Aruski subconsciously licked the object in his mouth.
Oval, hard, with a hole in the middle!
His furious mind jolted, and his red, swollen, blurry eyes widened even more.
The thing in his mouth—it was a gun!
This bastard actually pulled a gun!
"NO, Detective, please stop," Delon’s wife approached again, but Dean pushed her back onto the bed.
"Ma’am, if you cooperate with me, I can forgive your foolish son once more!"
"I’ll cooperate, whatever you need!"
"Where exactly was he at the time?"
"I don’t know..." Delon’s wife wiped her tears and said pitifully, "Aruski told me he knew Howard was coming back today. He wanted to find Howard and talk to him, hoping to convince him to give up attending the hearing. It was just before nine o’clock when I received a distress call from Aruski. His eyes were injured by Howard’s pepper spray. I rushed over and took him to the hospital that same night."
Dean felt the woman before him seemed to be telling the truth. He asked for her phone, checked the call logs, and after confirming this, he released Aruski.
Aruski was terrified. But still, he struggled to stand in front of his mother, shielding her. "I really didn’t hurt Howard! Instead, that bastard attacked me as soon as he heard I was there because of my father!"
"How did you know when Howard was coming back?"
Faced with this question, Aruski hesitated. But after glancing at his frightened mother, he lowered his head and muttered, "A month ago, my father asked me to disguise myself as a woman online and I became good friends with Howard. He told me himself through ICQ."
Robert, who had been enjoying the spectacle from the side, frowned when he heard this. He’d recently fallen for a female college student online too. She had extorted quite a bit of money from him using various excuses and had always refused to speak on the phone...
Robert now had a bad feeling.
Dean didn’t notice the change in Robert’s expression and continued, "Who else did you tell about Howard’s return?"
This time, Aruski fell silent.
Seeing this, Dean looked at Robert, who was staring blankly. "Robert, call Harvard University. Tell them their student Aruski is involved in a murder case and can’t return to school for the time being."
"Don’t!" Delon’s wife pushed away the silent Aruski and exclaimed in panic, "Delon! Aruski must have told Delon! That bastard bribed the prison guards, so he can use a cellphone often!"
"Mom, you’ve gone mad!" Aruski looked incredulously at his mother.
She actually betrayed her own husband!
But Delon’s wife couldn’t hold back anymore, slapping him across the face. "Yes, I’ve gone mad! I’ve truly gone mad. I love Delon too, but you absolutely cannot let a pervert ruin your life!"
"Father is not a pervert!" Aruski angrily pushed his mother away and roared, "He told me he was forced by a powerful figure back then! He only took the blame for a sexual offense to protect us. If it weren’t for that, I couldn’t have gotten into Harvard!"
In his heart, his father, Delon, was a good man who silently bore everything to protect his wife and son. For his mother to do this... it was too much!
"He actually said that?" Delon’s wife looked at her son in shock. "He’s lying to you! The reason you got into Harvard is because your grandmother asked someone for help!"
Dean, who’d been watching the drama unfold, interjected, "Who?"
"The 34th Governor of California, Mr. Brown!" Delon’s wife, covering her mouth, began to cry. "Before Mr. Brown took office, he had received financial support from Mrs. Haas, so he wrote a letter of recommendation for Aruski."
Aruski’s grandmother was Delon’s mother, Mrs. Haas.
Old Hunter had said she’d almost completely cut off her relationship with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Now, it seemed, that was bullshit!
Dean quickly asked, "So, she supports your usual living expenses too?"
Delon’s wife nodded. "Mrs. Haas has actually always cared deeply for Aruski. She didn’t want him to be influenced by his father, so she had me take Aruski to Boston to start a new life, and she’s been secretly supporting us ever since." She lifted her head, looking pitifully at Dean. "Detective, I don’t know why Aruski never told me that Delon deceived him, but he’s truly innocent. He didn’t kill anyone."
So... Father has been lying to me all this time?
"It’s simple," Dean said, turning his attention to Aruski. "Delon only had to tell you his supposed ’hardship’ for taking the blame, then instruct you *not to let your mother know*, claiming he just didn’t want *her* to worry. The reason he told *you* this much was so that you, his son, wouldn’t misunderstand him. Aruski, am I right?"
Aruski nodded numbly. "I need a moment to calm down."
"You can. But you must tell us who you told about Howard’s exact return time!"
"Delon! I told him. He’s been contacting me using a Black prison guard’s cellphone and has been constantly making me transfer money to an account."
Delon’s wife was utterly furious.
She had already given most of the money from Mrs. Haas to Delon. That bastard! And he still made their son keep sending him money!