Chapter 242
“Malcolm controlled Eugene and made him frame Normand, not because he had leverage over him but his son?” asked Anne as she returned the weapon to Zhang Heng .
“Yes . Many of the colony’s residents have a zero-tolerance policy toward pirates . If that incident was made public, not only would Eugene’s son be booted from the navy, but he would even face the death penalty,” Zhang Heng confirmed .
“No wonder Eugene was so compliant to Malcolm . Before we can ask Eugene to expose Malcolm, we would have to solve his problem first . Did Carmen tell you who the two survivors were?” asked Billy .
Carina shook her head .
“Eugene didn’t tell her the names of the two survivors, but I think I might have a way to find out . The customs have a record of the names of pirate attack survivors . I can write in and have someone look it up . ”
“So, our next step is to look for the names of the two survivors . We have to find a way to either kill them or abduct them . ”
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy… if it was, Eugene would have done that already . There’s no way he would let Malcolm hold sway over him for the rest of his life . Even if he didn’t do it himself, he could have hired someone to do it for him,” said Carina .
Zhang Heng simply kept quiet .
“What’s wrong?” asked Carina .
“Nothing . I suddenly thought of something, but I’m not sure if it’s the right way to achieve our goal . Can I borrow two men from you? I want them to travel to the colony and check something for me . ”
Zhang Heng and his men were on the wanted list of several ports and though he had spent a long time at sea and was now tanned, his oriental appearance still made him stand out like a sore thumb . That said, the Northern American colonies of this era had always fascinated Zhang Heng, and given the opportunity, he would have loved to traverse the lands on a sightseeing tour . All that, of course, on the premise that his core mission had been completed and had earned enough money . He could even pay the retired Roscoe a visit . The old man had taught him so much, not to mention controlling the sails and reading the winds . It wasn’t hyperbole to say he was Zhang Heng’s enlightenment guru . However, those wisps of sentimentality lingered in his mind only briefly – it was simply too risky . It was a shame knowing that with his current identity, he was destined to never reintegrate into civilized society .
“Of course,” Carina nodded, adding, “Pick whoever you want . ”
Zhang Heng selected two somewhat competent-looking men and briefed them on the matter they were to investigate . Then, he gave them forty silver coins for their expenses, which had the two pleasantly surprised and pleased . That very night itself, they embarked on a journey back to the colony .
As usual, Zhang Heng didn’t waste any time . After digging around for a bit, he quickly found the pirate gang that Eugene’s son had been a part of .
As a matter of fact, that pirate group had long since ceased to exist . Like most pirate gangs on the island, it existed only for a short time before disbanding in less than a year . It wasn’t even a large group to start with . At their peak, the time when Eugene’s estranged son joined in, there were fewer than thirty individuals . There wasn’t much to gloat either; their most significant achievement being robbing a merchant ship hauling cotton, and that was nine years ago .
After the gang’s dismantling, The small portion who were left joined other pirate gangs, and one after another, they were subsequently buried at sea . There were even a few who returned to their life as fishermen . So, after about a week, and with Brook’s help, Zhang Heng found a guy who used to work on the ship . After asking the man a few questions, Zhang Heng thanked him and went on his way .
Coincidentally, the results of Carina’s investigation were out – she finally understood why Eugene submitted to vicious humiliation all these years and was unable to get rid of Malcolm’s control over him .
Malcolm had sent one of the two survivors to the naval fleet, and the other to the governor’s mansion as a bodyguard . This meant that Billy’s plan wouldn’t work . Unless resolving to a mass bombing akin to Queen’s Anne Revenge’s bombardment of Charleston, it was unrealistic that they could kidnap or kill the two men .
Carina felt a strong wave of frustration ramming into her . They thought they had identified Malcolm’s weakness, but after all that bloody effort, they found themselves at another dead end . Malcolm was like a juggernaut without a flaw . Carina couldn’t help but wonder who was going to win this war . After all, even Normand, the leader of the first generation Black-Market Alliance, lost to a fledgling Malcolm . Compared to him, she was nothing but a dabbling rookie in the industry .
Four days had passed, and Carina still found no solution . She grew more anxious by the day, generally uneasy and edgy . That was until Zhang Heng knocked at her door and said, “Let’s go . The men you’ve lent me are back . We should pay Eugene a visit too . ”
“Now? Are you sure you can convince him to give up his only son’s life to be on our side?”
“At least an eighty percent chance,” Zhang Heng answered .
“How is that even remotely possible?” Carina replied with wide beady eyes .
“It’s actually not as complicated as you think . I’ll explain later . ”
So that night, the pair arrived at Hayman Manor by carriage . Drew was already waiting at the door . He led them upstairs to the study, where Carmen and Eugene were present . After the latter finished reading the letter in his hand, he grew emotional . He asked with a sniffle, “How do I know what you’re saying is
true?”
“If you’ve read the letter, you would know that your son never boarded any pirate ship before he left Nassau . He paid for his journey with what he earned doing odd jobs around the island,” Zhang Heng said . “When Mrs . Smith mentioned you and your son, she said that you both grew apart after the fire, and you haven’t been in contact ever since . And this is why Malcolm’s scheme worked . ”
“Do you think that I didn’t look into it at that time? I found a pirate from that ship, and he verified that my son was indeed there! I even had customs check the records of the two survivors . They really were survivors of a plundered vessel! Are you about to tell me that Malcolm planned years ahead just so he could threaten me?”
“No, Malcolm is not God . He couldn’t have planned this so far ahead of time . So, the survivors are real, that pirate ship is real, and the robbery is real too, except for one thing . The person on the ship wasn’t your son . Malcolm must have found out by chance that you and your son were estranged . When he realized that he could use it against you, he only had to buy off one person, the helmsman of that pirate ship . ”
Zhang Heng paused, then continued, “I found an old sailor from that ship . It was all very close to what I anticipated . At that time, the ship experienced a very high turnover rate – a common problem among the underdog pirate gangs . If their loot wasn’t nearly enough, it was difficult to retain people . In reality, most either fished or grew crops for a living . They would only rush over if they heard a ship is hiring . Most of them don’t even know each other or would be acquainted for a short while before completely forgetting each other . There happened to be a teenager around your son’s age at that time . Malcolm saw it as the perfect tool to be used against you!”
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