Chapter 27 Everything is Ready_1

"Tonight, I'm staying here?"

Upon seeing the single room before him, Bruce was a bit taken aback.

After Aiden had brought him to Rose Iron Prison, he had arranged this room for Bruce, telling him to "make do and sleep here for the night."

The single room seemed a bit cramped, but it was relatively clean overall. There was a single bed fixed to the wall, a cupboard, and even a small partitioned toilet. The setup didn't look much different from the dormitory of the police department.

The only difference was that the door was made of iron bars, and it could only be opened from the outside; even the windows were sealed with iron bars.

This was a single-person cell.

"Is there a problem?" Aiden asked, feigning ignorance as he looked at him.

"This is... a cell, right?"

"Don't overthink it, it's just for one night. Compared to the guards' rest area, this cell is even better equipped," Aiden said with a smile as he patted Bruce on the back, then added meaningfully, "And... you'll have to go in sooner or later anyway, so it's not bad to get used to it now, right?"

"But..." Bruce clearly couldn't get over the mental hurdle.

"Or should I book a hotel for you outside? It wouldn't really be a problem..." Aiden pointed towards the outside, "but I don't know if I'll still see you in one piece the next day."

"Then I'd better stay here," Bruce nodded vigorously.

All the way here, he had a persistent feeling that someone was stealthily following him and Aiden, and there were even a few times when he turned around and saw a fleeting shadow dive into an alley or around a corner.

That killer could be surveilling him this whole time, and the moment he left the prison, he might only be a few steps away from being taken out by a silenced shot to the head from the shadows.

In comparison, the prison actually seemed like the safest place.

"This area is all empty cells, so rest assured; if you need anything, just tell the guards," said Aiden with a facade of kindness as he locked Bruce in the cell and quickly left the cellblock to return to his office.

"All the items have been destroyed, right?" He immediately asked Avansa who was waiting inside his office as he entered.

"The clothes have been burnt and then buried," responded Avansa, who had changed back into her prison uniform, nodding.

Bruce feeling followed on his way wasn't him being paranoid; in fact, Avansa had indeed been trailing them the whole time and followed them back to the prison.

"Well done, and thank you for your hard work. You can go back to your cell now," Aiden nodded, then called a guard to escort Avansa back.

Next, he began searching through the office filing cabinet and sorted out several inmate files to check before jotting down their numbers.

He then called over a guard who was on the night shift: "Bring these three inmates here; I have some questions to ask them."

A few minutes later, the three inmates he had summoned were gathered in his office, neatly lined up.

These three inmates were from outside the core area, ordinary offenders of varying ages, each looking very nervous, clearly worried that being suddenly called out by the warden meant they were about to receive some kind of punishment or notification of transfer.

"Don't be afraid, the reason I've called you out today is actually for a good opportunity; I have a chance for you to merit recognition," Aiden said with a serene smile, "All three of you were imprisoned for illegal gold transactions or fencing related to gold. The prosecutor's office is currently investigating a stolen item and seeking our assistance. It's a rose gold pocket watch sold into the black market on the afternoon of March 27th, bought by a little shop in the black market called 'Gold Pan' located in Greyfinger Alley, Downtown District. We don't know where it has gone now. Does anyone have the connection to locate it? It's fine if you can't find it, but if you have any leads or can get the shop owner to come forward as a witness, that works too."

He finished speaking and looked over the three inmates: "If anyone can successfully recover it, I can raise that person's treatment grade and even argue for a reduced sentence."

The expressions on the faces of the three inmates softened somewhat; the conditions Aiden offered were quite generous.

But after several seconds passed, no one raised their hand.

Aiden looked at them for a good while, then finally exhaled deeply, "I see? No leads then. Alright..."

He knew it wasn't always possible to find relevant people with the right contacts inside his prison, since the types of criminals in a women's prison were not as varied as those in a men's prison.

But at that moment, the eldest of the inmates, an elderly woman, spoke up, "Warden, I want to know, if we find the stolen goods, will the purchaser be held responsible?"

Aiden paused briefly, then realizing there might be a lead, he replied immediately, "If they cooperate proactively with the investigation, they will not be held responsible."

"In that case, I might... have a way," the old woman said slowly, "The gold business in Greyfinger Alley, my son is involved in a part of it now, and 'Gold Pan' is actually one of the shops we handle... If the rose gold pocket watch is of good workmanship, we generally don't melt it down carelessly; it might still be with him. If necessary, I can ask him to find someone to testify."

Aiden caught on; many black market stores that acquire similar stolen goods would sometimes channel them to a few key figures who handled these items. He picked up the old woman's file and looked at it in detail before nodding in realization, "I see, so you took all the blame yourself in the past and let your son continue with the black market business... No wonder you have so much in your maintenance fund every month."

"Warden, this won't affect my son, will it?" The elderly woman still seemed worried.

"As long as there is active cooperation with the investigation, there won't be a problem. However, they might need to voluntarily give up the stolen goods without compensation."

"That's no problem; I'll make that clear to him in a letter. So, Warden, if the treatment grade is raised, can the number of visits be increased too?" she asked cautiously.

"Naturally," Aiden gave an affirmative response.

"Then I'll definitely cooperate, definitely!" the old woman nodded repeatedly.

For these imprisoned offenders, privileges and rights were more tangible than money. The treatment grade could not only determine the inmates' quality of life in prison but also how many family visits they could have per week. Those with a higher treatment grade could even apply for temporary leaves to visit family. As the warden, Aiden had control over these resources more precious than money.

With the lead on the evidence now emerging, what remained was preparing a retrial petition letter written by Veronica.

Everything was ready; it was time to make that decisive move against his arch-enemy.

"Notify the core area, bring inmate 3308 from cell number 13 here," he opened the door again and instructed the on-duty guard outside.