Chapter 240

A random guy handed his phone to Jasper, giving him a look that screamed disapproval.

"Are you done yet? Figured out who to call?" the guy asked, clearly impatient.

Jasper felt a tad irritated. Who the hell had the guts to talk to him like that before? But stuck in his current mess, he plastered on a fake smile and scrambled to recall the handful of numbers he still had in his head.

First, he thought of calling his wife Mia. But then he remembered she might be dead, and her phone could be in the hands of the people who killed her. Calling her would be a huge risk, so he scratched that idea.

Next, he considered calling Isabella but hesitated. Asking for her help would probably mean giving up his shares, and he wasn't ready for that.

Finally, he remembered his assistant Micah Porter's number. He dialed it, and after a few rings, Micah picked up.

"Micah, it's Jasper. I'm using a borrowed phone. Call John and give him this number. Tell him to call me back in three minutes," Jasper ordered.

Micah paused for a few seconds before saying, "Mr. Taylor, why don't you tell me where you are? I can come get you."

"I only trust John right now," Jasper snapped back.

There was a brief silence before Micah spoke again, "Mr. Taylor, you'd better turn yourself in. The police are looking for you everywhere, and Mr. Williams might not be able to protect you."

"The police? Protect me? What are you talking about? Why should I turn myself in?" Jasper asked, confused.

Micah sounded surprised. "You don't know? An hour ago, your wife told reporters you embezzled money. Now the police have you listed as a wanted criminal."

"What? No way, how did this happen?" Jasper was stunned, his mouth hanging open.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine, like he was being watched. He glanced at the guy who lent him the phone, who seemed to be eavesdropping.

"My call's done. Thanks for the phone," Jasper said quickly, hanging up and handing the phone back before bolting. He couldn't be sure if the guy had heard about him being wanted, but he knew the bounty on his head wouldn't be small.

The guy who got his phone back only caught the word "wanted" and didn't hear the rest of the conversation. If he had, he might've tried to catch Jasper.

For now, Jasper was back on the run.

Meanwhile, after hanging up with John, Isabella decided to inform Michael about the situation and gave him a call.

Michael was on the phone with a subordinate at that moment.

"Mr. Williams, we hacked into Azure Bank's network and checked. Jasper and Mia have an account there, but it's empty. Jasper lied to Mia; he didn't put the money in Azure Bank," the subordinate reported.

"Got it," Michael said as he hung up, just in time for Isabella's call to come through.

He answered with a smile, "Hey, babe. Everything sorted on your end?"

But his smile quickly vanished when he heard Isabella's angry voice.

"That idiot John called me again. He said someone tried to assassinate Bianca and thinks I did it. Can you believe that? But the real shocker is that John actually killed the assassin. If Bianca's behind this, she's getting seriously ruthless," Isabella ranted, clearly frustrated.

Michael frowned. He already knew about this. He'd been keeping tabs on Bianca and had evidence of her meeting with Daron, but he couldn't share that just yet.

"You're right, we need to be careful. She's getting more dangerous. By the way, I have some news," Michael said, steering the conversation away from Bianca and Daron.

Isabella sounded curious, "What news?"

Michael thought quickly and came up with a plausible story. "My dad's got a friend at Azure Bank. He had the guy check Jasper's account, and guess what? It's empty. Jasper lied to Mia; he didn't stash the money there."

"Didn't know your dad had connections at Azure Bank. That'll come in handy," Isabella replied, sounding a bit indifferent. They'd already suspected this, so it wasn't a huge surprise.

"My dad's arrest warrant is coming soon. He'll either have to turn himself in or go into hiding. If he wants to leave the city, he can't do it the usual way. Any guesses on how he plans to make his exit from the country?" Isabella asked with a sly smile.

"He'll probably use a smuggler. Got any ideas?" Michael responded, matching her smile.

Isabella nodded. "Illegal exit is his only option now. Even if John wants to help, it'll have to be that way. I'm planning to get Mason to keep a close eye on John. We can't let Jasper escape."

Michael praised her and didn't say much more. Mason would give the task to him anyway.

Meanwhile, Michael's undercover guy, posing as a private detective, found Paxton's butler, Jonah.

"I saw your wanted notice on the dark web. I've got a video that might be worth a lot to you," the detective said confidently, kicking back.

Jonah eyed him coldly. "Let me see the video first."

The detective shook his head. "You gotta pay me a million bucks first. Trust me, this video's gold."

Jonah squinted at him but finally nodded and transferred the money.

The detective pulled out his phone and played the video.

"So it's Bianca," Jonah muttered, watching the footage and hearing the voices. His whole body trembled with the realization.