Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 500

Emmett stammered, "And... and murder is a capital offense. He'll get a life sentence, at least!"

Silence fell upon the room.

Four little kids, each with brows furrowed deeper than the next.

After a while, Elliot was the first to break the silence, "We've got to figure out a way to clear his name!"

...

At that moment, Tarquin was still at the police station.

Elliot's analysis was spot on; indeed, someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

Tarquin's arrest had sent shockwaves through both the Bradford family and their rivals.

Everyone was using their resources to dig up dirt and brainstorm strategies to pin the murder on Tarquin!

They didn't care whether he was guilty or not; they just wanted to frame Tarquin as the killer!

Even if they couldn't get him the death penalty, a life sentence would suffice.

Gideon rushed to the police station early in the morning to 'visit' Tarquin, feigning concern, "Tarquin, the situation doesn't look good for you. Tell me the truth, did you do it? Only if I know the facts can I figure out how to help you, I..."

"You care about me? Yeah, right! Cut to the chase," Tarquin interrupted, clearly annoyed.

Gideon frowned, pausing before saying, "Many shareholders are worried that this scandal will affect the company. The board hopes you'll step aside for now, just in case we can't contain this. We don't want the company to suffer collateral damage."

Tarquin looked at him coldly, "If I step aside, who'll take over?"

"Come talk to me about it when I'm actually sentenced to death. Now, leave me alone!"

"You won't see the light until you're in the coffin. There'll come a day when you'll beg for my help!" Gideon left the police station, seething with anger.

Many from the Bradford family were lingering outside the station, and seeing Gideon's expression, they knew negotiations had failed.

Although disappointed, they weren't without hope, "If he doesn't willingly give up power, then he can forget about a smooth resolution to last night's incident!"

"Even if he relinquishes power, he must die! This is our golden opportunity to get rid of him! It's like a gift from heaven!"

"Hopefully, we can get him sentenced to death before the year's end. Once he's gone, that little brat Elijah won't last long either. Then, it'll be our turn to reign. Heh, looks like we're finally going to have a good year."

"..."