Chapter 1533
[ 628 words ]
Dane’s question caught Zeke off guard, but he recovered almost instantly.
He maintained his facade of the honest, simple local. “Mr. Green, is there something wrong with that wood?”
“I couldn’t tell you who picked it up. I’m not the only one who enters The Aila
Highlands. Other villagers come through here too.”
“Even some extreme trekkers use this route.”
“The firewood in that cabin is just left behind and added to by whoever passes through.”
Zeke adamantly refused to claim any connection to the tainted wood.
“But you were the one who threw the last log onto the fire,” Claire interjected sharply, cutting through his lies.
A flicker of unease crossed Zeke’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a look of utter confusion. “You went to sleep earlier than anyone else. How could you possibly know who threw the last piece of wood in?”
“I saw it.” Rory James raised her hand.
Zeke clearly hadn’t anticipated an eyewitness.
“What exactly did you see?” Zeke asked, forcing his voice to remain steady.
Rory answered matter-of-factly, “I saw you toss this exact piece of wood into the fire.”
“You got up so suddenly to do it, I honestly thought you were sleepwalking.”
“What else do you have to say for yourself?” Silas stared at Zeke with the cold, dead eyes of an executioner.
When it came to dealing with Sundaran spies, Silas was merciless.
But realizing that one of their own citizens—a man Officer Miller had explicitly trusted—had committed such treason filled him with a sickening blend of heartbreak and disgust.
This was an act of high treason.
Silas and his men were willing to bleed out for Solenia, yet here was a traitor selling them out. It was completely unforgivable.
He didn’t care about the specifics of Zeke’s motives; he only wanted to see the man rot in a military prison.
Despite Silas’s lethal glare, Zeke didn’t panic. “The young lady merely saw me add wood to the fire. It doesn’t prove malicious intent.”
“I was just trying to keep us warm so no one would freeze. I acted out of the goodness of my heart. How did that suddenly become a crime?”
“The wood you threw in was coated in Frenzy Dung!” Claire emphasized sharply That exact piece of wood is what lured the bear and the wolf pack right to our doorstep.
“You certainly went all out to get us killed. Weren’t you afraid the predators would
tear you apart along with the rest of us?”
Claire couldn’t fathom when this man had been compromised.
Had an enemy faction been tracking their movements since they deployed,
predicting their route and buying off Zeke in advance?
That didn’t add up. They had mobilized to Montara with maximum speed and discretion.
The only logical explanation was a high-level internal leak.
How else would outside forces know about a classified military helicopter transport?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t collect that wood, and I don’t even know what this ‘Frenzy Dung’ is.”
“I certainly didn’t know it was that dangerous.”
While Zeke fought to keep his expression neutral, a sliver of genuine panic finally cracked through his eyes.
Claire looked at him with a mocking
half-smile. “Do you really not
remember? When you first led us
into the mountains, you casually
brought it up during our small talk.”
“I mentioned that I had read in a botanical text about the disastrous effects of
burning Frenzy Dung.”
“You immediately agreed, saying the
locals were incredibly careful when gathering firewood. You said they meticulously checked every branch just to avoid burning that exact substance.”
“You sounded like an absolute expert then. Funny how you’ve suddenly forgotten all about it.”
“Your story is full of holes. If you’re going to spin a web of lies, you need to do better than that.”
Zeke froze, the carefully constructed mask of innocence shattering completely.
He never expected that a few throwaway lines of casual conversation would become the absolute proof of his guilt.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.