Ronan and his family’s entire fortune had been drained completely. The bank reported that the transfer had been executed using his personal fingerprint and facial recognition, leaving no room for dispute.

All that remained was a fragment of a trust fund, barely enough to sustain the household for long.

In other words, Ronan held all the family assets in his hands, acting as the sole provider for the family, supporting every member. Now, with his death and the assets wiped clean through special means, the family’s financial ruin seemed imminent.

Brad ended the call and shifted his gaze toward Rylie, who was engrossed in a conversation with the technical team about artillery and weapons research.

A complex mix of emotions lingered in his eyes.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out where all that money had disappeared.

Noticing his stare, Rylie turned her head and asked, “What is it?”

Brad hesitated briefly before fishing a candy from his pocket, a gift from a sergeant, and passing it to her with a faint remark, “Seems you’re quite the wealthy young lady now.”

Rylie arched an eyebrow, her lips curving subtly. “Your men just asked if I wanted to try out your firearms at the training ground. They’re itching for a match with me.”

“And why exactly do they want to challenge you?” Brad asked, his gaze sweeping over the group of towering, broad-shouldered soldiers gathered around her.

One of them stepped forward quickly, blurting out, “Because Miss Owen claimed none of us could beat her!”

“We don’t believe that for a second!” another chimed in, his tone filled with disbelief.

A third soldier added with a grin, “Sure, she knows her stuff when it comes to weapons, but theory and practice aren’t the same thing.”

Rylie inclined her head slightly. “I only told them the truth.”

Brad noted how the soldiers seemed more and more intrigued, their competitive spirit stirred. He felt a flicker of curiosity himself. Despite everything he knew about Rylie, he had yet to witness her handle a handgun in action.

Of course, during the earlier beach assassination attempt, Brad had already sensed that Rylie could handle a firearm. This suspicion only deepened after the recent discovery of bodies aboard Ronan’s cargo ship.

The forensic expert’s findings supported his instincts, confirming that many of the dead bore clean, precise wounds, some inflicted by sharp weapons, others by bullets. This pointed to the work of a highly trained operative.

The pattern of injuries indicated calculated ambushes and swift assassinations, nothing like the chaotic brutality usually associated with pirates. The varied times of death further ruled out the pirates’ crude methods.

Once the autopsy results were delivered, they aligned perfectly with what Brad had suspected all along, and his thoughts immediately went to her.

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