Clarence stared at him calmly, "Should I write you a review for your act?"
Caesar said, "Mr. Conrad, please don't forget that you are the reason Justin became how he is today."
"This is between me and him, none of your business."
"Mr. Conrad…"
Stella interrupted, "Didn't you say lots of them are curious about how you come back from the dead?
I'm curious too, do you mind sharing?"
The smile on Caesar's face faded slowly hearing that. He turned his gaze to the door.
Some journalists sneaked into the crowd and recorded every single word Caesar said just now.
They were trying to sneak out now.
Caesar turned over, "Ms. Radomil may ask if they dare let me tell the truth."
Before Stella could speak, Franklin said tiredly, "That's enough. It's Hilbert's funeral today. Let him walk
his final journey in peace, can you?"
Elaine who stood by the side opened her mouth slightly but kept quiet in the end.
Franklin then told the members of the James, "What Caesar said just now is not the truth. I'll provide an
explanation to you after the funeral. Please be respectful to the deceased, both Bancroft and Hilbert.
And refrain yourself from asking further about this now, please wait until after the funeral."
Franklin had made his voice heard. Hence, despite having doubts and questions, the crowd remained
quiet.
At this moment, one of the staff stormed towards Franklin, "Something is up, Mr. Franklin…"
"What happened?" Franklin asked, frowning.
"The ancestral hall is on fire."
Franklin immediately turned to Caesar, "Did you do it?"
Caesar raised both of his hands in the air, "I'm here with you all the time. How could you blame it on
me?" He said, smiling.
"You are impossible…"
"Don't you realize that someone has been missing all this while?"
With his reminder, the crowd found that Darnell was nowhere to be seen.
Caesar continued, "For my information, Darnell had always wanted to bring Dolores back here. He is
even willing to go against the elders. But this is understandable, Bancroft committed a crime in City N,
while Darnell can definitely kill a few elders and take the chance of Hilbert's death to burn down the
ancestral hall and its old rules, so no one would be able to challenge his position as the Master of
Riverside. These are things Darnell could easily do."
This time, instead of Franklin, Elaine shouted, "Nonsense!"
Caesar looked at her, "Elaine."
Elaine didn't know where her courage came from. She took one step forward, "The old rules should
have been abolished long ago, but Darnell never intended to go against the elders. He is discussing
with them, and he didn't kill anyone…"
"If he hadn't brought that lady back, how could you say what you said in front of great-grandpa today?"
Elaine began sobbing again, "Caesar, stop doing all this. You are back now. Can't we live harmoniously
as…"
Caesar laughed out, "Elaine, I know you have a marriage arrangement with Darnell, but don't defend
and trust him blindly. He can get rid of the elders now and his next target will be your dad. Do you think
he is kind-hearted?"
Clarence began, "You have been distracting everyone since the beginning. First Bancroft then Hilbert
and now Darnell, your goal is nothing but the Master of Riverside."
"You must be joking. I don't have the habit of snatching from someone nor do I like stepping on others
to get what doesn't belong to me."
"That's because you can't do it even if you want to. Everyone has the right but you."
The smile on Caesar's face froze, his eyes darkened.
"You have any more to say?" Clarence asked.
Caesar pushed his glasses and said coldly, "You are good with speech. I'm no competition to you."
Meanwhile, they received news from the ancestral hall. The fire was under control. Only the outer part
was damaged slightly; all the ancestral tablets were still in good condition.
Hence, Hilbert's funeral started officially.
Unexpectedly, Caesar remained quiet throughout the process, looking calm, as if he was truly here for
the funeral.
While Elaine went away with her dad.
Stella followed behind holding hands with Clarence, "Where is Darnell? What exactly is going on
tonight. Caesar…" she asked softly.
"What do you think he wants?" Clarence asked.
Stella shook her head, "As you said, he criticized the late Bancroft, then Hilbert and then Darnell, and
now… I can't tell."
Clarence smirked, "The conclusion is, he hates the entire James family."
Stella didn't understand, "The entire family?"
"Why do you think he was cast out of Riverside secretly in the beginning?" Clarence clarified.
Everyone became quieter approaching the yard.
The atmosphere turned solemn.
Caesar stood at a corner. He took off his glasses, wiping them slowly with a cloth.
Thereafter, Franklin came holding the urn while Elaine followed behind him.
Caesar put his glasses back on. He smiled faintly with one hand in his pocket like he was waiting for
something to happen.
When Franklin arrived in front of the crowd ready for his speech, the urn made some ticking sound.
His expression changed and immediately shouted, "There is a bomb!" And he threw the urn aside,
grabbed Elaine and ran in the other direction. The crowd didn't expect the sudden change of situation.
They looked at each other, and began fleeing after they saw Franklin throw away the urn.
One two three…
Soon, everyone realized and started escaping in fear.
And a huge explosion blasted behind them while they were running and everyone started screaming.
Stella was pulled into an embrace, protected against the deafening blast.
Her arms wrapped around Clarence's waist tightly, trembling in fear.
Clarence whispered into her ears, "It's alright."
He looked up at the explosion coldly.
The graveyard was a mess after the blast. Many of them were injured.
Caesar on the opposite stood still at the same spot, looking in the direction of the blast with a widened
smile on his face.
As if he was enjoying the result of his work.
Elaine crawled up from the ground, looked at the surrounding people, and shouted anxiously,
"Dad...Dad are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Franklin replied. He then stood up and looked towards the culprit.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda