26 Chapter 26 Trick This Kid Lame_1

"Witness protection..." Bruce mumbled, his eyes glassy, as if he were sleep talking.

"Yes, as long as you're willing to change your testimony for Veronica Wolfe's case and identify the real killer, you can apply for witness protection with the prosecutor's office. Only in this way can you ensure your personal safety," Aiden said, patiently persuading him.

"But I still have to go to prison!!" Bruce trembled all over.

Aiden smirked to himself, Bruce's outburst amounted to an admission of his own guilt.

"Is that more important than your life?" Aiden leaned in close to Bruce's face, speaking earnestly, "Think about the killer you just encountered. The killer, who could escape from my clutches. Without professional protection, how are you going to survive them?"

Bruce's expression changed, the oppressive sensation of the sharp knife at his throat came flooding back.

He had already personally experienced the killer's potency; the killer radiated a suffocating aura of terror, could conjure and vanish lethal blades like magic, and possessed the brute strength to lift a grown man with one hand—all attributes that no amateur could feign.

That's why he never even considered the possibility that he'd been played—the likelihood of encountering such a professional assassin so easily was slim. It made more sense that someone went to great lengths and expense to hire a professional killer to take him out.

In reality, he had been conned by Aiden, unaware that Aiden, being the warden, had such talents at his disposal.

"You have to protect me, Mr. Aiden!" he suddenly grabbed Aiden's arm in agitation, "You surely wouldn't just watch me get killed, right? Right!?"

"Me, protect you? Why would I have any obligation to protect you?" Aiden reacted as if he'd heard a joke, "I have my own job, I'm only assisting with the retrial investigation temporarily. Surely, I can't be your personal bodyguard 24/7? If you want protection, go beg the prosecutor's office, but they need a reason to protect you, don't they? Without your testimony, there's no procedure to offer witness protection."

Now Bruce had completely fallen into his trap, believing he had been cornered—with admission to the prosecutor's office bringing certain disgrace, but with refusal, "Jaron's hired killer" would claim his life.

Next, all it would take was a little nudge from behind.

"Why did he have to go so far!" Bruce collapsed to the floor, fingers raking through his hair as he howled in despair, "He did the murder; I just did what he asked of me! It was all his fault... it was all his doing, so why is he now trying to kill me?"

Aiden looked down at him, unable to hide a trace of disgust, "Don't act as if you're some kind of victim. From the moment you chose to betray Veronica, you should have realized that you might end up here. Did you think you would be safe just because Jaron didn't kill you? Think about it, why would he want to kill you? Of course, because the prosecutor's office is already onto you! Face reality, you've been cornered for a long time. Luckily, you still have a choice..."

Bruce slowly lifted his head.

"Become an informant. I can help you make the connections. Though the prosecutor's office is already onto you, as long as you start cooperating with us from now on. We can create a narrative that you came forward on your initiative—just to be safe, it's better not to mention being chased by a killer. Simply tell the prosecutor's office you had an attack of conscience and came clean. They should be able to help you get a lighter sentence," Aiden's tone softened slightly as he bent down and patted Bruce's shoulder, "You were just fooled and took the wrong path, the prosecutor's office will surely understand that. Go and accuse the real culprit, your life has already been ruined by him, are you willing to die at his hands without justice?"

"You will help me, right? You surely will, Mr. Aiden!?" Bruce clung to Aiden, pleading.

A desperate person will always try to cling to any straw for survival, and in Bruce's eyes, Aiden was now the only person he could depend on.

"Of course, how about this. Tonight, you come back with me to my place of work, the Rose Iron Prison, which is absolutely safe," Aiden revealed a warm smile, "Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the prosecutor's office to apply for witness protection, and from there, aside from cooperating with questioning, I will help you with the other procedures."

"Thank you, sir, I can only rely on you now!" Bruce said, his eyes brimming with tears of agitation.

Little did he know he had been thoroughly duped by Aiden. In fact, far from being onto him, the prosecutor's office hadn't even received the application for a retrial.

Of course, once he turned himself in to the prosecutor's office as Aiden had suggested, the application would naturally appear there. With key testimony overturned, the retrial application would surely be accepted.

But this was far from enough for Aiden; his goal wasn't just to clear Veronica's name, he also wanted to send Jaron, the real murderer, to Rose Iron Prison—keeping to his word was important, as he had promised to take down his adversary, he wouldn't let Jaron off the hook.

So, stifling the urge to laugh, Aiden continued to embellish the drama. He helped Bruce up, hand on his shoulder, and with sincerity oozing from his face, said, "I will certainly help you, but to bargain for a plea deal, we'd better offer as much leverage as possible."

"What... do you mean?" Bruce hadn't caught on yet.

"We'd better have evidence of Jaron bribing you, like… the gold watch he gave you!" Aiden said quietly, "If you can provide that watch, your testimony would become very valuable, and we'd have some room to negotiate."

Veronica's retrial and the accusation of Jaron as the real culprit were closely related but procedurally independent.

For Veronica's new trial, all that was needed was for Bruce to recant his testimony, rendering the evidence against her ineffective.

But to get the prosecutor's office to file a separate case against Jaron Lorton, they would need additional evidence to present at trial to corroborate Bruce's recanted testimony, especially since Bruce had personally destroyed the evidence of Jaron's murder.

The gold pocket watch was the most appropriate piece of evidence, it could be said that finding that watch could clinch the victory.

"But what if he says I stole the watch... what then?" Bruce asked uneasily.

"As a police officer, wouldn't it be suspicious if he didn't file a report about something so valuable being stolen?" Aiden assured him.

"But I've already sold the watch..."

"Who did you sell it to? We might be able to trace it if we follow the channel," Aiden pressed.

"That might be difficult, I didn't sell it to... a regular store," Bruce said, avoiding Aiden's gaze.

"You sold it on the black market?" Aiden frowned slightly, "How much did you get for it?"

It wasn't surprising, given the watch's unique engravings, and Bruce likely didn't have the courage to take it to a legitimate gold shop to sell the stolen item. Tracking an item that entered the black market would be difficult, which is probably why Jaron Lorton couldn't use his authority to get the gold pocket watch back.

But Aiden wasn't entirely without connections in that area.

"Thirty-five pounds…" Bruce said in a low voice.

"Besides that, did Jaron give you any more money?"

"He... after that, gave me another sixty pounds to keep quiet," Bruce answered timidly.

"Ninety-five pounds in gold... so you sold out your benefactor for the equivalent of two years' salary?" Aiden looked at Bruce with a mockery that was more cruel than warm.

"I... really needed the money..." Bruce tried to defend himself.

But Aiden cut him off sharply, "You needed the money for carousing with women?"

Bruce fell silent.

In his mind, Aiden roughly converted the amount; it was almost as if Bruce had been bribed with around a hundred thousand pounds to dare such an outrageously immoral act. He truly wouldn't be wronged if Veronica shot him dead.

"Enough, I'll take you to Rose Iron Prison now," Aiden said, dropping his disdainful look and placing his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "Don't worry, at least for today, I'll make sure you're well-protected."

As if absentmindedly, he looked up and scanned the surroundings, eventually catching a glimpse of the assassin's figure on a not-too-distant rooftop—Avansa had returned to her original form and, after changing clothes, waved at him.

"Mr. Aiden?" Bruce asked, confused, then followed Aiden's gaze.

There was no one on the rooftop.

"It's nothing, let's go," Aiden said, picking up his cane and gently pushing Bruce's shoulder with a face of "kindness," making their way to the other end of the road.