Reborn : Space Intelligent Woman

Chapter 2774: Chapter 2774: Wonder About Richard Lee’s Whereabout

Angelica Lee frowned deeply, her predatory eyes sweeping over the crowded holding cells to take a full inventory of their captured assets.

A fraction of a second later, her eyes widened slightly as she realised a glaring absence.

”Where is Father? I don’t see him anywhere in these cells. Is he being held in an isolated interrogation block?” Angelica Lee asked sharply.

”No.” Albert Lee slowly, grimly shook his head. ”I have not seen a single sign of him since the tactical units stormed our estate. He was not at the main house when the raid occurred.”

Catherine Lee finally stepped closer to the bars, her voice trembling as she chimed in. ”He... he was not at home at all last night, Ange.”

”He was not at home?” Angelica Lee turned her head sharply toward her mother. She demanded. ”Where did he go?”

”I... I honestly don’t know.” Catherine Lee stammered, shaking her head helplessly. ”He did not give me specific details.”

”What was Father’s official schedule yesterday afternoon?” Angelica Lee’s frown deepened, her tactical mind picking apart the timeline.

Catherine Lee fell completely silent, her brow furrowing as she frantically tried to recall their brief conversation before he had departed the previous evening. Several long, suffocating seconds passed before Catherine Lee’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open in sheer realisation.

”I remember now...” Catherine Lee said slowly, her voice dropping into a horrified whisper. ”I think... I think he mentioned that he needed to personally inspect a massive shipment before it was dispatched. He said something about sorting through the goods at the docks before shipping them out...”

The exact instant those damning words left Catherine Lee’s mouth, Albert Lee and Angelica Lee’s eyes locked onto each other through the iron bars. Neither of them uttered another single word. Yet both brilliant, ruthless strategists arrived at the exact same, catastrophic conclusion at the very same microsecond.

Richard Lee had almost certainly been at the warehouses when everything collapsed. The detention cell fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. For several long, agonizing seconds, not a single person spoke.

Albert Lee’s expression gradually darkened as countless terrifying possibilities flashed through his mind. If Richard Lee had been at the warehouse and the authorities had executed a dynamic raid on the compound, he should have been arrested alongside his subordinates and placed in custody together with everyone else. Albert Lee narrowed his eyes sharply, his intellect picking apart the anomaly.

”Something must have happened to Richard long before the authorities ever arrived.” Albert Lee stated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Angelica Lee immediately understood the tactical implication behind her grandfather’s words.

”You mean... someone got to Father first?” Angelica Lee whispered, horror creeping into her tone.

”I am afraid that’s precisely what happened.” Albert Lee slowly nodded, his face grim.

His decades of ruthlessly navigating high-stakes politics immediately told him something was catastrophically wrong. If Richard Lee had merely managed to escape the police dragnet, he would have made contact with the family by now. Instead, there was absolute silence. No phone call. No encrypted message. That complete radio silence was far more terrifying than any confirmed bad news.

Hearing their dark deduction, Catherine Lee felt a surge of hysterical panic for her husband’s safety. Still, she desperately tried to comfort herself with wishful thinking.

”Maybe... maybe he managed to escape in time!” Catherine Lee’s voice trembled violently. ”Richard is exceptionally clever and capable. Perhaps he realized something was wrong at the docks and went into hiding!”

”No.” Angelica Lee slowly shook her head, crushing her mother’s weak hope. ”If Father had successfully escaped, he would have contacted me immediately. He knows every single one of our secret emergency communication channels. He would never simply disappear into thin air without leaving a single message for us.”

The more Angelica Lee analyzed the cascade of events, the colder her heart became. Whoever had engineered this strike had planned every single layer with terrifying perfection.

Based on what the arresting officers had recited, their primary distribution warehouses had been exposed. The authorities had discovered the exact cargo hidden inside. And now, her father had completely vanished from the face of the earth.

Everything had transpired almost simultaneously. This was no mere coincidence or stroke of bad luck. An unseen, predatory entity had been watching them from the shadows, systematically moving against the Lee Family for quite some time.

What Angelica Lee did not know, and could never have guessed, was the true catalyst behind their doom. Had she not dared to target Tang Qin Hao, Yu Qi might not have bothered to utterly obliterate the Lee Family so quickly. However, Angelica Lee had chosen to cross the line by laying a hand on her beloved brother, sealing her family’s absolute destruction.

”Has anyone from law enforcement questioned us about Richard yet?” Albert Lee suddenly asked in a low, sharp voice.

The surrounding family members exchanged confused glances before shaking their heads.

”No.”

”Not a single officer has mentioned his name.”

The family members answered in quiet unison.

”How extremely strange...” Albert Lee frowned, his brow furrowing deeper.

”Grandfather, what do you mean by that?” Angelica Lee asked, leaning closer to the bars.

”If the authorities had captured Richard at the warehouse, he would be the primary suspect, and they would have interrogated us about his whereabouts and orders by now. But they have not.” Albert Lee paused, letting the dark truth sink in. ”Which means, they likely have no idea where Richard is, either.”

That harrowing conclusion made everyone’s faces turn ash-pale. If even the full intelligence apparatus of the state authorities could not locate Richard Lee, then where on earth had he gone?

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