding horses at the equestrian center.

Louisa had regained her health and was as beautiful as ever.

"So, Brian's a friend of your father?" asked Riley.

"Yes," replied Louisa. "When Brian found out Timothy had visited Alex and wanted to help him, he went there to stop him. I just received news that Timothy was sent away and wasn't allowed to get involved in Alex's case. And without Timothy's support, it will be difficult for Alex to get away with it."

"You shouldn't let Brian get involved either," Riley said.

Louisa was stunned. "What do you mean? If he doesn't get involved, then Timothy will step in and help Alex, and he has the power and authority to protect him."

"I want to ruin Timothy too," Riley said simply. "It doesn't bother me that Timothy might bend the law to help Alex. If he does that, I'll be able to drag him into it too. Anyone who gets involved in this case will be ruined. But now that Timothy has been told not to get involved, that's less likely to happen."

Louisa thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Perhaps we've been a little rash."

"Not only that," said Riley as he stared into the distance. "Brian is well respected in Baltimore. With his background and ability, he has a lot of influence on the public. He's not just a puppet working for your family; he's also an iron-fisted man with authority. If you let him get involved in the case, he may go against your family's wishes whenever he sees fit."

He frowned. "He's restrained Timothy from helping Alex and doing anything wrong. But at the same time, he's stopped us from making any moves. Timothy is keeping an eye on Alex, so he'll probably do everything in accordance with regulations now, and that means we can't change the existing witness testimonies."

Louisa thought it over and then gave him a wry smile.

Brian was the only person in authority working with the police who was loyal to her father. She knew a lot of people respected him, and many people even regarded him as someone who could keep Jeremiah in balance. Brian also respected Jeremiah's opinions.

Louisa wasn't particularly surprised by Michael's death, because she knew about his secret problem, but she was still extremely sad. Not only was her brother dead, but she had now lost any chance of getting close to Alex.

She had always thought Alex was special, and she had been attracted to him. But now they were enemies.

"So, what's next?" asked Louisa. "Do you have any other plans?"

"You mean for Alex?" asked Riley.

Louisa nodded. "Yes. I want this all over. I don't want him to be able to cause any more trouble."

Riley remained silent.

"I see Lindsey accepted your offer," Louisa said, feeling a pang of jealousy. "It seems that she really wants to help Alex."

"That woman is really strange," replied Riley, his expression cold. "It's obvious she has feelings for Alex. At my suggestion of committing perjury, she accepted it, almost without any hesitation."

"What a silly little girl," remarked Louisa, shaking her head. "She's very naive."

"Well, I've set a trap for her," said Riley. "And it's a very good one. She'll walk right into it before she has any idea something is wrong."

Louisa frowned. "Well, I hope she dies a miserable death."

"No, this is Charles Marvel's daughter we're talking about," Riley reminded her. "She's a smart woman." He shrugged. "But she can also let her feelings get in the way. Especially when it comes to Alex; she's more likely to lose her mind. It's hard to believe just how much she's willing to risk for him."

Riley had done his homework on Lindsey, and he had known exactly how to manipulate her.

"She's even willing to break the law in order to save him," he said, smirking. "But we can't underestimate her intelligence. She's just desperate right now, and she can't see clearly enough to guard against me."

Louisa sighed and then remarked, "She really is an interesting woman."

Riley's eyes twinkled. "She's like a rabbit. In your field of vision, within your reach, there's no barrier between you both. But as soon as you reach out, it jumps away. I can see her, but I can't catch her." There was a hint of pain in his voice. "But I'm sure she'll run into my arms in the end."

Louisa smiled.

She had long thought that Riley had pursued Lindsey to use her as a chess piece to get at Alex.

But now she realized Riley's interest in Lindsey was more than just using her as a pawn. He seemed to have deep feelings for her.