Chapter 238

I pointed at Brandon and said, "Officer, this is the guy who broke into my house. Arrest him."

The evidence against Brandon was solid, and the police quickly took him into custody.

As he was being led away, he glared at me and spat, "Caroline, you're ruthless. Just you wait."

I smirked, unfazed by his threats.

After Brandon was taken away, I hired someone to clean up the house and listed it for sale online. Unfortunately, the house's reputation had taken a hit, so I had to lower the price, but at least it sold.

With the money from the sale, I finally felt at ease. Brandon wouldn't have a place to cause trouble anymore.

On the way back with Royce, I suddenly thought of Briar.

Since I was in Skyview City, I figured I should visit her. After all, she was so reluctant to leave Suncrest City last time.

So, we took a detour to her school and waited at the gate. I remembered Leo mentioning that Briar always walked to and from school alone, such a well-behaved kid.

Today, I planned to give her a ride and treat her to a meal.

As soon as I arrived at the school gate, I spotted Briar inside, looking downcast.

"Briar!"

I called out to her. She looked up instinctively, and her eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Ms. Sharp, what are you doing here?"

She ran over and hugged my waist. I patted her head. "I had some business in Skyview City and thought I'd drop by to see you."

I pointed to Royce beside me. "This is Mr. Castillo."

Royce waved, and Briar shyly nodded. "Hello, Mr. Castillo."

I put my arm around her shoulders and asked, "Have you eaten yet? How about I take you out for something delicious?"

Briar perked up immediately and shook her head. "Not yet."

"Great, let's go out to eat. What do you feel like having?"

"Fried chicken? Burgers?"

Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded eagerly.

I knew kids loved that stuff. Brett used to love it too, always asking for it as a reward for good grades.

"Why don't you call your dad and let him know, so I can take you out for dinner?"

To my surprise, Briar shook her head. "No, I don't want my dad to know. If he finds out, he'll ask a million questions."

"Besides, I usually eat dinner at a nearby shop by myself, so it's no big deal, Ms. Sharp. Even if I'm late, he won't worry."

"Really? What if your dad gets worried?"

"He never worries. He never cares about me in the evenings."

Briar pouted.

I frowned, feeling like the Leo Briar described wasn't the Leo I knew, but I couldn't pinpoint the difference.

I took her to a fast-food place and told her to order whatever she wanted.

Briar excitedly ordered a bunch of food, and seeing her so happy made me happy too.

"Order whatever you like. It's on me today."

Royce and I didn't want to eat fast food, so we planned to eat after Briar finished.

Royce knew everything that had happened with Briar at my place, so we chatted without any awkwardness.

"How's school in Skyview City? Are you enjoying it?" I asked while watching Briar eat.

She immediately shook her head. "Not at all. It's not as fun as Suncrest City. Ms. Sharp, can't I go back?"

"What's wrong? Tell me about it."

"They're all liars. I don't like them."

Royce and I exchanged glances. I dropped my smile and asked, "Who are the liars?"

Briar said, "Dad's a liar, Mom's a liar, and Mr. Earl Jordan is a liar too."

"What did they lie about?"

"They didn't just lie to me; they lied to you too."

"Dad doesn't have a job. He stays home every day but tells you he has a job."

I was stunned, not understanding why Leo would lie about that.

"Why would he lie to me?"

"He doesn't need to lie to you. He says we're struggling, but he's actually rich."

"I saw him bring home a lot of money once. When I asked where it came from, he wouldn't tell me. We have enough money to live on, but he pretends we're poor and makes me save every penny. I don't know why."

"And Mom, she's a liar too."

"What about your mom?"

"She doesn't care about me or our family. She has another family outside."

I raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. "I heard she has another man. Once, Dad found out about her other family, and they had a huge fight. Since then, Mom rarely comes home."

"Even when she does, they only talk for a couple of minutes in the study before she leaves. She never looks at me."

I sighed, feeling sorry for Briar. Kids suffer the most in such families.

"And what about Mr. Jordan?"

"He made me take pictures of your house and everywhere else."

"He said he wanted to see what your house looked like. I thought it was strange and didn't want to do it, but he yelled at me."

Briar's voice was filled with frustration.

"Earl made you do that?"

"Yes, and when I ran away from home, it wasn't because I fought with Dad. Mr. Jordan told me to hide so you wouldn't find me."

"Why?"

"He made me hide a small device in the house and where I was hiding."

My eyebrows furrowed. A small device?

Could it be a bug?

"What does it look like? Show me."

Briar nodded and took out her phone, showing me a picture of the device. "It looks like this. I don't know what it is, and when I asked, he yelled at me."

I showed the picture to Royce, and we both immediately recognized it as a bug.

"Do you remember where you hid them?"

Briar nodded. "Yes, I put one behind the living room sofa, one in the surveillance room, and one in the attic where I was hiding."

"So Earl made you run away just to hide those devices?"

"How did you get them from him?"

"That day, I ran away and went to the back alley. He gave me the devices and told me to hide them. I didn't want to, but he threatened to hit me. I had no choice but to hide them."