725: One plan, two shots

One plan, two shots

"Almost all the people here are already dead or their lives have been destroyed, except Theo and Grandpa. And Jared, of course." Aria stated and everyone's eyes widened immediately.2

"What?" Ian was the first to react verbally and shook his head questioningly in disbelief.

"Yes. I am sure you recognized some of the people here, especially those associated with medical science and are the trustees of some huge hospitals. All the people I found familiar here are dead or have gone bankrupt or spending their lives in prison."

Aria pointed out the important fact everyone had missed.

"You may clarify it if you want." She handed the laptop to Joshua along with her notepad on which she had written the names of the people she recognized. He was the best person for this matter and with his quick hands, he could find better results.

Noah only recognized the few people who had been involved in business and were once in the financial world. He had no idea about the trustees Aria was speaking about. But that did not mean Ian didn't.

He recalled all the familiar faces he had seen in the video and tried to remember their lives since the last time he heard about them. Although he could not remember everything, there were a few important ones he had seen in the news and they matched with Aria's findings.

Joshua tapped on the keyboard at lightning speed and even with limited resources, he was able to find out the names and details of all the people who had attended the conference.

At first, other than a frown as he focused on his task, there was no other expression on his face. But as time passed, his expression morphed into that of shock, and he was finally mortified. He stared at Aria as though he was looking at his savior and Aria could not bear the intensity in his gaze.

"What?" She blinked at him innocently and gave him a curious look. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Because you are God," Joshua mumbled, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

"What?" Aria looked at him as though he was a fool while the others rolled their eyes.

"What did you find out, Jo?" Ian interrupted the man before he kneeled before Aria and started worshipping her. The man could go crazy all of a sudden. They had to be wary of his actions every time he got excited.

"Everything Aria is true. I checked not one or two but all the people who attended the conference. And other than Grandpa and Theo and Jared..." Joshua's expression was filled with hate when he spat the despicable man's name. "Everyone else's fate is miserable."

"I mean, Theo, too, was gone until yesterday. But now..." He paused suddenly, not knowing how else to continue. But from Aria's words and his finding, they had more or less understood what had happened.

"We all know who was the last person Jared took care of?" Noah stated and Joshua immediately understood what he was referring to. His eyes briefly darted towards the laptop before he looked at Noah.

"The last person who died was Charles Miller." Ivy analyzed. " And Frederick Clark is already in prison. So..."

"Grandpa and Theo are the only ones left." Ian narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. 

"If Jared does not know Theo is alive, then just Grandpa. But if he knows..." Aria started, forgetting all about her coffee that had gone cold long ago. "If he knows, then there is a motive for him to use someone who resembles Theo greatly. Just think about it."

"What could he gain by using Theo's lookalike?" Ronnie, who had not spoken for a long time, questioned and Aria gave him a thoughtful glance.

"These are just my theories. I can be wrong also." Aria leaned forward and tapped her fingers on her thigh for a moment.

"Let's assume that Jared knows Theo is alive, which I have a feeling he does. If Charles Miller were to die under mysterious circumstances, our hospital will be under fire. And knowing us..." Aria pointed at all of them. "We will definitely try to find out the murderer."

Aria took a deep breath and calmed her restless heart while her audience waited patiently. "If you remember the man who killed Charles Miller, he intentionally stopped to look at the camera. It was as though he was scared his face was not captured."

"Using this method.."

"Jared can eliminate two people in one shot using this method." Noah finished her words for her. "I am going to kill that bastard." He seethed, not caring about the questioning glances he was getting from his friends.

"I still don't get it." Ivy shook her head and looked for Aria's help and her sister sighed lightly.

"Jared used a lookalike to kill Charles so that we suspect Theo is alive and find him. He wants to use us to bring Theo out of his hiding. Now, only Theo and Grandpa are left and considering how all the other people's lives have ended, his next target will be Theo and then, Grandpa. Moreover, our hospital is under the radar because of the two murders. So, two shots.."

Aria laid down her deductions in front of everyone and they sucked in a deep breath in horror. They had never in their dreams thought that they had been played all along by Jared to this extent. The man had been using them since the beginning and despite slight mishaps in his plans, he had always been the winner.

Slowly but surely, he eliminated all the people he had once used to achieve his goals and nobody doubted him at all. Not one person.

"We need to stop Theo from coming here, then." Joshua shook his head frantically and looked at Noah immediately.

"No." Aria and Noah rejected the thought at the same time.

Aria gestured for Noah to take over and the man did so after nodding at her. "We need Theo to be here to lure Jared."

"What do you mean?" Ian had a fair inkling as to what Noah was thinking and his eyes narrowed with wicked intentions.

"I mean, since he wants to use us to bring Theo out of hiding, let us use Theo to lure the man out of his hiding. Let us use his plan against him to checkmate him."

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